Let's Go to Church and Check Out the Space at St. Bart's

Maybe I'm the only one who hasn't caught on to St. Bart's in NYC. I thought it was just a church. Silly me.

St. Bartholomew's Church is a national landmark right on Park Avenue and 51st Street, right next to the former Waldorf Astoria. I've always passed this church by via taxi and thought it was beautiful with its Romanesque architecture (some say Byzantine but I'm not a connoisseur). Tonight, I got the chance to take a closer look and this church...as a venue. 

Restaurant terrace of Inside Park at St. Bart's.

Right off the bat, I noticed a booming outdoor, tented terrace on the "church grounds", so to speak. As I went towards the entrance of the church, I happen to enter into the chaper foyer where I notived a service was currently taking place - practically next door to this popular terrace bar! (St. Bartholomew's is an active Episcopalian church.) I was then re-directed to the main lobby where I was asked to go to the main church floor. Enter center stage.

Main church floor at St. Bart's, available for rent. 

I learned that the main floor has been rented out a few times for movies, special dining events, and even general sessions. In fact, St. Bart's recently partnered with W New York on Lexington Ave (between 49th and 50th Streets) in order to promote collaborative space: while W New York has a lot of smaller meeting rooms, St. Bart's can offer their main floor as a unique plenary room. And I'm sure when St. Bart's holds some of its own large events, the W New York can offer ideal accommodations due to its close proximity to the church. 

In addition to the main church floor, St. Bart's has smaller meeting space on the third floor that I viewed. Here are potential room set-ups for Rooms 32 and 33. Both are 900 sf. 

The "surprise" that no one would suspect is that also on the third floor, adjoining Rooms 32 or 33 (I can't remember which was which) is a private terrace. How cool is that? I totally started thinking about my own personal private parties because no one would suspect to have a private party here! It overlooks the restaurant downstairs (Inside Park). I took a video clip to give you an idea of it looks like: 

Okay, so you're probably wondering, What about that restaurant, Inside Park at St. Bart's?

The truth is, I'm not sure. I looked on their web site and it seems they have their own space too, completely separate from the church (although it seems they offer the church's main floor as a space option too). My best guess is that Inside Park is the preferred caterer to St. Bart's as they are the restaurant onsite. And speaking of caterers, I do know for certain that if you are looking at St. Bart's (the church) for rental, you are welcome to bring your own caterer if you don't want to work with Inside Park. If you want more information about Inside Park at St. Bart's, please visit: http://www.insideparknyc.com/private_dining

Overall, I am impressed with St. Bart's main church floor. I think it could serve as a unique space for special events, especially themed events (for some reason, The Tudors drama or Game of Thrones comes to mind). As for the third floor meeting rooms, I am sure they are absolutely capable of functioning as space for business meetings but I do not see this space like that. I think these rooms and the terrace speak more to people who want to do dinners and receptions. And what I like is that no one would know that this great space is tucked at St. Bart's...on the third floor.

For more information about renting space at St. Bart's Church and Community Center,

http://stbarts.org/about-us/space-rentals/rent-our-space/

~T~