Church of the Presidents (New Jersey)

Church of the Presidents
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
View of the chapel in 2016 after substantial restoration work
Show map of Monmouth County, New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Show map of the US
Location	1260 Ocean Avenue, Long Branch, New Jersey
Coordinates	40°15′46″N 73°59′25″W / 40.26278°N 73.99028°W / 40.26278; -73.99028Coordinates: 40°15′46″N 73°59′25″W / 40.26278°N 73.99028°W / 40.26278; -73.99028
Area	0.1 acres (0.040 ha)
Built	1879
Architect	William Appleton Potter and Robert Henderson Robertson
Architectural style	Carpenter Gothic
NRHP Reference #	76001169
Added to NRHP	November 07, 1976

The Church of the Presidents is a former Episcopal chapel on the Jersey Shore where seven United States presidents worshiped. It was visited by presidents Chester A. Arthur, James Garfield, Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Harrison, Rutherford Hayes, William McKinley, and Woodrow Wilson. All except Grant were in office when they paid their visits to the church.

For approximately 75 years it was a seasonal summer resort church, located at 1260 Ocean Avenue in Long Branch, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, just across the street from the Atlantic Ocean. In 1953 the Episcopal Diocese deconsecrated the church and slated it for demolition. Local preservationists stepped in and in 1955 the old chapel was rededicated as the Long Branch Historical Museum. Today the building is undergoing extensive structural repairs and renovations. It is closed to the public.

The Church of the Presidents was consecrated in 1879 as St. James Protestant Episcopal Chapel, a branch of St. James Episcopal Church, located elsewhere in Long Branch, New Jersey. The church picked up its nickname following the visits of so many chief executives.

The chapel was designed in the Carpenter Gothic style by the New York architectural firm of William Appleton Potter, and Robert Henderson Robertson. The firm was famous in the era for designing South Congregational Church, Springfield, Massachusetts (1871-1875) and the Brown University Library (1875). The men also designed summer homes on the Jersey Shore.