History and architecture
John Street Methodist Church is a fine small church with an outstanding Anglo-Italianate facade. The church has remained virtually untouched in the heart of the financial district since it was built over a century ago. This church is notable for its simple dignity, having as a central feature an extremely handsome Palladian window placed directly above the broad main entrance door.
Flanking this doorway are two elongated round-arched windows; the top of the arches of these two windows relate skillfully both in size and height with the Palladian window. The handsome gable enframes a broad, low-arched window, creating over-all proportions of great charm and dignity.
This building is the third Methodist Church in this location and occupies the site of the first church of that denomination over erected in this City. It is strongly associated with the memory of John Wesley's American disciples Philip Embury and Barbara Heck.
The John Street Methodist Church is important as a memorial of the founding of Methodism in New York City and as a small but dignified example of a church building of the Mid-Nineteenth Century. It is the restrained quality of its architectural expression, which endears it to New Yorkers today.
Sources and further reading
This history comes from the Landmarks app’s historical catalog. Names and building uses may reflect the period described.