| Trinity Church | |
|---|---|
| Trinity Church NYC | |
 Seen from Wall Street | |
 | |
| 40°42′29″N74°00′44″W / 40.70806°N 74.01222°W /40.70806; -74.01222 | |
| Location | 89Broadway, Manhattan, New York |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Episcopal Church |
| Churchmanship | High Church |
| Website | trinitychurchnyc |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Founded | May 6, 1697; 328 years ago (1697-05-06) |
| Founder | William III of England |
| Dedicated | May 1, 1846 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Architect(s) | Richard Upjohn (church) Frederick Clarke Withers (renovations, altar, and rear addition) |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Years built | 1839–1846[1] 1876–1877 |
| Groundbreaking | June 3, 1841 |
| Completed | 1846 |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | 652 |
| Spire height | 281 feet (86 m) |
| Bells | 23 |
| Administration | |
| Province | Atlantic |
| Diocese | New York |
| Deanery | Manhattan Lower |
| Clergy | |
| Rector | Phillip A. Jackson |
| Vicar | Michael A. Bird |
| Priest(s) | Promise Atelon Mark Bozzuti-Jones Kristin Kaulbach Miles Yein Kim Alfred Loua Jorge Ortiz Matthew A. Welsch Patrick Williams |
| Laity | |
| Director of music | Melissa Attebury |
| Organist(s) | Alcee Chriss III Avi Stein |
| Churchwarden(s) | John G. Talty Sharon J. Hardy |
| Youth ministry coordinator | SK Doyle |
| Sacristan | Scott Smith Emily Smith Dane Miller John Garza |
Trinity Church and Graveyard | |
| Part of | Wall Street Historic District (ID07000063[2]) |
| NRHP reference No. | 76001252 |
| NYSRHP No. | 06101.001779 |
| NYCL No. | 0048 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | December 8, 1976[5] |
| Designated NHL | December 8, 1976[6] |
| Designated CP | February 20, 2007 |
| Designated NYSRHP | June 23, 1980[3] |
| Designated NYCL | August 16, 1966[4] |
Trinity Church is a historicparish in theEpiscopal Diocese of New York. The church is located at 89Broadway oppositeWall Street, in theFinancial District ofLower Manhattan inNew York City. Known for its centuries of history, prominent location, distinguished architecture and bountiful endowment,[7] Trinity's congregation is said to be "high church", its activities based on the traditions of theEpiscopal Church and the worldwideAnglican Communion in missionary outreach, and fellowship. In addition to its main church, Trinity parish maintains twochapels:St. Paul's Chapel, also in Lower Manhattan, and theChapel of St. Cornelius the Centurion onGovernors Island.[8] TheChurch of the Intercession, theTrinity Chapel Complex and many other of Manhattan's Episcopal congregations were once part of Trinity parish.Columbia University was founded on the church's grounds as King's College in 1754.[9]
The current church building is the third to be constructed for the parish, and was designed byRichard Upjohn in the Gothic Revival style. Trinity's first church was a single-story rectangular structure with tall steeple facing theHudson River, which was constructed in 1698 and destroyed in theGreat New York City Fire of 1776. After using St. Paul's Chapel, the parish's second church was built in the present location facing Wall Street and wasconsecrated in 1790. The third and current church was erected from 1839 to 1846 and was thetallest building in the United States until 1869, as well as thetallest in New York City until 1890. In 1876–1877 areredos and altar were erected in memory ofWilliam Backhouse Astor Sr., to the designs of architectFrederick Clarke Withers, who extended the rear.
The church is adjacent to theTrinity Churchyard, a burial ground, one of three used by the parish. Besides its church and two chapels, Trinity manages real estate properties with a combined worth of over $6 billion as of 2019[update]. Trinity's main church building is aNational Historic Landmark as well as aNew York City designated landmark. It is also a contributing property to theWall Street Historic District, a NRHP district created in 2007.[2]
In 1696,Governor Benjamin Fletcher approved the purchase of land inLower Manhattan by theChurch of England community for construction of a new church. The parish received its charter fromKing William III on May 6, 1697. Its land grant specified an annual rent of 60 bushels of wheat.[10] The first rector wasWilliam Vesey (for whom nearbyVesey Street is named), a protégé ofIncrease Mather, who served for 49 years until his death in 1746.
