Meeting House for the New York Society of Ethical Culture

The Meeting House for the New York Society of Ethical Culture stands as a deliberate architectural defiance of traditional religious spaces. Designed by architect Robert D. Kohn and completed in 1910, the building lacks the grand porticos, steeples, or classical columns typical of the city's houses of worship. Kohn chose a spare, geometric Art Nouveau style, influenced by the Vienna Secession movement, to reflect the Society's humanist philosophy. He intended the austere limestone block to serve as a quiet antithesis to the chaotic, bustling life of the city outside its doors.