History and architecture
The present Trinity Church, completed in 1846, is the third edifice of this Episcopal parish, founded in 1697, to stand on this prominent site, closing the vista at the end of Wall Street. The present Church is one of the monuments of the Gothic Revival and was executed in brownstone by the noted ecclesiastical. architect Richard Upjohn in a free rendering of English Gothic.
Its spire, once the highest structure on the New York skyline, is the most notable feature of the Church. The tower itself is given a marvelous appearance of solidity, being double-buttressed at each corner by stone buttresses which diminish in depth as the tower rises. Four ornate pinnacles at the Corners with flying buttresses behind them make a skillful transition from the square tower to the handsome octagonal spire.
The side aisles are expressively designed with large, pointed windows separated by buttresses. Piers terminating in pinnacles separate the great windows in the upper part of the nave or clerestory. The sculptured bronze doors at the east end of the Church, in the north and south portals and in the main entrance at the base of the tower are the work of noted American sculptors and are among the finest of their kind in this country.
The first Trinity Church was burned in the Great Fire of 1776, the second Church was razed in 1839 because of structural weakness.
The great historical associations of Trinity Church are best exemplified in the stories told by the headstones and monuments of the handsome, old burying ground which surrounds the Church.
It holds the remains of many historical persons, among whom are Alexander Hamilton, Captain James Lawrence, Robert Fulton, Albert Gallatin, and Francis Lewis the only signer of the Declaration of Independence to be buried in Manhattan.
Sources and further reading
This history comes from the Landmarks app’s historical catalog. Names and building uses may reflect the period described.