I was surprised to see the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum listed on 52nd St in a 1927 book, Barb.  They had moved way uptown about 1902.  This large and important institution with an amazing history was built next to St Patrick's Cathedral when the streets in that area were unpaved and the land was cheap and the neighborhood remote. That changed of course and in the 1890s a new location way uptown was sought.  The name changed too as 'asylum' had other connotations. It was run by the Sisters of Charity and they did an amazing job educating and providing job training for many thousands of boys and girls in separate buildings.  There is a lot online about the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum. A brief overlook is at http://www.nycago.org/Organs/Brx/html/RCOrphanAsylum.html The site http://www.nycago.org/ is about organs (musical) but has excellent info about many churches in New York, often with very good photos both interior and exterior.  Worth checking out. I hope this goes thru as I'm having trouble with rootsweb unsubscribing me and not sending mail. Virginia