Abraham Beshewate arrived in time to deliever the Christmas liturgy in 1889. The Melkites were meeting in the basement of St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church on Barclay Street. Although Beshewate expended a great of energy in trying to raise money to fit out a chapel on Washington Street, he was unsuccessful, and services continued to be held at St. Peter's. Finally, in 1920, a successful merchant named George Bardwil, donated money to convert a tenement at 103 Washington Street to St. George Syrian Catholic Church. The facade of that building still stands and is landmarked by the City of New York.