St. Paul's Chapel
209 Broadway | Financial District | built 1766
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The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1766
St. Paul's Chapel is completed on Broadway, outlasting the fire of 1776
Built between 1764 and 1766, St. Paul's is the oldest surviving church building in Manhattan. Its design is usually credited to Thomas McBean, though some recent scholarship suggests Peter Harrison. The chapel survived the Great Fire of 1776, which destroyed much of the city, including the first Trinity Church.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1769
A porch facing Broadway is added three years after the chapel is finished
Architect Thomas McBean had oriented the chapel toward the Hudson, leaving its back to Broadway. Three years after the building was basically finished, the east porch was added on the Broadway side in response to persistent demands from the busy street. General Richard Montgomery is buried beneath that porch.
“…the east porch was added three years later as a concession to the persistent demands of that busy thoroughfare. General Richard Montgomery is buried beneath the east porch…”
- 1775
Alexander Hamilton drills with a militia in the chapel's yard
Early in the Revolutionary War, a volunteer militia called the Hearts of Oak, made up largely of King's College students, drilled in St. Paul's Chapel's churchyard before classes. Its members included Alexander Hamilton, then a student who would soon join the fighting.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1785
The vestry commissions a painting of the Great Seal that hangs above the spot of Washington's pew
Three years after the Great Seal of the United States was adopted in 1782, St. Paul's vestry commissioned an oil painting of it for the chapel. The artist is unknown. It hangs above the spot where George Washington's box pew once stood; that pew was removed during renovations in the 2010s.
“…painting of the Great Seal of the United States (adopted in 1782), which was commissioned by the vestry in 1785. The artist of the painting is unknown.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1787
The chapel erects the first monument to a Revolutionary War hero
In 1787 the chapel received a monument to Richard Montgomery, sculpted by Jean-Jacques Caffieri, described as the first memorial to a Revolutionary War hero. Pierre L'Enfant designed Glory, a neo-Baroque sculpture that was also installed inside, and the churchyard outside took in burials of the city's most prominent citizens.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1789
George Washington worships at St. Paul's on the day of his inauguration
After taking the oath of office at Federal Hall on April 30, 1789, George Washington went to St. Paul's Chapel to worship. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and a New York City landmark in 1966.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1790
A carved statue of Saint Paul is installed on the chapel
A tulip-poplar wood statue of Saint Paul was mounted on the chapel's Broadway facade in 1790, where it weathered outdoors for more than two centuries. Conservators moved the statue indoors in 2016 to protect it from further deterioration.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1796
A new spire crowns St. Paul's Chapel
Builders added a spire to St. Paul's Chapel between 1794 and 1796, the work of James Crommelin Lawrence, capped with a replica of the ancient Choragic Monument of Lysicrates in Athens. The spire gave the Georgian chapel the silhouette it has kept ever since.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1912
New Yorkers gather at the chapel to remember the Titanic's dead
On April 19, 1912, a memorial service was held at St. Paul's for the people lost when the RMS Titanic sank. The Rev. W. Montague Geer prayed for those who, prepared or not, were suddenly called away in the dark of night.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1925
A missing 1838 chandelier turns up in the attic during the chapel's first big restoration
In July 1925 workers began the first major restoration in the chapel's history, aiming to bring it back to how it looked when Washington worshiped there. A month later they found a crystal chandelier that had been missing since 1838 in the attic. When the church reopened in 1926, all fourteen of its chandeliers were back in place.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 2001
The chapel becomes a refuge for recovery workers at the World Trade Center
Standing just east of the World Trade Center, St. Paul's came through the collapse of the towers structurally sound; a sycamore in the churchyard took much of the falling debris. For nine months afterward the chapel served as a place of rest for recovery workers, with hundreds of volunteers working 12-hour shifts around the clock.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2001
Visitors turn the churchyard fence into a memorial that needs 400 panels
After the September 11 attacks, the fence around St. Paul's grounds became the main place for visitors to leave impromptu memorials, and it soon overflowed with flowers, photographs and teddy bears. Trinity officials set up panels where people could add tributes, expecting to need about 15. In the end they required 400.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2001
Mayor Giuliani gives his farewell speech at the chapel
With the World Trade Center site still smoldering, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani chose St. Paul's Chapel as the setting for his farewell address on December 27, 2001. The chapel had been serving as a rest stop for recovery workers since the attacks.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 2006
A memorial service on the eve of the fifth anniversary draws President Bush, Senator Clinton and two mayors
St. Paul's hosted a memorial service that evening, September 10, 2006. Among those attending were President George W. Bush, Senator Hillary Clinton, George Pataki, and mayors Michael Bloomberg and Rudolph Giuliani.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
Further reading
- St. Paul's ChapelWikipedia
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