USA > New York > New York County > Manhattan > Manhattan: historic and artistic; a six day tour of New York city > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11
Gc 974.702 N422obe 1794118
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01150 2934
GENEALOGY 974.702 N422OBE
T
ET
FROM A PHOTOGRAPH PRESENTED BY THE MUSEUM.
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART.
E
1
FROM A PLATE PRESENTED BY THE MUSEUM. THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY.
MANHATTAN
HISTORIC AND
ARTISTIC
A SIX DAY TOUR OF NEW YORK CITY
BY COROLYN FAVILLE OBER AND CYNTHIA M. WESTOVER
NEW YORK LOVELL, CORYELL & COMPANY 43, 45 AND 47 EAST TENTH STREET
COPYRIGHT, 1892, BY COROLYN FAVILLE OBER AND CYNTHIA M. WESTOVER
1794118
PREFACE
IT has not been the intention of the authors of this book to compile a dictionary or a direc- tory of the City of New York, but to provide, in as attractive a literary form as the nature of the work would permit, a guide-book that should economize time for the sightseer by its presentment, in orderly sequence, of the best that the city contains.
Although special attention has been paid to the historic and artistic features of the metrop- olis, its educational, commercial, municipal, philanthropic, and charitable institutions have each been represented, as has also its social life, and even its squalor, thus making a description of New York in its complex entirety.
The time-table and itinerary is permissive, not mandatory-to make use of a legal expres- sion-and will serve to give an idea of the pro- portionate amount of time required to visit each object of interest, or to go from one place to another. It is absolutely reliable, every
iii
iv
PREFACE.
foot of the ground having been gone over and the time carefully registered. The variations to which such a table is likely to be subjected. are so slight as to make no material difference, the length of the days in the summer or winter seasons, or the temporary closing of an art gal- lery, being about the only changes that are likely to occur. The hours when visitors are admitted to different institutions are always mentioned, and calculated for in the itinerary.
Sightseers will find their efforts greatly facilitated by reading the book before under- taking to follow any of the routes mapped out for them. Many places not indicated in the time-table, but described in the text, are too interesting to be passed by unobserved, and they may be of sufficient importance to some individuals to induce a change of plan. Plain directions accompanying each description will enable the stranger to avoid mistakes.
As the routes are plainly marked on the maps it will be seen that whoever takes this book as a guide will be safely chaperoned. It should therefore be considered a valuable aid to residents who are unable to devote their time to conducting guests about the city.
The work also aims to be a serviceable book of reference. As a Primer of the History of
V
PREFACE.
New York it is a condensed compilation of the best authorities, and brings the past into a jux- taposition with the present that makes every locality vital and instructive with its report of progress.
To the courtesy which the authors invariably have received from historians, librarians, offi- cials, and other persons to whom they have applied for information or special privileges, the possibility of inaugurating a successful career for this work is largely due. It is now the pleasant duty of the writers to acknowledge this indebtedness.
C. F. O. C. M. W.
-
vii
TIME-TABLE AND ITINERARY.
THE FIRST MORNING.
DESCRIPTION PAGE
9. A.M. BATTERY TERMINUS.
I-7
9.25 " FRAUNCE'S TAVERN. . 7-8
9.50 PRODUCE EXCHANGE. IO-II
10.20 66 TRINITY CHURCH. 13-16
10.40 STOCK EXCHANGE.
17
10.50
WALL STREET.
16-21
II. ASSAY OFFICE.
18
11.15 ¥ TREASURY BUILDING.
18-21
11.40 EQUITABLE BUILDING. ·
22
12.
M. LUNCHEON AT THE CAFÉ SAVARIN IN THE EQUITABLE BUILDING.
THE FIRST AFTERNOON.
1.15 P.M. "THE RUSSIAN WEDDING FEAST," A PICTURE EXHIBITED AT NO. 24 JOHN STREET 25-26
1.45
ST. PAUL'S. . 26-27
1.55
CITY HALL PARK. 30-32
2.10 THE GOVERNOR'S ROOM.
31
2.35
PULITZER BUILDING.
33-34
3.05
FRANKFORT STREET.
34-35
3.35
BROOKLYN BRIDGE.
BROADWAY CARS. 36
36-39
4.45 DENNING'S, FORMERLY A. T. STEWART'S, DRY GOODS STORE. 40-4I
5.15
GRACE CHURCH. 42 ·
THE SECOND MORNING.
