200 Year Old NYC Landmark

St. Patrick's Old Cathedral on Mott Street in NYC celebrates its 200th Anniversary Celebration this Sunday, June 7th. This is the city's first Cathedral church and one that served thousands of Irish immigrants before the more opulent 5th Ave location was built.

Movie-makers have cast famous scenes here like the Baptism scene in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather or the graveyard scene in the Martin Scorsese's 1973 film Mean Streets. The tagline from that classic reads "You don't make up for your sins in church. You do it in the streets...".

To my delight, PilotGirl was on assignment here a few weeks ago and returns later this week. My ambitious client needs extensive b-roll of the interior and exterior for a TV show.

Inside, I gazed at a beautiful organ, stain glass windows and a marble altar. More spellbinding still was what lies beneath the church. The caretaker escorted us to a newly painted white basement where a labyrinth of well-kept mortuary vaults sit in silence. Several bishops and famous New York business men are entombed here including Mr. Delmonico.

Yes, that's Mr. Delmonico, founder of the earliest sirloin and rib-eye restaurant establishment in the country. Mr. Delmonico earned his place in 1827 history grilling up meat as rare, medium or well-done, depending on the customer's preference. That was a novel idea back then and enough to garner a great resting place after a lifetime of meals were enjoyed.