According to a History section on the church’s website:

In 1875, with the Catholic population growing in Pleasantville, Samuel Shapter, a New York distiller, donated the property at the corner of Bedford Road and Tompkins Avenue to be used for a church. His only stipulation: it had to be named “Church of the Holy Innocents.” One year later the new church was dedicated as a mission out of Mount Kisco. It took until 1894, when it was clear of debt, for Holy Innocents to gain parish status.

From 1897 to 1915, priests from the Dominican Province of Lyons served Holy Innocents Parish. It was during this time that the first steps to provide Catholic school education were made. Father Regis Gerest started holding classes around the dining room table in the rectory. As the number of students grew, two Dominican sisters came to teach and the school moved to Harold Wright’s home at Bedford Road and Ashland Avenue. In 1900 the school, known as St Thomas School, moved to a house donated by George Mackey. It was located on Tompkins Avenue at the rear of the rectory. With the addition of a few room, it served as both convent and school for almost ten years.

As the new mission church was being born, All Souls Cemetery on Marble Avenue was evolving as a final resting place for area Catholics. According to a cemetery deed, the Archdiocese of New York purchased the property from the Roselle family in 1882 and Holy Innocents immediately began to use the land as a burial site. However, further research discloses two date discrepancies. First, a gravestone has an 1877 inscription. Second, the sign at the entrance to the cemetery indicates it was established in 1861. Back then the land belonged to a local resident, Isaac Thorn. Despite extensive research by parishioners, the disparity between the dates remains an unresolved puzzle.

On February 12, 1912, most of the Church and the entire rectory were destroyed by fire. However, from out of the ashes, came a “season of rebirth.” A new Tudor style church and rectory was designed to accommodate a burgeoning parish. The bell from the original church was salvaged and placed in the new building to signal parishioners to worship.

An important change occurred in 1915 when the French Dominicans were replaced by Dominicans of the New York Province. One French Dominican remained, Fr. Mercier. He gave informal religious instruction and celebrated Mass for the growing Italian population which had begun settling in Pleasantville during the early 1900’s. During World War I, Fr. Mercier was detained in Italy. He prayed to Our Lady of Pompeii and promised to build a chapel in her name if he could be allowed to return to America. In 1928, Father Mercier stood before Our Lady of Pompeii as its doors opened for the first time.

Following World War II the parish expanded and once again St. Thomas School outgrew its quarters. In 1955 the school moved to a modern facility at the corner of Great Oak Lane and Bedford Road where it would function until decreased enrollment caused it to close in 1972. For the next fifteen years, it would provide a home for the CCD program and other parish functions until it was sold to the Girl Scouts of America in 1985.

Toward the end of the 1970’s, the Parish Council Planning Committee was asked to assess the need for repairs on all parish buildings. An architect’s report indicated that major work was necessary and that there were structural and electrical problems in the church edifice. After painstaking analysis, the decision was made in 1982 to build a new church, educational and meeting facility on the site of the existing church and the rectory was to be renovated.

In November, 1985, the official period of transition began. When the Girl Scouts purchased the school building they agreed to permit the parish to use the gymnasium for Mass pending the completion of the new church. As the old building was dismantled certain furnishings were preserved: the altar table, the stained glass windows, the stations of the cross and the bell which was part of the first church. Construction proceeded rapidly and on October 2, 1987 the religious education wing was opened and a few weeks later the first Masses were held in the new church.

All the prior planning and research was reflected in the end result. The new church was a brilliant combination of past and present. A soaring roof line and modern circular design created an open, contemporary atmosphere. The stained glass windows from the old church were carefully incorporated into the new frame. The large rose window had found its new home amidst the rafters. The revered altar and tabernacle from the old building were polished as good as new to serve as the altar of reservation at the rear of the church. The stations of the cross were also restored and took their place in their new home. The bell purchased in 1898 was again calling all to come and share in the family of the church.

In 2003 Holy Innocents embarked on an ambitious program to renovate and improve our facilities once again. The number of students in our Religious Education program had increased by 75% since the construction of the original Religious Education wing. A two story addition was added providing new classrooms and meeting space. Our Lady of Pompeii was in need of repairs including restoration of the bell tower and updating of the social hall and church. To accommodate the overflow at many of our Masses, a retractable wall was installed separating the Social Hall and Holy Innocents Church and a new sound system was added. The rectory was also updated with new windows and carpeting.

Taken with a Sony RX100 M3.

Above – The original building.