The first Trinity Church building, a modest rectangular structure with agambrel roof and small porch, was constructed in 1698, onWall Street, facing theHudson River. The land on which it was built was formerly a formal garden and then a burial ground.[11][12][13] It was built because in 1696, members of theChurch of England (Anglicans) protested to obtain a "charter granting the church legal status" in New York City. According to historical records,Captain William Kidd lent the runner and tackle from his ship for hoisting the stones.[14][15]
Anne, Queen of England, increased the parish's land holdings to 215 acres (870,000 m2) in 1705. Later, in 1709, William Huddleston foundedTrinity School as theCharity School of the church, and classes were originally held in the steeple of the church. In 1754, King's College (nowColumbia University) was chartered byKing George II of Great Britain, and instruction began with eight students in a school building near the church.
During theAmerican Revolutionary War the city became the British military and political base of operations in North America, following the departure of GeneralGeorge Washington and theContinental Army shortly afterBattle of Long Island and subsequent local defeats. Under British occupation clergy were required to beLoyalists, while the parishioners included some members of the revolutionaryNew York Provincial Congress, as well as theFirst andSecond Continental Congresses.
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The church was destroyed in theGreat New York City Fire of 1776, which started in the Fighting Cocks Tavern, destroying between 400 and 500 buildings and houses, and leaving thousands of New Yorkers homeless. Six days later, most of the city's volunteer firemen followed General Washington north. Rev.Charles Inglis served throughout the war and then fled to Nova Scotia at the war's end.[16]
TheRev. Samuel Provoost was appointed Rector of Trinity (1784–1800) in 1784, and the New York State Legislature ratified the charter of Trinity Church, deleting the provision that asserted its loyalty to the King of England.Whig patriots were appointed as vestrymen. In 1787, Provoost was consecrated as the first Bishop of the newly formed Diocese of New York. Following his 1789 inauguration at Federal Hall, George Washington attended a service of thanksgiving, presided over by Bishop Provoost, atSt. Paul's Chapel, a chapel of the Parish of Trinity Church. He continued to attend services there until the second Trinity Church was finished in 1790. St. Paul's Chapel is currently part of the Parish of Trinity Church and is the oldest public building in continuous use in New York City.
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Construction on the second Trinity Church building began in 1788; it was consecrated in 1790. St. Paul's Chapel was used while the second Trinity Church was being built.
The second Trinity Church was built facing Wall Street; it was 200 feet tall, and longer and wider than its predecessor. Building a bigger church was beneficial because the population of New York City was expanding. The church was torn down after being weakened by severe snows during the winter of 1838–39.
The second Trinity Church was politically significant because President Washington and members of his government often worshiped there. Additional notable parishioners includedJohn Jay andAlexander Hamilton.[17]
_-_Trinity_Church%2c_Manhattan%2c_and_surroundings.jpg)
The third and current Trinity Church began construction in 1839 and was finished in 1846.[1] When the Episcopal Bishop of New York consecrated Trinity Church onAscension Day (May 1) 1846, its soaringGothic Revival spire, surmounted by a gilded cross, dominated the skyline of lower Manhattan. Trinity was a welcoming beacon for ships sailing intoNew York Harbor.
In 1843, Trinity Church's expanding parish was divided due to the burgeoning cityscape and to better serve the needs of its parishioners. The newly formed parish would buildGrace Church, to the north on Broadway at 10th street, while the original parish would re-build Trinity Church, the structure that stands today. Both Grace and Trinity Churches were completed and consecrated in 1846.
Trinity Church held the title oftallest building in the United States until 1869, when it was surpassed bySt. Michael's Church, Old Town, Chicago. Trinity continued to be the tallest in New York City, with its 281-foot (86 m) spire and cross, until it was surpassed in 1890 by theNew York World Building.[18]
In 1876–1877, areredos and altar were erected in memory ofWilliam Backhouse Astor, Sr., to the designs of architectFrederick Clarke Withers. As the chancel was rearranged, the vestry voted for a one-story rear extension with rooms for the clergy, choir, and a mortuary chapel.[19] The altarpiece was restored as part of the church's 21st-century renovation.[20]
On July 10, 1976,Queen Elizabeth II andPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, visited Trinity Church. Vestrymen presented the Queen with a symbolic "back rent" of 279peppercorns.
