The First Presbyterian Church, known as "Old First",
on the First Presbyterian Church website is a church located at 48

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...

between West 11th and

12th 12 (twelve) is the natural number following 11 and preceding 13. Twelve is a superior highly composite number, divisible by 2, 3, 4, and 6. It is the number of years required for an orbital period of Jupiter. It is central to many systems ...

Streets in the

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

neighborhood of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It was built in 1844–1846, and designed by

Joseph C. Wells Joseph Collins Wells (1814–1860)(providing year of birth and death)(providing middle name and years of birth and death) was an English-born architect who practiced in New York City from 1839 to 1860. He was a founding member of the American ...

in the

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

. The south

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

of the building was added in 1893–1894, and was designed by the firm of

McKim, Mead & White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm that came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York. The firm's founding partners Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), Wil ...

."Architecture"
on the First Presbyterian Church website 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 A. Tafel (March 12, 1912 – January 18, 2011)Dunlap, David W''The New York Times'' (January 24, 2011) 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 R ...

, is located within the Greenwich Village Historic District., pp. 55-56

History of the congregation

Wall Street

Old New York yesterday and today (1922) (14758202336)

The First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York was founded in 1716, and held its first services in 1719Meerse, David and Marton, Janos. "Presbyterians" in , pp. 1034-1035 at its sanctuary at 10

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

between

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

and Nassau Street.Burrows and Wallace, p.132 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 is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.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 Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) church in New York City. The church, on Fifth Avenue at 7 West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan, has approximately 2,200 members and is one of the larger PCUSA congregations. The ...

. First Presbyterian's original pastor was James Anderson, who had been preaching in New York to the small-but-growing Scots population, whose influence increased with the appointment of a number of Scotsmen to be Governors of the New York colony. During the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, 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 arose partly 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 The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, represented in New York by Trinity Church.Burrows and Wallace, p.203 First Presbyterian's pastor from 1765 to 1811, John Rodgers, had to leave the city during the British occupation because of his activities. Such activities had their consequences: authorities confiscated the church, along with other churches associated with the Patriot movement, as barracks for British troops, stables for their horses, warehouses and prisons.Burrows & Wallace, p.250 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 (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of ...

, which disapproved of the

revival movement Christian revivalism is increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of a church congregation or society, with a local, national or global effect. This should be distinguished from the use of the term "revival" to refer to an evangelis ...

, and did not openly oppose

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

Fifth Avenue

The congregation relocated to its present site in 1846 with the encouragement of

James Lenox James Lenox (August 19, 1800 – February 17, 1880) was an American bibliophile and philanthropist. His collection of paintings and books eventually became known as the Lenox Library and in 1895 became part of the New York Public Library. Early ...

, 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 is a public square formed by the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway at 23rd Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The square was named for Founding Father James Madison, fourth President of the United States. ...

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.""A Brief History of First Church"
on the First Presbyterian website That same year,

Harry Emerson Fosdick Harry Emerson Fosdick (May 24, 1878 – October 5, 1969) was an American pastor. Fosdick became a central figure in the Fundamentalist–Modernist controversy within American Protestantism in the 1920s and 1930s and was one of the most prominen ...

assumed the role of pastor of First Presbyterian Church. Fosdick proved to be a charismatic preacher and resulted in the growth of the congregation. The increased size of the congregation necessitated the lengthening 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. Fosdick, however, was also a proponent of liberal Christianity, and it was from the pulpit of First Presbyterian that Fosdick delivered a sermon entitled "Shall the Fundamentalists Win?" on May 21, 1922. The sermon proved to be the opening salvo of what would be referred to as the " Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy." Fosdick's sermon would eventually cost him his job and he would go on to pastor an American Baptist congregation and then, the famed

Riverside Church Riverside Church is an interdenominational church in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on the block bounded by Riverside Drive, Claremont Avenue, 120th Street and 122nd Street near Columbia University's Mornings ...

Buildings and architecture

The English-bornNYCLPC (1969), p.56 architect, Joseph C. Wells, based the sanctuary after the Church of St. Saviour in

Bath, England Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the ceremonial counties of England, county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 1 ...

, but for the tower used

Magdalen Tower Magdalen Tower, completed in 1509, is a bell tower that forms part of Magdalen College, Oxford. It is a central focus for the celebrations in Oxford on May Morning. History Magdalen Tower is one of the oldest parts of Magdalen College, Oxford, ...

, Oxford, 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 window Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

s by

Louis Comfort Tiffany Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) 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 NouveauL ...

, Francis Lathrop, D. Maitland Armstrong and

Charles Lamb Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his ''Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book ''Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764–18 ...

. These were restored in 1988. With the addition of the chancel and its new stained blue glass rose window in 1919, the

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...

, 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, partly of wood and partly of

cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

, 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."Rent-a-space"
on the First Presbyterian Church website 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

, who apprenticed under

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

. Tafel's design combined

Prairie School Prairie School is a late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural style, most common in the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in ...

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."NYCLPC (1969), pp.94-95 Tafel's design won an award from the Fifth Avenue Association.

Pipe organs

The church commissioned two pipe organs from organ-builder Sebastian M. Glück. The smaller of the two instruments, known as the Rees Jones Memorial Pipe Organ, is in the Georgian English style and was installed in Alexander Chapel in 2003. The mammoth IV-manual, 93-rank sanctuary organ was completed in 2009. It is a comprehensive symphonic instrument that also incorporates elements from historic schools of organbuilding, notably its "Werck" division based upon a 32' Quintadehn, and its high-pressure Tuba division. The organs are used for recitals, teaching and oratorios with orchestra, in addition to their regular use for church services.

References

Notes Bibliography * *

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

(NYCLPC)
''Greenwich Village Historic District Designation Report'' volume 1
(1969)

External links

{{commons category
Official website
Churches in Manhattan Presbyterian churches in New York City Gothic Revival church buildings in New York City McKim, Mead & White church buildings Greenwich Village Presbyterian Church (USA) churches