Trinity Church (New York City, New York)

 Episcopal Church, NRHP - National Register of Historic Places, Gothic revival (architecture), 1840s construction, historic landmark, 1913_construction

Gothic-revival church originally completed in 1846. This is the third church built on this site. Designed by Richard Upjohn, it was expanded in 1877 by Frederick Clarke Withers, and in 1913, when the All Saints Chapel designed by Thomas Nash was completed.

The Broadway elevation center on the tall central tower - in its day the tallest structure in the city. The entrance is through a grand pointed-arch porch flanked by piers and adorned with a profusion of Gothic ornament including sculpted figures of the twelve apostles and Christ surrounded by angels. The two enormous bronze Astor doors leading into the church were designed by Richard Morris Hunt and executed by sculptor Karl Bitter. Above the porch is an equally grand and somewhat taller pointed-arch window with multiple leaded-glass lights and stone tracery, topped in turn by a clock face set within a diamond-shaped stone frame, and above that, a pair of pointed-arch openings. The tower narrows and rises to an elaborate spire.

The tower's north and south elevations are less elaborate, but each has a clock set within a diamond shape, and two niches with carved figures of saints. West of the tower lies the body of the church, a tall nave flanked by a shorter aisle on either side. The southern elevation is eight bays long, each bay separated from the next by a narrow buttress. The the first-story level each bay has elaborate, leaded stained-glass set within a tall pointed arch; the wall rises to a parapet in the form of a battlement. From the easternmost bay, a 1-story entry porch projects. The upper wall, corresponding to the nave, is similarly divided into bays by narrow buttresses, each bay with a similar elaborate window. This wall also rises to a parapet, but the buttresses rise well above the parapet and are capped with ornamental spires.

Extending south from the southwest corner is the Manning Wing which, though built in 1966, repeats much of the Gothic vocabulary of the church. It includes an arcaded walk that extends around the rear of the church. The church's northern elevation is similar in design to the southern elevation, but it has at its rear the addition of All Saints Chapel, which also repeats much of the original design of the church.

Trinity Church has a long and colorful history. In 1696, Governor Benjamin Fletcher approved the purchase of land in Lower Manhattan by the Anglican community for construction of a new church. The parish received its charter from King William III of England on May 6, 1697. Its land grant specified an annual rent of one peppercorn due to the English crown.

The first Trinity Church was constructed in 1698. According to historical records, the infamous privateer Captain William Kidd lent the runner and tackle from his ship for hoisting the stones. The church was destroyed in the Great New York City Fire of 1776 following the capture of the city by the British during the Battle of Long Island.

Construction on the second Trinity Church building began in 1788; it was consecrated in 1790. The structure was torn down after being weakened by severe snows during the winter of 1838–39.

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 build Grace Church, to the north on Broadway at 10th street, while original parish would re-build the Trinity Church that stands today. Both Grace and Trinity Churches were completed and consecrated in 1846.

There are three burial grounds closely associated with Trinity Church. The first Trinity Churchyard, at Wall Street and Broadway, in which are interred Alexander Hamilton, William Bradford, Robert Fulton, Captain James Lawrence and Albert Gallatin. The second is Trinity Church Cemetery and Mausoleum on Riverside Drive at 155th Street, formerly the location of John James Audubon's estate, in which are interred John James Audubon, Alfred Tennyson Dickens, John Jacob Astor, and Clement Clarke Moore. The third is the Churchyard of St. Paul's Chapel.

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