Inspiration, Please!, a game show aired on Odyssey Network (nowHallmark Channel), taped at Trinity Church in 1995.[21]
Following theSeptember 11 attacks, Trinity organized respite services atSt. Paul's Chapel for first responders and volunteers at Ground Zero, providing meals, medical care, spiritual services, and a place of rest.[22] Memorial items such as cards, banners, clothing, photos, jewelry, stuffed animals, and more were left at St. Paul's in the aftermath of the attacks to commemorate those who died. Some of these materials and some of the chapel pews were donated to theNational September 11 Memorial and Museum.[23]
Falling wreckage knocked over a giantsycamore tree that had stood for nearly a century in the churchyard of St. Paul's. SculptorSteve Tobin used its roots as the base for a bronze sculpture titledTrinity Root, which stood in front of Trinity Church at the corner ofWall Street andBroadway until December 2015, when it was moved by the church to its conference center in Connecticut. The move was controversial as it damaged the sculpture, which was later repaired, and the artist objected to its relocation.[24]
Trinity is located nearZuccotti Park, the location of theOccupy Wall Street protests. It offered both moral and practical support to the demonstrators but balked when protesters demanded an encampment on church-owned land calledLentSpace, adjoiningJuan Pablo Duarte Square in the neighborhood ofHudson Square. The church hierarchy were criticized by others within the Anglican movement, most notably ArchbishopDesmond Tutu.[25] On December 17, 2011, occupiers and a few clergy attempted to occupy LentSpace, which is surrounded by achain-link fence. After demonstrating in Duarte Park and marching on the streets surrounding the park, occupiers climbed over[26] and under the fence. Police responded by arresting about 50 demonstrators, including at least three Episcopal clergymen and a Roman Catholic nun.[27]
The third and present Trinity Church building was built in 1846 and designed by architectRichard Upjohn in the Gothic Revival style.[28][29] In 1976, theUnited States Department of the Interior designated Trinity Church aNational Historic Landmark because of its architectural significance and its place within the history of New York City.[6][30][31]
In 2018, the church began a comprehensive renovation to make the building more accessible and comfortable for worshippers, and to restore historic elements like stained glass windows, clerestory windows, and interior walls.[32] The renovation, approved by theNew York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in January 2018,[33] was designed byMBB Architects.[34]
According toTraditional Building magazine, the building "had been added to and altered through the decades in ways that compromised the original architecture, actions that prompted a new master plan and an enormous six-year renovation, restoration, and rejuvenation led by [...] MBB Architects that brings the edifice back to its original glory and transforms it for 21st-century worship."[35] Furthermore, "The building, which had suffered from deferred maintenance for decades, was systematically pieced back together with restored architecture and ornament, insulated walls and ceilings, new clerestory windows, an accessible chancel with a modified altar and altarpiece, a new vestry room, reimagined sacristy and choir rooms, three new organs, new interior and exterior lighting, and concealed audio-visual equipment for the broadcast of services and concerts."[35] This restoration effort was recognized in 2022 with a Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award from the New York Landmarks Conservancy.[36] The award program said, "These results have enhanced the worship experience and made the church more welcoming while improving the landmark's structure, accessibility, and resilience."[37]
The tower of Trinity Church currently contains 23bells, the heaviest of which weighs 27 U.S.hundredweight (2,700 pounds [1,200 kg]).
Eight of these bells were cast for the tower of the second church building and were hung for ringing in the Englishchange ringing style. Three more bells were added later. In 1946 these bells were adapted for swing chiming and sounded by electric motors.
A project to install a new ring of 12 additionalchange ringing bells was initially proposed in 2001 but put on hold in the aftermath of the September attacks, which took place three blocks north of the church. This project came to fruition in 2006, thanks to funding from theDill Faulkes Educational Trust. These new bells form the first ring of 12 change-ringing bells ever installed in a church in the United States.[38] The installation work was carried out byTaylors, Eayre and Smith ofLoughborough, England, in September 2006.
In late 2006, the ringing of the bells for bell practice and tuning caused much concern to local residents, some of whose windows and residences are less than 100 feet (30 m) at eye level from the bell tower. The church then built a plywood deck right over the bells and placed shutters on the inside of the bell chamber's lancet windows. With the shutters and the plywood deck closed, the sound of the bells outside the tower is minimal. The shutters, and hatches in the plywood deck, are opened for public ringing.