9. A.M. "AFTER THE HUNT," A PICTURE EXHIBITED AT NO. 8 WARREN STREET.
9.35 PARK Row. 45
9.45
" CHATHAM SQUARE. 45-46
44
4.20
viii
TIME-TABLE AND ITINERARY.
THE SECOND MORNING-Continued. DESCRIPTION PAGE
9 55
THE FIVE POINTS HOUSE OF INDUSTRY. 46-47
10.40 THE TOMBS. 47-49
11.35 MOTT STREET.
49-50
11.45 ELEVATED RAILWAY STATION AT CHATHAM SQUARE.
THE SECOND AFTERNOON.
12.10 P.M. THE ASTOR LIBRARY.
51-52
12.45 LUNCHEON AT VIENNA BAKERY, CORNER OF BROADWAY AND TENTH STREET.
2. COOPER UNION. 56-58
2.40 STUYVESANT SQUARE. 62-64
2.55 UNION SQUARE. 66-69
3.15
66 MACY'S. 69-71
3.45 YOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION. 72
4.15 TIFFANY'S. 72-75
THE THIRD MORNING.
9. A.M. ART ROOM OF J. H. JOHNSTON'S JEWELRY STORE. .
76-77
9.35 " CHOOSING THE BRIDE," A PAINTING EXHIB- ITED AT SCHUMANN'S JEWELRY STORE. 78
10.15 GRAMERCY PARK. . 78-79
10.30 ROOMS OF THE ASSOCIATED ARTISTS. 80-SI
11.05 ACADEMY OF DESIGN. .
81-83
THE THIRD AFTERNOON.
I. P.M. LUNCHEON AT DELMONICO'S, CORNER OF FIFTH AVENUE AND 26TH STREET.
2. AMERICAN ART GALLERIES. 84
3.15 MADISON SQUARE .
84-86
3.30 GOUPIL'S ART GALLERY. 89
4. WORKS OF ART IN THE HOFFMAN HOUSE. 90-92
66 BROADWAY CARS, GOING NORTHWARD. . 92-94 4.50
ix
TIME-TABLE AND ITINERARY.
THE FOURTH MORNING. DESCRIPTION PAGE
9.25
9. A.M. FOURTH AVENUE CARS AT UNION SQUARE. 95-101 A TOUR IN 66TH STREET, TO THIRD AVENUE.
101-102
THIRD AVENUE TO 67TH STREET. 102
67TH STREET TO LEXINGTON AVENUE. 102-103
LEXINGTON AVENUE TO 6STH STREET. 103
68TH STREET TO FOURTH AVENUE. . 103
FOURTH AVENUE TO 72D STREET. 103-104
72D STREET TO FIFTH AVENUE. . 104
IO. LENOX LIBRARY. 104-107
II. FIFTH AVENUE STAGE. 107 .- 109
11.15
ST. PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL. 109-III
11.35 FIFTH AVENUE STAGE. III-119
12. M. WASHINGTON SQUARE. 119-123
THE FOURTH AFTERNOON.
12.30 P.M. LUNCHEON AT THE ST. DENIS HOTEL, COR- NER OF IITH STREET AND BROADWAY. TIIE DRIVE. ·
124-133
2. " THE CIRCLE," CORNER OF 59TH STREET AND EIGHTH AVENUE .- BOULEVARD TO IIOTH STREET .- IIOTH STREET TO MORN- INGSIDE AVENUE-WEST .- MORNING- SIDE AVENUE WEST TO 122D STREET .- AMSTERDAM, OR TENTH AVENUE, TO 142D STREET .- 142D STREET TO CONVENT AVENUE .- CONVENT AVENUE TO 143D STREET .- 143D STREET TO THE BOULE- VARD, OR ELEVENTH AVENUE .- BOULE. VARD TO 16IST STREET .- ST. NICHOLAS AVENUE TO 18IST STREET .- 18IST
STREET TO WASHINGTON BRIDGE .- SEDGEWICK AVENUE TO MCCOMB'S DAM, OR CENTRAL BRIDGE .- SEVENTH AVENUE TO 145TH STREET .- 145TH STREET TO BOULEVARD .- BOULEVARD
x
TIME-TABLE AND ITINERARY.
