First Presbyterian Church (Manhattan)
Encyclopedia
The First Presbyterian Church, known as "Old First", located at 48 Fifth Avenue
between West 11th and 12th Streets in the Greenwich Village
neighborhood of Manhattan
, New York City
was built in 1844-6, and designed by Joseph C. Wells in the Gothic Revival style
. The south transept
of the building was added in 1893-4, and was designed by the firm of McKim, Mead & White. The church complex, which includes a parish house – now referred to as the "South Wing" – on West 11th Street and a church house on West 12th Street designed by Edgar Tafel
, is located within the Greenwich Village Historic District.
between Broadway
and Nassau Street
. This building was rebuilt twice, in 1748 and 1810, and was subsequently taken down and put up again in Jersey City, New Jersey
. During its time in its original downtown location, the church spun-off a number of congregations to elsewhere in Manhattan, including Brick Presbyterian in 1767, Rutgers Presbyterian
in 1798, and Cedar Street Presbyterian
in 1808. The latter went on to become the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church
.
First Presbyterian's original pastor was James Anderson, who had been preaching in New York to the small-but-growing Scots population, whose influence increasd with the appointment of a number of Scotsmen to be Governors of the New York colony. During the American Revolution
, the church became known as the "Church of Patriots" due to many from its congregation being involved in the effort against Great Britain, their dissatisfaction partly coming about because the King had consistently refused to issue the Church a charter in 1766 and afterwards, claiming a duty to uphold the exclusive rights of the Church of England, which was represented in New York by Trinity Church. First Presbyterian's pastor from 1765-1811, John Rodgers, had to leave the city during the British occupation because of his activities. Such activities had their consequences: authorities conficated the church, along with other churches associated with the Patriot movement, as barracks for British troops, stables for their horses, warehouses and prisons.
Later, during the early 19th-century, the church took a more conservative approach, being aligned with the "Old School", centered on Princeton Theological Seminary
, which disapproved of evangelism
and the revival movement, and did not openly oppose slavery
.
The congregation relocated to its present site in 1846 with the encouragement of James Lenox
, one of the richest men in the city, and an elder of the congregation.
In 1918, First Presbyterian merged with the Presbyterian churches of Madison Square
and University Place, forming what was then known as "“The First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York, Founded 1716 – Old First, University Place and Madison Square Foundation," but referred to colloquially as "New York’s Presbyterian cathedral." The newly merged congregation provided a pulpit for the popular preaching of Harry Emerson Fosdick
, one of the leading progressive church voices of the time, who was actually a Baptist
. The increased size of the congregation necessitated the lengthing of the church in 1919, with the addition of a chancel. Fosdick's preaching helped the congregation continue to grow: by 1924, it had reached a peak of 1,800 members.
of Oxford University as a model. Beginning in 1893, the same year that McKim, Mead and White began construction of the church's south transept, the church installed stained glass windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany
, Francis Lathrop
, D. Maitland Armstrong and Charles Lamb. These were restored in 1988. With the addition of the chancel and its new stained blue glass rose window in 1919, the reredos
, originally painted by Taber Sears in 1917, was moved to the new chancel's western wall, and was repainted.
The church complex, which is surrounded by a fence, party of wood and partly of cast-iron, also includes a stone Gothic Revival parish house or "South Wing" at 7 West 11th Street, which includes the Alexander Chapel added in 1937, with stained glass windows on Scottish themes. The interiors of the rooms in the South Wing were significantly renovated and remodeled in the 1990s, and many of the rooms are available for rental. On the north side of the complex is the Church House at 12 West 12th Street, the Mellin Macnab Building, built in 1958-60, and designed by Edgar Tafel
, who apprenticed under Frank Lloyd Wright
. Tafel's design combined Prairie School
influences with the Gothic style of the sanctuary, and has been called "a fine example of contemporary design ... used intelligently, to bring a much needed contemporary building into harmony with a neighborhood." Tafel's design won an award from the Fifth Avenue Association.
Fifth Avenue (Manhattan)
Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the center of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. The section of Fifth Avenue that crosses Midtown Manhattan, especially that between 49th Street and 60th Street, is lined with prestigious shops and is consistently ranked among...
between West 11th and 12th Streets in the Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
neighborhood of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
was built in 1844-6, and designed by Joseph C. Wells in the Gothic Revival style
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
. The south transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
of the building was added in 1893-4, and was designed by the firm of McKim, Mead & White. The church complex, which includes a parish house – now referred to as the "South Wing" – on West 11th Street and a church house on West 12th Street designed by Edgar Tafel
Edgar Tafel
Edgar A. Tafel was an American architect, best known as a disciple of Frank Lloyd Wright.-Early life and career:Tafel was born in New York City to Russian Jewish immigrants, and moved to New Jersey with his...
, is located within the Greenwich Village Historic District.
History
The First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York was founded in 1716, and held its first services in 1719 at its sanctuary at 10 Wall StreetWall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
between Broadway
Broadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
and Nassau Street
Nassau Street (Manhattan)
Nassau Street is a street in the Financial District of the New York City borough of Manhattan, located near Pace University and New York City Hall. It starts at Wall Street and runs north to Frankfort Street at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, lying one block east of Broadway and east of Park Row...
