Marvelous Grace Church a treasure of New York City stands before you. Its history stretches back to 1808. Then a simpler structure existed at Broadway and Rector Street. This original Grace Church served Lower Manhattan. It even had a charity school for girls and one for boys.
But as New York City boomed Grace Church needed to move. The fourth rector Thomas House Taylor led this uptown relocation. By 1843 land was purchased. This was once Henry Brevoort’s apple orchard. The chosen architect was the young James Renwick Jr. His previous work was limited. The Bowling Green Fountain was his only major project.
Renwick’s design for Grace Church is a stunning French Gothic Revival style. Sing Sing marble was used. Prison workers from Sing Sing cut the stone. Records even detail the cost of the altar cloth embroidery. The original spire was wood. Later under rector Henry Codman Potter it was replaced by a marble one. The interior is lath and plaster.
Inside the church the magnificent stained-glass east window reigns. Clayton and Bell created this masterpiece in 1878. It depicts prophets apostles martyrs and all the world. Other windows are by Henry Holiday. The stunning reredos is French and Italian marble and Caen stone. It shows the four Gospel writers flanking the risen Christ. Renwick designed it. Ellin & Kitson executed the design in 1878. The choir furniture came in 1903. This was after a chancel lengthening by Heins and La Farge. A Roman terra-cotta urn sits on the lawn. It dates from around the time of Emperor Nero.
For a generation Grace Church was the most fashionable church in New York. Matthew Hale Smith said in 1869 to be married or buried there was the height of felicity. This magnificent church is a testament to faith. Its enduring beauty is a landmark in New York City’s history.