THE FOURTH AFTERNOON-Continued. DESCRIPTION PAGE
TO 13IST STREET .- 131ST STREET TO TWELFTH AVENUE .- TWELFTH AVENUE TO RIVERSIDE PARK .- RIVERSIDE DRIVE.
THE FIFTH MORNING.
CENTRAL PARK.
9. A.M. THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS, CORNER OF 64TH STREET AND FIFTH AVENUE. . I37
9.30 MALL AND TERRACE. . 138-142
IO. PARK PHAETON AT TERRACE. 142-143
10.15 THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HIS- TORY. · 143-153
11.45 PARK PHAETON. 153-154
12. M. LUNCHEON IN CENTRAL PARK AT McGOW- AN'S PASS TAVERN.
THE FIFTH AFTERNOON.
I. P.M. POINTS OF HISTORICAL INTEREST. McGow- AN'S PASS, BLOCK HOUSE, ETC. . 155-157
2. PARK PHAETON. 157-158
2.15 THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART. 1 58-172
5. PARK PHAETON. 172
THE SIXTH MORNING.
THE ISLANDS.
9. A.M. BEDLOE'S, OR LIBERTY, ISLAND 174-177
10.30 ELLIS ISLAND. · 177-179
11.30 GOVERNOR'S ISLAND. 179-18I
THE SIXTH AFTERNOON.
12.30 P.M. LUNCHEON AT DELMONICO'S, JUNCTION OF BEAVER AND WILLIAM STREETS.
2. BOAT FOR GLEN ISLAND LEAVES PIER AT THE FOOT OF CORTLANDT STREET FOR A SAIL ON THE EAST RIVER, PASSING BLACKWELL'S, WARD'S, AND RANDALL'S ISLANDS. 182-194
MANHATTAN.
CHAPTER I.
THE FIRST MORNING .- THE BATTERY.
DUTCH OCCUPATION .- Within the region of the little park which is situated at the southern extremity of the city are clustered many of the most interesting associations of the past. In 1626 Manhattan Island was purchased by the Dutch West India Company from the Indians for beads, buttons, and trinkets, equivalent in value to about twenty-four dollars. A blockhouse having been erected as a fortifica- tion, the settlers, who soon came from Holland, formed about it a little colony which they called New Amsterdam. The fortress, which was named Fort Amsterdam and inhabited by Dutch governors for over fifty years, stood on the spot now occupied by the steamship offices opposite Bowling Green, -- the water edge being then nearer than at present.
As at this time Manhattan Island was within
I
2
MANHATTAN.
the limits of the northern colony of Virginia, it belonged in reality to the British crown, but its possession was not disputed until the year 1664, when Charles the Second granted to his brother, the Duke of York and Albany, terri- tory now comprising the States of New York, New Jersey, and Delaware. Immediately after the transfer of this property the new owner
THE OLD FORT AT THE BATTERY.
dispatched troops who forced the Dutch gov- ernor (Stuyvesant) to surrender,-when the name of the colony was changed to New York in honor of the conqueror. From this time Manhattan Island was alternately in the hands of the Dutch and the English until 1674, when Great Britain regained possession and remained in power during the interval that preceded the Revolution.
34th
St.
Akve.
Ave.
Ave.
AVE.
Ave.
-
30th
St.
AVE.
Lexington
Ave.
Ave.
Ave.
26th
St.
Sq
ST.
23RD
H
11th
10th
9th
8th
7th
2
15TH Y. W.C. A.
14TH
6TH
FIFTHM
3rd
->
2nd
GRACE
.CH.
1st
Tompkin's Sq.
Lafayette
Gt.Jones
Bleecker St.
St.
+
St.
+
Houston
West
St.
Spring
Broome St.
4
BROADWAY
St
St.
St.
St.
THE
+
LATTOMBS
Worth St.
St
₹ CHATHAM
đ
Centre
PARK ROW
+ +
_WARREN.ST. HALL
PARK
POST
Frankfort
BROOKLYN
Cortlandt St.
St-
W
JOHN ST.
Equitable
St.
B'ld'y
Sul
Treasury
TRINITY
WAL
Stock
ST
-L'xchange?
Broad
-Pearl
Produce Exchan LILL
ye
FRAN
Bridge St.
State- BATTERY PARK
E'
x O BROOKL
NEW YORK CITY LOWER SECTION.
SCALE OF MILES
0
Route of First Day
.. Second “
" Third
16 " Fourth " A.M.
MOTT ST.
