TRINITY WALL STREET
Located at the head of Wall Street since 1697, Trinity Church has been at the center of
life in lower Manhattan since before the nation was formed. Today, the organization has
grown to include many important areas of focus and is collectively known as Trinity Wall
Street. Most importantly, Trinity Wall Street is an Episcopal parish offering daily
worship services and faith formation programs at Trinity Church, St. Paul’s Chapel, and
online at trinitywallstreet.org.
In addition, Trinity Wall Street includes Trinity Grants, providing $72 million in funding
to 85 countries since 1972; St. Margaret’s House, providing subsidized housing to the
elderly and disabled; Trinity Preschool; Trinity Institute, an annual theological
conference; an extensive arts program presenting more than 100 concerts each year
through Concerts at One, the Trinity Choir, the Trinity Wall Street Choristers, and the
Downtown Youth Chorus; Trinity Church Cemetery and Mausoleum, the only active
cemetery in New York City; and Trinity Real Estate, which manages the parish’s six
million square feet of commercial real estate in lower Manhattan.
Trinity Church
Since its founding by charter of King William III of England in 1697, the Parish of
Trinity Church has played a pivotal role in the religious life of New York City and the
earliest days of our nation. Trinity has ministered to the needs of the poor and
disadvantaged since the 1700s when it started the city’s first ministry to African-
Americans, both enslaved and free. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Trinity offered
special ministries to meet the needs and hopes of successive waves of immigrants who
poured into New York. Throughout the years, the parish has started, endowed, or aided
churches, schools, hospitals, and other institutions around the world.
There have been three Trinity Church buildings at Broadway and Wall Street. The
present Trinity Church, designed by Richard Upjohn and consecrated in1846, is
considered a classic example of Gothic Revival architecture and is a National Historic
Landmark. The church features some of the earliest examples of stained glass in the
United States, as well as Astor family commissions including a marble altar and reredos
and beautiful bronze doors with sculpted reliefs. The original burial ground at Trinity
Church includes the graves and memorials of many historic figures, including Alexander
Hamilton, William Bradford, Robert Fulton, and Albert Gallatin. The churchyard of St.
Paul's Chapel, at Broadway and Fulton, also has many historic tombstones.
St. Paul’s Chapel
St. Paul's Chapel opened for worship on October 30, 1766 as part of the Parish of Trinity
Church. Standing in a field some distance from the growing port city to the south, it was
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built as a "chapel-of-ease" for parishioners living on the “northern outskirts" of town
beyond the city wall. Master builder Andrew Gautier adapted its design from a pattern
book by James Gibbs, the British architect of St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London. A
perfect example of Georgian Classic-Revival style, St. Paul's is constructed of Manhattan
mica-schist with brownstone quoins. Its woodwork, carving, and door hinges are
handmade. Today, St. Paul's Chapel is Manhattan's oldest public building in continuous
use, and its remaining colonial church.
On April 30, 1789, George Washington took the oath of office to become the first
President of the United States. Afterward, he made his way from Federal Hall on Wall
Street to St. Paul’s Chapel where he worshipped. When Trinity was destroyed in New
York’s Great Fire in 1776, St. Paul’s miraculously survived. Many parishioners,
including Washington, made St. Paul’s their home until the second Trinity Church
opened.
St. Paul’s Chapel is now known as “the little chapel that stood” because it survived a
second brush with destruction on September 11, 2001, as the World Trade Center
buildings collapsed just across the street. Amid the destruction, one of the giant sycamore
trees in the churchyard fell, protecting the Chapel. Other than dust and debris there was
no other damage.
Because of its proximity to Ground Zero, St. Paul’s became the site of an extraordinary,
round-the-clock relief ministry to the more than 14,000 volunteers offering assistance in
the recovery effort. The Chapel was a place of refuge, providing food, medical attention,
space to rest, and companionship to hundreds of rescue workers.
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