According to a History section on the center’s website:

Back in 1998, Pleasantville resident Steve Apkon had a vision of a cultural arts and education center inspired by the power of film. Steve and Lisa Apkon purchased the village’s old Rome Theater and, along with Sabrina Coughlin, brought together a group of community members to help bring their dream to life. The 1925 Rome Theater, a beautiful Spanish mission–style historic landmark, was one of the first movie theaters in the area. “The Show Place of Westchester County,” according to the New York Times, it was a working cinema until 1987, when competition with nearby multiplexes forced it to close its doors. Steve, Lisa, and Sabrina formed a nonprofit organization (originally known as The Friends of the Rome Theater), purchased the lot adjacent to the Rome, and launched a $5 million capital campaign to build the JBFC. Brian Ackerman, an expert on art house cinema, joined the JBFC team in 1998 as an advisor in planning and developing the theaters. In 2001 he became its first and only Programming Director. Early on, the campaign received a $1.5 million grant from the Jacob Burns Foundation. The Jacob Burns Film Center received its name in honor of this leadership gift.

The JBFC Theater, with three screens, opened its doors to the public in June 2001. Since then, more than two million people have seen over 5,400 films from around the globe. From the beginning, our pioneering education programs were grounded in 21st-century literacy skills, essential for a generation growing up in a world in which fluency with media and technology is increasingly crucial.

The demand for these programs led to the $20 million Campaign for 21st Century Education to build the Media Arts Lab and further curriculum development. Launched in November 2006, the campaign was successfully completed in December 2008. The Media Arts Lab opened in Jan. 2009.

Another educational initiative, the Fellowship for International Understanding Through Film, was launched with a $1 million planning grant from the late Kathryn W. Davis, a well-known philanthropist, and JBFC supporter. The fellowship program uses film, visual media, and the Internet to create a global community through cross-cultural understanding. The grant was also used to purchase a home at 5 Grant St. in Pleasantville for filmmakers from the international community. The Residence for International Filmmakers, adjacent to the Media Arts Lab, is the third building on the JBFC campus.

In March 2015, in direct response to appeals from our community, the Jacob Burns Film Center began the next step in its evolution by opening two new theaters on the third floor of the Theater complex. The Adam R. Rose and Peter R. McQuillan Theater is the most intimate of our five venues. Along with an updated gallery space, this new construction reflects the success of Phase One of the Building on Success, Fulfilling a Promise to Our Community campaign. Phase Two is slated to be complete in 2016.

From a group of individuals with a dream, the Jacob Burns Film Center has developed into a 47,500 sq. foot, three-building campus located in the heart of Pleasantville, NY.

Below – The Media Arts Lab, which opened in 2009.

Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.

In an earlier post (See: A Walk Through Pleasantville – Overview) I mentioned that I’d been to Pleasantville many times. This is the reason why. It’s a wonderful Café/Pâtisserie very much in the French style. While the café food is great, to me it’s the Pâtisserie that the real star.

According to the Jean Jacques website ‘about’ page:

Jean-Jacques Gabrillargues, founder of Jean-Jacques’ Culinary Creations, was born in Paris, France.

He received his culinary education and training at the Ecole de la Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie de Paris. Before establishing Jean-Jacques’ Culinary Creations in 1988, he was head chef at various renowned restaurants in Paris and New York.

He is a certified executive chef and a member of the American Academy of Chefs.

Jean-Jacques’ Culinary Creations is a family-owned company.

Jean-Jacques’ son, Jens Gabrillargues, and daughter, Jeannette Gabrillargues Chacho, direct all aspects of the retail, wholesale, and catering division.

In 2006, Jean-Jacques’ catering division combined forces with Mary and Vinny Scelsi of Colonial Caterers. Together, they cater many of the weddings and special events.

The Gabrillargues family and their seasoned staff of dedicated professionals are committed to impeccably executing every aspect of your special event.

We’re particularly fond of this place because in addition to the excellent food, the restaurant has an outdoor seating area in Summer so we can take our dog, sit outside and a have a pleasant (and inexpensive) meal.

Taken with a Sony RX100 M3.

I’ve been to Pleasantville many times, but apart from one short walk around the station (See: Chairs at Pleasantville Station) I’ve never taken the time to walk through it and see what I could find. My wife was at her dance class and I was thinking about somewhere different to go for a change and it occurred to me that Pleasantville was nearby, so off I went.

According to Wikipedia:

The settlement of Pleasantville dates back to an Iroquois tribe, who raised corn there and established trading routes crossing through the present-day village before the arrival of Europeans. French Huguenot Isaac See settled here as an agent for Dutch landowner Frederick Philipse in 1695, beginning the modern history of Pleasantville.