BOWERY
Grand St.
Division-
E. Broadway
Madison
-South-
Pulitie
FRANKLIN SQ.V
OFFICE
ST. PAUL'S
Fulton!
St.
BRIDGE
Z
Nassau
,
>
South
D
Astor Pl.
COOPER UNION
Washington
ASTOR LIBRARY
Greenwich
UNION
STUYVESANT SQ.
ST.
ST.
Stuyvesant St.
Hudson
Delaney St.
TUNNEL
Canal St.
St.
CITY
JERSE CITY
BROADWAY /
AVE.
Madisom
Gramercy Park
4TH
3
MANHATTAN.
BRITISH OCCUPATION .- This peaceful epoch constituted the golden age of colonial history. As late as the year 1700, there were but three hundred houses on this portion of the Island, and on moonless nights the streets were lighted by lanterns, containing candles, hung on a pole from the window of every seventh house. The region of the Battery was the court end of the town, where the English governors and their suites, together with wealthy Dutch families, formed a circle famous for its culture, wit, and beauty. During this regime the etiquette of foreign courts was punctiliously observed.
AMERICAN OCCUPATION .- After the estab- lishment of American independence the old fort was torn down, and a mansion, intended as a residence for the President, was built upon its site; but as this edifice was not completed until after the removal of the capital from New York, it was never occupied by the President, but became the gubernatorial residence until the retirement of John Jay. After this time the apartments were used as offices until the mansion was replaced by the six dwelling- houses that still remain.
In 1805, a new fort, erected at a little dis- tance from the old site, was named Fort Clin- ton, but its shape gave it the popular soubri- quet of "Castle." As originally built, the fort
4
MANHATTAN.
was separated from the mainland by a strip of water, bridged by a draw. It was a circular building of solid stone masonry, the walls of which were in some places thirty feet thick, mounted with barbette and casement guns, and regarded as a triumph of skill and solidity, although against modern guns it would have been a mere egg-shell. As the chief defence of the City of New York, it was liberally armed and garrisoned by the Government.
When in 1814, the blockade which the Eng- lish had established at the southern ports became extended along the coast, the possibil- ity of a naval attack caused the citizens of New York to erect works on Brooklyn Heights, on the islands in the bay, along the shores of the lower bay, and at different points on the Hud- son and East Rivers; thus making Fort Clinton practically useless for military purposes. It was therefore not long before Government deeded the property to the State, since which time it has been called Castle Garden, and has been used for civic purposes only.
CASTLE GARDEN .- After the fort and the surrounding grounds became state property, the whole aspect of the place was changed. Groves of trees were planted, and the parks thus made became the favorite resort of the fashionable. Elegant mansions' occupied the
5
MANHATTAN.
whole of State Street, some of which remain, shorn of balconies and piazzas and giving little evidence of their former grandeur. From the windows of these residences were witnessed the pageants occasioned by the inauguration of Washington, and the opening of the Erie Canal,-when De Witt Clinton, with great solemnity, poured the waters from Lake Erie into those of the bay. Whitehall Street also was lined with stately homes, but a great fire swept them all away. On festive occasions the trees in front of the drawbridge were lighted with colored lamps, and the draw was decorated with bunting, while bird-cages and hanging baskets were hung in the casements. Brilliant receptions were held within the for- tress in honor of Lafayette, President Jackson, President Tyler, and Henry Clay. At the landing a funeral cortège met the remains of John Quincy Adams. In 1850 a great union meeting was here addressed by Henry Clay, General Cass, Daniel Webster, R. C. Winthrop, and Ogden Hoffman. Indeed, all mass meet- ings and celebrations assembled at this place until the uptown movement made New Yorkers require more central accommodations.
In 1847 Castle Garden was fitted up as a theatre and opera-house, and its stage was the scene of Jenny Lind's triumph three years
6
MANHATTAN.
later. The Julien Concerts and the voice of Madame Sontag made the year 1852 an equally memorable one in the annals of its musical history.
In 1855 a great change occurred in this his- toric building; it was then leased to the State Board of Emigration, and used as a landing-depot for immigrants. Government recently having taken to itself the duty of re- ceiving this class of foreigners, has constructed more elaborate accommodations for them on Ellis Island, and the fate of Castle Garden is therefore at this time uncertain. It is now temporarily utilized by the Free Labor Bureau, -an institution maintained by the German and Irish Emigration Societies.