Public ringing takes place before and after 11:15 a.m. Sunday service and on special occasions, such as 9/11 commemorations, weddings, and ticker-tape parades. Details of the individual bells can be found at "Dove's Guide for Church Bellringers".[39]
Trinity Church has three sets of impressive bronze doors, donated byWilliam Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor in memory of his father,John Jacob Astor III. Conceived byRichard Morris Hunt, they date from 1893 and were produced byKarl Bitter (east door),J. Massey Rhind (south door), andCharles Henry Niehaus (north door). The north and east doors each consists of six panels from Church history or the Bible, and the south door depicts the history of New York in its six panels.[40]
In 2015 Mark Francisco Bozzuti-Jones, a priest at Trinity Church, commissioned Mark Dukes to create the iconOur Lady of Ferguson.[41] In 2022, the church received and installed a new stained-glass window above the main entrance on Broadway. Created by the British stained-glass artist Thomas Denny, the window illustrates both "The Parable of the Talents" and "The Judgment of the Nations" from the gospel according to Matthew.[42]
There are threeburial grounds closely associated with Trinity Church:
Trinity Church, as an Episcopal parish in theAnglican Communion, offers a full schedule of Daily Prayer andEucharist services throughout the week, based on theBook of Common Prayer. It is also available for special occasions, such as weddings and baptisms. In addition to daily worship, Trinity Church provides Christian fellowship and outreach to the community. Sisters of theSociety of Saint Margaret are part of the pastoral care team at Trinity.[43]
Sunday
Monday–Friday
Since 1993, Trinity Church has hosted the graduation ceremonies of theHigh School of Economics and Finance. The school is located onTrinity Place, a few blocks away from the church.
| Rector[44] | Image | Start date | End date |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Vesey | .jpg) | 1697 | 1746 |
| Henry Barclay | .jpg) | 1746 | 1764 |
| Samuel Auchmuty |  | 1764 | 1777 |
| Charles Inglis | | 1777 | 1783 |
| Samuel Provoost |  | 1784 | 1800 |
| Benjamin Moore |  | 1800 | 1816 |
| John Henry Hobart |  | 1816 | 1830 |
| William Berrian | .jpg) | 1830 | 1862 |
| Morgan Dix |  | 1862 | 1908 |
| William Thomas Manning | _1930_18.jpeg) | 1908 | 1921 |
| Caleb Rochford Stetson |  | 1921 | 1932 |
| Frederic Sydney Fleming | 1932 | 1951 | |
| John Heuss | 1952 | 1966 | |
| John Vernon Butler, Jr. | 1966 | 1972 | |
| Robert Parks | 1972 | 1987 | |
| Daniel Paul Matthews | 1987 | 2004 | |
| James H. Cooper | 2004 | 2015 | |
| William Lupfer | 2015 | 2020 | |
| Phillip A. Jackson | 2020 | present |
Trinity Church has a rich music program.[7]Concerts at One has been providing live professional classical and contemporary music for the Wall Street community since 1969, and the church has several organized choirs, featured Sunday mornings onWQXR 105.9 FM in New York City. Trinity presents world-class music programs both in New York City and around the world via high definition video streaming.
The mainstay of Trinity's music program is The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, a professional ensemble that leads liturgical music at Trinity Church and St. Paul's Chapel, presents new-music concerts in New York City, produces recordings, and performs in international tours. The Choir is often joined by the Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Trinity's ensemble of period instrumentalists, and NOVUS NY, Trinity's contemporary music orchestra.
Trinity is also home to a Youth Chorus, Youth Orchestra, Family Choir, Downtown Voices, change bell ringers, and a wide variety of arts programming through Congregational Arts. Visiting choirs from around the world perform at Trinity weekly.
Beginning in the 1780s, the church's claim on 62 acres of Queen Anne's 1705 grant was contested in the courts by descendants of a 17th-century Dutchwoman, Anneke Jans Bogardus, who, it was claimed, held original title to that property. The basis of the lawsuits was that only five of Bogardus' six heirs had conveyed the land to the English crown in 1671.[45][46] Numerous times over the course of six decades, the claimants asserted themselves in court, losing each time. The attempt was even revived in the 20th century. In 1959, theInternal Revenue Service sued over the compensation of the church's property manager, but the church prevailed inStanton v. United States.
Disclosure resulting from a lawsuit filed by a parishioner revealed total assets of about $2 billion as of 2011.[7] Although Trinity Church has sold off much of the land that was part of the royal grant from Queen Anne,[45] it is still one of the largest landowners in New York City with 14 acres of Manhattan real estate including 5.5 million square feet (510,000 m2) of commercial space inHudson Square.[7][47] The parish's annual revenue from its real estate holdings was $158 million in 2011 with net income of $38 million,[7] making it perhaps one of the richest individual parishes in the world.[45] As of 2019[update], Trinity's investment portfolio was worth over $6 billion,[48][49][50] At the end of 2018, the church's totalequity was $8.3 billion, and it had $0.6 million inliabilities.[51]
The institution also owns theTrinity Court Building property, where it formerly housed its offices and preschool. That building was demolished in 2015, and a replacement at 76 Trinity Place was completed in 2020.[52][53] The church was connected to 76 Trinity Place by a footbridge.
Trinity Church owned many tenement-houses in New York City during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[54]
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