Church of St. Luke in the Fields
Coordinates: 40°43′57″N 74°00′25″W / 40.7324°N 74.007°W
The Church of St. Luke in the Fields is an Episcopal church located at 487 Hudson Street between Christopher and Barrow Streets at the intersection of Grove Street in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The church was constructed in 1821-22 and has been attributed to both John Heath, the building contractor, and James N. Wells.
The church is affiliated with the St. Luke's School, an elementary school located on the same block. Both are located within the Greenwich Village Historic District, designated in 1969.
The church was founded in 1820 on farmland donated by Trinity Church, to accommodate the expansion of New York City northward into Greenwich Village. The original church building was reminiscent of an English village church, with a square tower at one end, but made of brick and built in the Federal style. It was part of a complex laid out by Clement Clarke Moore – who would serve as the church's first pastor – which included adjoining stone row houses, which the church rented out. Greenwich Village at the time was a sanctuary for people fleeing the endemic diseases of the city proper, and the name of the new parish – St. Luke in the Fields – was chosen to evoke the pastoral quality of the area.
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