. This building was rebuilt twice, in 1748 and 1810, and was subsequently taken down and put up again in Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
. During its time in its original downtown location, the church spun-off a number of congregations to elsewhere in Manhattan, including Brick Presbyterian in 1767, Rutgers Presbyterian
Rutgers Presbyterian Church
Rutgers Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian house of worship in New York City.The church's origins date to 1798 in Lower Manhattan. The first church building was erected on a plot of ground donated by Colonel Henry Rutgers at the corner of what would become Henry Street and Rutgers Street....
in 1798, and Cedar Street Presbyterian
Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church
The Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church is a large congregation of the Presbyterian Church . The church was founded in 1808 as the Cedar Street Presbyterian Church and has been located on Fifth Avenue at 55th Street in midtown Manhattan since 1875. It has approximately 3,250 members from a variety...
in 1808. The latter went on to become the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church
Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church
The Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church is a large congregation of the Presbyterian Church . The church was founded in 1808 as the Cedar Street Presbyterian Church and has been located on Fifth Avenue at 55th Street in midtown Manhattan since 1875. It has approximately 3,250 members from a variety...
.
First Presbyterian's original pastor was James Anderson, who had been preaching in New York to the small-but-growing Scots population, whose influence increasd with the appointment of a number of Scotsmen to be Governors of the New York colony. During the American Revolution
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, the church became known as the "Church of Patriots" due to many from its congregation being involved in the effort against Great Britain, their dissatisfaction partly coming about because the King had consistently refused to issue the Church a charter in 1766 and afterwards, claiming a duty to uphold the exclusive rights of the Church of England, which was represented in New York by Trinity Church. First Presbyterian's pastor from 1765-1811, John Rodgers, had to leave the city during the British occupation because of his activities. Such activities had their consequences: authorities conficated the church, along with other churches associated with the Patriot movement, as barracks for British troops, stables for their horses, warehouses and prisons.
Later, during the early 19th-century, the church took a more conservative approach, being aligned with the "Old School", centered on Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary is a theological seminary of the Presbyterian Church located in the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey in the United States...
, which disapproved of evangelism
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
and the revival movement, and did not openly oppose slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
.
The congregation relocated to its present site in 1846 with the encouragement of James Lenox
James Lenox
James Lenox was an American bibliophile and philanthropist. His collection of paintings and books eventually became known as the Lenox Library and later became part of the New York Public Library in 1895.-Biography:...
, one of the richest men in the city, and an elder of the congregation.
In 1918, First Presbyterian merged with the Presbyterian churches of Madison Square
Madison Square Presbyterian Church, New York City (1906)
Madison Square Presbyterian Church was a Presbyterian church in Manhattan, New York City, located on Madison Square Park at the northeast corner of East 24th Street and Madison Avenue. It was designed by Stanford White in a High Renaissance architectural style, with a prominent central dome over a...
and University Place, forming what was then known as "“The First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York, Founded 1716 – Old First, University Place and Madison Square Foundation," but referred to colloquially as "New York’s Presbyterian cathedral." The newly merged congregation provided a pulpit for the popular preaching of Harry Emerson Fosdick
Harry Emerson Fosdick
Harry Emerson Fosdick was an American clergyman. He was born in Buffalo, New York. He graduated from Colgate University in 1900, and Union Theological Seminary in 1904. While attending Colgate University he joined the Delta Upsilon Fraternity. He was ordained a Baptist minister in 1903 at the...
, one of the leading progressive church voices of the time, who was actually a Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
. The increased size of the congregation necessitated the lengthing of the church in 1919, with the addition of a chancel. Fosdick's preaching helped the congregation continue to grow: by 1924, it had reached a peak of 1,800 members.
Buildings and architecture
The English-born architect, Joseph C. Wells, based the sanctuary after the Church of St. Saviour in Bath, England, but for the tower used Magdalen CollegeMagdalen College
Magdalen College or Magdalene College may refer to:*Magdalen College, Oxford - a constituent college of the University of Oxford*Magdalene College, Cambridge - a constituent college of the University of Cambridge...
of Oxford University as a model. Beginning in 1893, the same year that McKim, Mead and White began construction of the church's south transept, the church installed stained glass windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements...
, Francis Lathrop
Francis Lathrop
Francis Augustus Lathrop was an American artist.He was born at sea, near the Hawaiian Islands, being a great grandson of Samuel Holden Parsons and the son of George Alfred Lathrop , who for some time was United States consul at Honolulu. He was a pupil of T. C...
, D. Maitland Armstrong and Charles Lamb. These were restored in 1988. With the addition of the chancel and its new stained blue glass rose window in 1919, the reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
, originally painted by Taber Sears in 1917, was moved to the new chancel's western wall, and was repainted.
The church complex, which is surrounded by a fence, party of wood and partly of cast-iron, also includes a stone Gothic Revival parish house or "South Wing" at 7 West 11th Street, which includes the Alexander Chapel added in 1937, with stained glass windows on Scottish themes. The interiors of the rooms in the South Wing were significantly renovated and remodeled in the 1990s, and many of the rooms are available for rental. On the north side of the complex is the Church House at 12 West 12th Street, the Mellin Macnab Building, built in 1958-60, and designed by Edgar Tafel
Edgar Tafel
Edgar A. Tafel was an American architect, best known as a disciple of Frank Lloyd Wright.-Early life and career:Tafel was born in New York City to Russian Jewish immigrants, and moved to New Jersey with his...
, who apprenticed under Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
. Tafel's design combined Prairie School
Prairie School
Prairie School was a late 19th and early 20th century architectural style, most common to the Midwestern United States.The works of the Prairie School architects are usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands,...
influences with the Gothic style of the sanctuary, and has been called "a fine example of contemporary design ... used intelligently, to bring a much needed contemporary building into harmony with a neighborhood." Tafel's design won an award from the Fifth Avenue Association.