St. Gabriel, Arlington Ave. and West 235 St., Riverdale

Above is the view from Arlington Avenue. The church entrance is seen ahead. Access to this door is from three directions: a short driveway from West 235 Street, a often-closed gate on Netherland Avenue, and the stairway from Arlington Avenue. The stairway is to the right of the photographer's position.

Until the school was closed, this sign was at the southwest corner of Netherland Avenue and West 235th Street. For an article in America magazine in September, 2023, please see this link.

The above view looks north. Inside this center door is a foyer, a few steps down, and then the east-west main section of the church. The altar is in the corner where the two wings meet. It appears that folding doors allow an expansion of church seating in the north-south wing (at the right side of this photo). The school is located upstairs.
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See pages 487 and 513 for St. Gabriel parish at Arlington Avenue and West 235 Street, Riverdale. The parish was created in 1939, and the combined church and school were completed in 1941. The address is 3250 Arlington Ave., Bronx NY 10463, telephone 718-548-4470. The parish website here includes both church and school. 
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An excellent bird's-eye view of the school appears on Flickr here.



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St. Margaret of Cortona, Riverdale

The church of St. Margaret of Cortona is on the east side of Riverdale Avenue north of West 260th Street. See page 298 for the 1889 establishment of the parish of St Margaret of Cortona at Riverdale Avenue and West 260 Street. The present church dates from 1965. The rectory address is 6000 Riverdale Ave., Bronx NY 10471, telephone 718-549-8053. Effective August 1, 2015, this parish is the primary parish in a merger with St. Gabriel's, two miles south. Both churches and schools remain open.  The 2015 Official Catholic Directory lists these enrollment figures; 313 at St. Margaret School, 238 at St. Gabriel.

The congregation leaves church after the 5:15 Mass on a July Saturday. The parish has extensive frontage on the west side of Riverdale Avenue. To the right of the church in this photo (that is, south) is the rectory, then West 260th Street, then a paved lot for the school, then a newer school building and more space. To the left (that is, north) is a parking lot with trees.


Above is the parish school at 452 West 260th Street, Bronx NY 10471, telephone 718-549-8580. To the rear right is a newer extension of perhaps eight more classrooms. The website for the parish school is here.  In addition, there are frequent posts on the school Twitter page, with links to Facebook.