First Presbyterian Church of Manhattan (New York City, New York)

 church, presbyterianism

The First Presbyterian Church in the Greenwich Village is a Gothic-revival design by English architect Joseph C. Wells. The cornerstone was laid in 1844, and the church was opened for worship in January, 1846. This is one of the oldest congregations of Presbyterian denomination in Manhattan and was formed in 1716, with its first location on Wall Street. The church moved uptown following the Great Fire of 1835. A south transept was added to the new church in 1893, designed by McKim, Mead & White. First Presbyterian has three Tiffany windows, and a number by a D. Maitland Armstrong who worked in the same style. The chancel was designed by Grosvenor Atterbury.

In 1918, the Madison Square Presbyterian Church and the University Place Presbyterian Church were merged with the First Presbyterian Church, and in 1919 this church was lengthened to accommodate these congregations with the addition of a new chancel. It is said that the organ, wainscotting, and pews from the former Madison Square Presbyterian Church were given to this church.

The most conspicuous feature of this brownstone structure is the great tower. One enters the nave through an arched doorway decorated with crockets and finials. Above this, on either side, are niches. Filling the mid-height of the tower are three very wide pointed-arch windows, joined at their heads by small pointed arches. A crenelated parapet terminates the tower, with four corner piers rising above it, effectively crowned with crocketed finials.

“Old First” has a rich tradition of being at the forefront of religious and social activism, often with controversy.

www.fpcnyc.org/
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