St. Gabriel’s Church : Parish of New Lots
749 Linwood Street, Brooklyn, New York
St. Gabriel's Church
In the working-class streets of East New York, St. Gabriel's Church served as the spiritual anchor for the O'Brien family of Brooklyn. Here, Miles Murtha Lawrence O'Brien—born in Jamaica and "related to the late Miles M. O'Brien, former president of the Board of Education"—worshipped with his family on Milford and Berriman Streets. When Miles died at his home at 376 Milford Street in 1930 at age 56, his requiem Mass was offered at St. Gabriel's. Two years earlier, his son Miles Murtha O'Brien Sr. had married Lillian Robertson within these same walls—and his brother James had married here in 1902 with Miles as witness.
This church still stands. St. Gabriel's continues to serve the East New York community as a worship site for the Parish of Mary, Mother of the Church, celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2024–2025.
A 1912 rendering of the interior of St. Gabriel's Church, from the Brooklyn Public Library's Brooklyn Collection. This architectural drawing captures the original vision for the parish—soaring barrel-vaulted ceilings, decorated coffers, and Gothic arches framing the sanctuary where the O'Brien family would gather for sacraments.
The marriage certificate tells the story in faded ink: on January 28, 1928, at St. Gabriel's Roman Catholic Church on Linwood Street, Miles M. O'Brien, age 23, a carpenter living at 376 Milford Street, married Lillian J. Robertson, age 22, of the same address. The groom's father was listed as Miles L. O'Brien; his mother, Marguerite Egan. The bride's parents were Joseph Robertson and Mary A. Kenny. Father John M. Mahoney performed the ceremony, with James O'Brien and Helen O'Brien serving as witnesses. The priest noted his residence as "749 Linwood St. Bklyn"—the rectory of St. Gabriel's.
Just two years later, on a Monday in 1930, Miles Murtha Lawrence O'Brien died at that same Milford Street address. He was 56 years old—the father of the young groom whose wedding he had witnessed in 1928. The newspaper reported that he "was born in Jamaica and had lived in Brooklyn for many years." His wife, Anna T. McGuire O'Brien, survived him, along with five daughters and five sons. The family connection to Brooklyn's political establishment was noted: "He was related to the late Miles M. O'Brien, former president of the Board of Education."
A Century in New Lots: 1923–Present
St. Gabriel's Parish was established in 1923, just as the New Lots neighborhood was transforming from semi-rural farmland to a densely populated urban community. The first Mass was celebrated on July 7, 1923, in Stotzky's Belvedere Park—an open-air beginning for what would become a century of parish life. On New Year's Day 1925, the church officially opened at its current Linwood Street location.
St. Gabriel's Church at 749 Linwood Street, Brooklyn. The modernist buff-brick structure features Art Deco elements, a white stone relief of St. Gabriel the Archangel above the entrance, and a distinctive bell tower crowned with a cross.
Between 1902 and 1930, the neighborhood surrounding St. Gabriel's underwent dramatic change. The extension of rapid transit—first the BMT Canarsie Line in 1906, then the IRT New Lots Line in 1920–1924—brought waves of working-class families seeking escape from Manhattan's crowded tenements. Many were Irish Catholics like the O'Briens, and Jewish immigrants from Eastern and Central Europe. The five-cent fare to Manhattan made New Lots accessible, and the parish grew alongside the neighborhood.
The church building itself has roots that precede the parish. Historical accounts suggest the structure incorporates portions of the former P.S. 64 school building, which was moved to the site around 1900 and later converted for religious use. During renovations, workers reportedly discovered historical blackboards from the original school within the walls—a tangible link to the neighborhood's earlier character.
The Subway's Impact
The opening of the New Lots Avenue station on October 16, 1922—just months before St. Gabriel's Parish was established—transformed the neighborhood. Full "through service" to Manhattan began on October 31, 1924, allowing residents like the O'Briens to commute to work for a nickel. The subway brought growth: by 1930, over 60% of Black Brooklynites were born outside the borough, part of the Great Migration that was reshaping the city.
The O'Brien Family of Milford Street
The O'Brien family's addresses tell their own story: 970 Berriman Street for the 1902 marriage of James H. O'Brien, then 376 Milford Street for the 1928 wedding and 1930 death of Miles Murtha Lawrence O'Brien. These streets—Berriman, Linwood, and Milford—run parallel to one another in the New Lots section, just blocks from St. Gabriel's Church. The family could walk to Mass in minutes.
Miles Murtha Lawrence O'Brien (1873–1930) was the brother of James H. O'Brien, who served as a U.S. Congressman. Born in Jamaica—likely the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens—Miles lived in Brooklyn for many years before his death. He married twice: first to Margaret Egan, with whom he had five children including Miles Murtha O'Brien Sr. After Margaret's death in 1906, he married Anna T. McGuire in 1908, and together they had an additional five children. His son's 1928 wedding to Lillian Robertson at St. Gabriel's would begin the next chapter in the family's story.
Street view of St. Gabriel's Church showing the distinctive bell tower with its red clay tile roof and the cross-decorated facade of the adjoining building.
The obituary's mention that Miles was "related to the late Miles M. O'Brien, former president of the Board of Education" points to the family's prominence in Brooklyn civic life. This Miles M. O'Brien—likely a cousin or uncle—had served on the Brooklyn Board of Education, a position of considerable influence in the era before the city's consolidation. The family's roots in Brooklyn's Irish Catholic political establishment ran deep.
The O'Brien Family at St. Gabriel's
"I am Gabriel, who stand before God, and I am sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news."
St. Gabriel's Today
In 2007, due to shifting demographics across the Diocese of Brooklyn, St. Gabriel's was merged with the nearby St. John Cantius parish to form Mary, Mother of the Church. Both church buildings remain in use, and St. Gabriel's continues to serve as an active worship site. The parish celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2024–2025, with Bishop Robert Brennan celebrating a special centennial Mass on February 25, 2024.
The front facade of St. Gabriel's Church, featuring the white stone Art Deco relief of St. Gabriel the Archangel—the messenger who announced the births of both John the Baptist and Jesus Christ.
The church's architecture reflects the era of its construction: buff brick with Art Deco styling, a bell tower topped by a cross, and a distinctive white stone relief of St. Gabriel the Archangel above the main entrance. The parish complex includes the church, rectory, and former school buildings, all clustered at the corner of Linwood Street. In 1971, the parish introduced its first Spanish Mass, marking a significant shift in the community's cultural composition—a tradition that continues today with bilingual services.
Three Generations of O'Briens at St. Gabriel's
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