“St. Paul's Chapel, looking east from junkyard, general view of front entrance.” June 1, 1931.

Built in 1766, St. Paul’s is the oldest church building in Manhattan. The Georgian chapel was designed by Thomas McBean as a northern “chapel-of-ease” outpost of the Trinity Church at Broadway and Wall Street. In its early years, St. Paul’s was a place of worship for early American luminaries like George Washington and Alexander Hamilton.

More recently, St. Paul’s is known for its role related to the September 11, 2001 attacks and the aftermath. Despite its proximity to the World Trade Center site, St. Paul’s survived the towers’ collapse intact, without so much as a broken window. In the subsequent weeks, it served as a place of rest for first responders while its iron fence became the site of ad hoc memorial displays.