By the time of the American Revolution, the population of the growing settlement comprised English, Dutch, and Quakers, most of whom were tenant farmers. During the Revolution, this area was part of the Neutral Ground, where there were conflicting loyalties among the settlers. British spy Major John André passed through present-Pleasantville carrying information from Benedict Arnold at Fort Clinton to the British in New York City. André lost his bearings near the present-day corner of Bedford Road and Choate Lane and was captured. The capture of André is often cited as a key factor in the ultimate victory of the American forces.

As the area’s population grew in the early 19th century, the settlement was called Clark’s Corners, referring to property owned by Henry Clark at the intersection of Broadway and Bedford Road. This area was the village’s original commercial center. In the 1820s, the newly appointed postmaster, Henry Romer, was directed by the Postmaster General’s office in Washington, D.C., to give a name to the post office planned here. Romer’s proposed name, Clarksville, was rejected because another New York post office already had the name. His second choice, Pleasantville, was accepted, and the Pleasantville Post Office opened on February 29, 1828.

A significant change in the development of Pleasantville came with the arrival of the New York Central Railroad and New York and Harlem Railroad in 1846. In the following year, a train station was built near the present corner of Bedford Road and Wheeler Avenue, and as a result the commercial center of Pleasantville shifted to its current location. The older business district at Bedford Road and Broadway is today called the Old Village. The railroad offered a speedier and more frequent connection with New York City—only 70 minutes away by rail, compared with a five-hour overland journey by stagecoach or a two-hour steamboat trip down the Hudson River. The present-day train station, which currently houses a restaurant, was built in 1905 and was moved to its present location in the 1950s to accommodate the lowering of the tracks below grade. Before the addition of the now heavily trafficked station, commuters working in New York City and lower Westchester County were forced to rely on rides from Marc Damon, now famous in Pleasantville for being “The Friendly Coachman”.

According to several sources, Pleasantville was a stop on the Underground Railroad, a network of safe houses for escaped slaves from the South on their way to freedom in the north.

The latter half of the 19th century was a time of rapid growth in Pleasantville. By the 1870s, there were four shoemaking businesses, a shirtmaking business, and a pickle factory. The first newspaper to serve the village, The Pleasantville Pioneer, was launched at about 1886. The village’s numerous small farms and orchards began to be subdivided for a wave of solid foursquare and Victorian houses built for a growing middle class. The 1890s saw the establishment of a police department, volunteer fire department, and a library system. Pleasantville was incorporated as a village on March 16, 1897.

In the following years, Pleasantville quickly developed into a modern suburb of New York, with a large number of workers commuting between the village and the metropolis on what is now the Metro-North Railroad’s Harlem Line. During the first two decades of the 20th century, roads were paved for the first time, water mains were installed, and electrical wires brought power to the village’s houses. Other improvements during the first half of the 20th century include the construction of Soldiers and Sailors Field in 1909, the Saw Mill River Parkway in 1924, the Rome Theater in 1925, Memorial Plaza in 1930, Parkway Field in 1930, and Nannahagen Park in 1937 (the adjacent village pool was completed two years later). By the time of World War II, the village had taken on the appearance that it bears today.

Pleasantville merits interest for its literary history. Playwright Lillian Hellman (The Children’s Hour, The Little Foxes) bought Hardscrabble Farm on the western outskirts of Pleasantville and lived there in the 1940s and 1950s. For many years author Dashiell Hammett (The Thin Man, The Maltese Falcon), with whom Hellman was romantically involved, lived and worked at Hardscrabble Farm. DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace, co-founders of Reader’s Digest, made Pleasantville their headquarters in 1922, using a converted garage and pony shed on Eastview Avenue as their office and later building a home and larger office space on adjacent property. Subsequently, the Digest held office space in several buildings throughout Pleasantville, including the present-day Village Hall at Bedford Road and Wheeler Avenue and, diagonally opposite, the bank building currently occupied by Chase. Reader’s Digest moved its headquarters to nearby Chappaqua in 1939, but retained its Pleasantville post office box, thus making the name of the village familiar to millions of Reader’s Digest subscribers around the world. Pleasantville is also the home of Joseph Wallace, writer of the novel Diamond Ruby. Today Pleasantville is home to many novelists, editors, and writers, who find its easygoing charm and proximity to New York an attractive combination.

Pleasantville’s reputation as a cultural center was enhanced in 2001 with the opening of the nonprofit Jacob Burns Film Center in the landmark Rome Theater, a Spanish mission-style building and one of the first movie theaters in Westchester County. The Burns Center is dedicated to presenting independent, documentary, and world cinema. Guest speakers at the Burns Center have included Jerry Lewis, Woody Allen, Jonathan Demme, Robert Klein, Oliver Stone, Stephen King, Rob Lowe and numerous other notable filmmakers and actors.

Taken with a Sony RX100 M3.