THE BATTERY AT THE PRESENT TIME .-- Shipping and warehouses, business offices, etc. now surround the park on the land side, almost obliterating the historic landmarks. The ter- mini of all elevated roads, and the Broadway and Belt Line surface cars, are at the southern extremity, where are also ferries to Brooklyn, Staten Island, Coney Island, Governor's Island, and Bedloe's Island. The granite structure near by, with a tower ninety feet in height, containing a flash light, is the United States Barge Office,-a building intended to accom- modate the Surveyor of the Port. Floating
7
MANHATTAN.
bath-houses, that furnish free bathing facili- ties during the warm season, are moored to the Battery walls. A statue of Captain John Ericsson soon is to be placed in this park, where it will face the incoming steamers.
POINTS OF INTEREST BETWEEN THE BAT- TERY AND BOWLING GREEN .- The first Cus- tom House, erected during the administration of Peter Stuyvesant, stood at the corner of State and Whitehall Streets. In Pearl Street, between State and Whitehall, stood the first church and parsonage of New Amsterdam, surrounded by the walls of the fort. South of this, in Whitehall Street, the United States Army Building rears an imposing front.
THE OLD FRAUNCE'S TAVERN still stands at the southeastern corner of Pearl and Broad Streets. This building, originally the home of Etienne De Lancey,-the father of the lieu- tenant-governor,-was converted into an inn after the owner had built a more palatial resi- dence in Broadway. The "great room"of the establishment once was utilized as a Chamber of Commerce, and in it occurred the closing scene of the Revolution,-the parting of Washing- ton with his officers, previous to the surrender of his commission to the Continental Congress. The supreme moment had arrived when these brothers-in-arms, whose mutual efforts and
8
MANHATTAN.
sufferings had achieved a sublime victory, must part from their leader and from each other. Filling a glass with wine, Washington said to his officers: "With a heart full of love and gratitude I now take leave of you, and most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable. I cannot come to each of you to take my leave, but I shall be obliged if each one will come and take my hand." Each embraced him in turn, too much overcome with emotion for speech, after which the General silently with- drew from the room and entered a barge which awaited him at the foot of Whitehall Street. The room hallowed by this memorable event is still preserved. Relics of the past adorn its walls, and an old table is shown which is sup- posed to have been one of the original articles of furniture. The building has several times been repaired, but some of the Holland bricks are still visible in the walls, while others of them are collected in the cellar and are given to relic-hunters by the obliging proprietor.
During the latter half of the last century a Royal Exchange for Merchants stood at the foot of Broad Street. This curiously con- structed building consisted of one large room supported by arches.
9
MANHATTAN.
In State Street, near the corner of Bridge Street, the home of Washington Irving, and the famous Knickerbocker inn of Peter Bayard, were situated.
BOWLING GREEN .-- The encircled space at the foot of Broadway has been known as "Bowling Green" ever since the early days when it was a market-place in front of the fort, and a field for the sports of Dutch lads and lassies.
Here was the scene of the riot of 1765, when the "Sons of Liberty" opposed the Stamp Act, burning the effigy of the English governor, and casting his coach into a bonfire that had been made of a wooden fence which then sur- rounded the Green. When the cities of the colony afterward united to form a Stamp-Act Congress, and thus secured the repeal of this obnoxious law, the gratitude of the citizens in- duced them to erect a leaden equestrian statue of George the Third upon the centre of the Green. This was pulled down in 1776, at the time of the reading of the Declaration of Inde- pendence, and was afterward melted into bul- lets and used for the defence of American liberty. The iron balls with which the pickets of the fence surrounding the statue had been decorated were at the same time taken for cannon-shot.
IO
MANHATTAN.
Another event which marked the fame of this locality was the parade of 1788, on the occasion of the adoption of the Constitution by New York State. This was the first important pageant ever seen in America, and in it every class of the population appeared, even the most noted personages. The President and members of Congress, while watching the pro- cession from the walls of the fort, were saluted with a salvo of thirteen guns from a float rep- resenting a Federal ship, emblazoned with the name of Alexander Hamilton, and manned by thirty sailors, with a full complement of officers.
In 1789 the face of the first President of the Republic appeared on a huge transparency which adorned the Green on the evening of his inauguration.
A fountain and flower-beds inclosed with an iron railing now occupy this historical site.
