St. Paul's Chapel
نيويورك
St. Paul's Chapel is the small stone church on Broadway, between Fulton and Vesey Street. Opened in 1766, it is the oldest church in Manhattan still standing.
A chapel for people who lived far away
In 1766 the city was growing northward. Trinity parish built this chapel for people who lived far away. That way the faithful no longer had to walk all the way to Trinity on dirt roads.
A church that faces the river
The church was built facing the river, with its back to Broadway. The porch with columns on the street was added three years later. The steeple arrived in 1794, designed by the American architect James Crommelin Lawrence.
What to see from outside
The walls are made of small blocks of local stone. The windows have frames of dark stone. Above the porch stands a statue of the saint himself, Paul.
What you see is a lightweight copy. The original was moved indoors in 2016 to protect it from rain and frost. It had stood outdoors for more than two hundred years.
All around are skyscrapers that are much younger and much taller. The little stone church has held its ground among them for more than two and a half centuries.
