Visiting Saint Paul's Chapel

On Broadway, between Fulton and Vesey Sts

Belonging to the Trinity Church parish, this small chapel opposite the World Trade Center site is the oldest public building in continuous use in Manhattan. In the weeks following the attacks of September 11, 2001, it served as an aid station for rescue workers and a pilgrimage site for mourners. That history is recounted in the new permanent exhibit "Unwavering Spirit: Hope and Healing at Ground Zero."

A Bit of History
Completed in 1766, St. Paul's Chapel resembles the Church of St.-Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, London. That is no coincidence: its architect, Thomas McBean, studied under James Gibbs, who designed St. Martin's. St. Paul's is constructed of native stone: Manhattan mica-schist with quoins of brownstone. In its early days, the church stood in a field outside the city proper. George Washington prayed here in 1789, after his inauguration as the first president of the US. (The inauguration ceremony itself took place at the site of today's Federal Hall.) Washington continued to worship here for the two years that New York City was the nation's capital.

Visit
The chapel stands in its own cemetery, a delightful spot full of trees and 18C tomb­stones, most of which are cracker-thin and illegible due to age. The Bell of Hope standing in front of the chapel entrance is a gift to New Yorkers from the Lord Mayor of the City of London on the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. It was cast in the same foundry as the Liberty Bell and Big Ben.

Inside the Georgian chapel, notice the woodwork, carving and door hinges; all were handmade under the direction of master craftsman Andrew Gautier. The ornamental design over the altar is the work of Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the French architect who designed the city of Washington, DC. Above George Washington's pew in the north aisle hangs an 18C oil painting of the Great Seal of the US, which was adopted in 1782. The elegant interior is visually overwhelmed, however, with the profusion of Ground Zero paraphernalia making up the Unwavering Spirit exhibit. Handmade banners, letters to missing relatives, photographs and documentary oral history stations surround the pews, an evocative re-creation of how the chapel looked and felt in the emotionally wrenching days following the attacks.

Open year-round Mon-Sat 10am-6pm, Sun9am-4pm. Closed major holidays.

212-233-4164
www.saintpaulschapel.org.