Welcome back to National Parks and other public lands with T!
George Washington Worshipped Here►
Trinity Church on Broadway and Wall Street is the seat of one of America’s oldest parishes. The current building is the third church to occupy the site. It dates back to 1846.
The Anglicans built the first Trinity Church in 1698 and then Queen Anne gave 215 acres of land to the parish in 1705. As a result, today’s Trinity Church is one of the country’s wealthiest parishes. Annual revenue from its NYC real estate holdings is over $150 million.
The Great Fire of 1776 in NYC destroyed the first Trinity Church building. This fire burned 500 structures in the city just as the Revolutionary War broke out. In 1784, the state of New York revised the church’s charter so that it was no longer loyal to the British monarchy.
Trinity rebuilt in 1790. Saint Paul’s at Vesey Street, which is part of the Trinity parish, served the congregation while the new church was under construction. George Washington and Alexander Hamilton attended services there. Hamilton and his wife Eliza Schuyler Hamilton are buried in the adjoining cemetery.
This church was demolished when it was damaged by heavy snows in 1839. The current church replaced it and is still active in the Episcopalian Diocese of New York. It provided refuge for people during the 9-11 attacks and its satellite chapel of Saint Paul’s served as a staging area during the subsequent rescue operations.
Location: 75 Broadway, New York, NY 10006
Designation: National Historic Landmark
Date established/designated: December 8, 1976
Date of my visit: March 18, 2016
Love the church and the little cemetery. I’ve been to NY many times, but would love to explore more of its churches.
You know, I never really went into NYC’s historic churches until I visited Europe and stood inside some iconic cathedrals. I walked past Trinity Church every day one summer when I was a kid on an internship and never thought to go in.
We loved our visit to this church and exploring the historical cemetery. Only fitting that it would provide safe harbour to the 911 survivors. Stay well T. Allan
Thanks Allan!
I would love to see this!
Come visit when covid is gone 🙂
I remember visiting the church years ago. It is certainly steeped in American history. I did note that it waited to declare its loyalty until after the Revolutionary War had ended. 🙂 –Curt
Yes, well they were beholden to the crown for their prosperity and probably had both loyalists and patriots in the congregation. 🙂
Thanks for the history and details. We visited there two years ago, but had no idea of the wealth of the congregation.
Yes, the church is fairly simple inside…you wouldn’t know it to look at it 🙂
I swear I think we keep missing one another at cultural sites around the City. I was downtown at the same time.
Small world! 🙂