LOWER BROADWAY FROM BOWLING GREEN TO TRINITY CHURCH .- East of Bowling Green, the first object which attracts attention is the Produce Exchange, a magnificent structure of granite, terra-cotta, and red brick, and one of the finest specimens of architecture in New York, the style being a modification of Italian Renaissance. The gallery is open to visitors during the hours of exchange-from 10 A. M. until 3 P.M .- and the clock-tower, or campa-
II
MANHATTAN.
nile, from which a beautiful view of the city and bay may be obtained, is accessible, when tickets are procured from the superintendent, at all times, except Saturdays, in the afternoon, and Sundays. From the corner of Beaver Street may be seen a portion of the Cotton Exchange,-a handsome edifice of yellow brick with stone facings.
THE WASHINGTON BUILDING, at the corner of Battery Place and Broadway, is a gigantic structure twelve stories in height, which was erected by Cyrus W. Field. The detail of its architectural plan is crude French Renaissance. This side of Broadway was once occupied by the residences of wealthy and famous persons.
THE KENNEDY HOUSE, built in 1760 by Archibald Kennedy, Collector of the Port, stood at the corner. It was a spacious and ele- gant mansion situated in the midst of beauti- ful grounds that extended to the water's edge. General Putnam made this house his head- quarters previous to the battle of Long Island ; and it was also occupied at various times by Lord Cornwallis, Lord Howe, Sir Henry Clin- ton, and Talleyrand. Here Benedict Arnold arranged his conspiracy against his country ; and from here Washington witnessed the de- parture of the British troops. In its later years this residence was converted into the
I2
MANHATTAN.
Washington Hotel. The second house was a spacious, old-time edifice, built and originally occupied by the Honorable John Watts. It is also said to have been the home of Benedict Arnold and Robert Fulton. Next was the residence of Judge Robert R. Livingston, and afterward of his son, Chancellor Livingston. From here Washington viewed the fireworks on his inaugural night. The fourth house, No. 7, the only relic of former times which remains standing in this vicinity, was the in- teresting home of John Stevens,-the inventor and builder of the first steamship that ever ploughed the ocean. Nos. 9 and II were con- nected houses, afterward converted into the Atlantic Garden, the site of which originally was occupied by the tavern of a Dutch burgo- master, Martin Cregier.
THE WELLES BUILDING, No. 18, stands at the opposite side of the street. Just beyond, at No. 26, is the imposing pile built and occu- pied by the Standard Oil Company. This edifice, like many of our buildings, possesses no definite style; indeed, the variety that is to be found in nearly every architectural structure in the city may be said to form a composite that is distinctly American,-it being almost impossible to preserve a pure historic style and meet modern requirements.
13
MANHATTAN.
ALDRICH COURT, at No. 45, is a sort of mod- ernized Romanesque.
THE CONSOLIDATED STOCK AND PETROLEUM EXCHANGE, at the corner of Exchange Place and Broadway, is a crude conglomeration in design. Visitors are admitted to the gallery of this building, from 10 A. M. until 3 P.M., to watch the buying and selling of oil, mining, and railroad stocks.
No. 41 Broadway is the place where stood the first habitations erected by white men on Manhattan Island. The McComb Mansion occupied the site in later years, where lived the French minister during the early part of the first administration, and where Washing- ton subsequently resided for a few months previous to the removal of the capital to Phil- adelphia.
TRINITY CHURCH .- The conspicuous brown stone edifice which next challenges attention is "Old Trinity," one of the most interesting landmarks in New York, and the established head of the Episcopal church in this country. With the exception of the Dutch Reformed Collegiate Corporation, it is the oldest church organization in the United States,-Episcopacy having become the leading religious system under the royal government. Trinity Church originally was erected in 1696,-a grant of
14
MANHATTAN.
land having been obtained from William and Mary, to be located "in or near to a street without the north gate of the city, commonly called Broadway." In 1703 the parish was fur- ther enriched by Queen Anne with a gift of the "King's Farm," a district including about thirty blocks in the immediate vicinity. Be- cause the clergy persisted in reading the prayer for the king, the church was closed at the outbreak of the Revolution, and it was destroyed by fire soon afterward. In 1790 a new structure was erected, in which a richly ornamented and canopied pew was dedicated to the President of the United States, and an- other was reserved for the Governor of New York. The second edifice was pulled down in 1839, when the present handsome specimen of Gothic architecture was erected on its site.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.