From the NYC AGO NYC Organ Project: The Swedish Seamen's Church (Svenska Kyrkan) was established on Water Street in 1873 to serve seafarers and resident Scandinavians. Located for many years at 5 Water Street, a new building at 6 Water Street was dedicated on September 25, 1927 for the Swedish Lutheran Seamen's Home. In 1978, the organization purchased the former New York Bible Society building at 5 East 48th Street, built in 1871 as one of a row of brownstones and altered in 1921 by architect Wilfred E. Anthony to its present neo-Gothic form. The Swedish Church retrofitted the space to include a comfortable common room and café in which guests can relax. The simple and serene chapel, located a floor above the common room, offers Högmässa ("high mass") each Sunday, and is used for concerts by Swedish musicians.