In 1939, the church on 98th Street and 23rd Avenue in East Elmhurst was once The Italian Pentecostal Church. The original parent Church (rooted in the Italian Pentecostal Movement) was started in Chicago, IL in 1907, as part of the larger outpouring at the turn of the century. The church was known as the Italian Christian Church; later officially The Christian Church of North America in 1948. During the early 1900’s Pentecostalism was the second largest group of Christians in the world, second only to Catholicism. Italians and Germans were the ethnic force behind the early growth the movement.
Know as “The Italian Church” residents of East Elmhurst consider the small brick building part of our historical landscape. Still a Pentecostal Church, today it is the New York Pentacostal Assembly Church of East Elmhurst and a sign in Korean adorns the front of the building. A harbinger of East Elmhurst changing demographics.
Image 1 – In the left background is the church in September of 1939.
Image 2 – New York Pentacostal Assembly Church-East Elmhurst