The original Church of St. Rose of Lima was constructed 1870. The wood-frame Gothic-style church was designed by Thomas F. Houghton. The church, with a capacity of 300, was the first Catholic church to serve the people of the Greenfield section of southern Brooklyn. According to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, the church was "designed and finished under the superintendence of Thomas Houghton, Es., a pupil of the great Keegy [sic, Keely], and a young architect of much promise." The building was designed with a high pointed roof and on the interor had frescoed walls.1

• 1. "Church Dedication", Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 28 November 1870, page 2.