Grace Church (Manhattan)

Grace Church
Location	800-804 Broadway Manhattan (NYC), New York
Country	United States
Denomination	Episcopal Church
Website	gracechurchnyc.org
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Years built	1846-1847
Specifications
Number of spires	1
Spire height	230 feet (70 m)
Materials	Sing Sing marble exterior; lath and plaster interior
Administration
Diocese	New York
Province	Province II
Clergy
Rector	Rev. J. Donald Waring
Laity
Organist/Director of music	Dr. Patrick Allen (Organist and Master of Choristers)
Grace Church and Dependencies
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
NYC Landmark
Coordinates	40°43′54″N 73°59′31″W / 40.73167°N 73.99194°W / 40.73167; -73.99194Coordinates: 40°43′54″N 73°59′31″W / 40.73167°N 73.99194°W / 40.73167; -73.99194
Architect	James Renwick, Jr. et al. (see below)
Architectural style	Gothic Revival
NRHP Reference #	74001270
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	June 28, 1974
Designated NHL	December 22, 1977
Designated NYCL	Church & rectory: March 15, 1966 Church houses: February 22, 1977

Grace Church is a historic parish church in Manhattan, New York City which is part of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. The church is located at 800-804 Broadway, at the corner of East 10th Street, where Broadway bends to the south-southeast, bringing it in alignment with the avenues in Manhattan's grid. Grace Church School and the church houses – which are now used by the school – are located to the east at 86-98 Fourth Avenue between East 10th and 12th Streets.

The church, which has been called "one of the city's greatest treasures", is a French Gothic Revival masterpiece designed by James Renwick, Jr., his first major commission. Grace Church is a National Historic Landmark designated for its architectural significance and place within the history of New York City, and the entire complex is a New York City landmark, designated in 1966 (church and rectory) and 1977 (church houses).

Grace Church was initially organized in 1808 at Broadway and Rector Street. Under rector Thomas House Taylor, who began service at the church in 1834, the decision was made to move the church uptown with the city's expanding population. In 1843, the land on which the church was built was purchased from Henry Brevoort. The 23-year-old architect James Renwick, Jr. – a nephew of Brevoort – whose sole completed work at the time was the Bowling Green Fountain, was commissioned as the architect.

The cornerstone for the new church was laid in 1843 and the church was consecrated in 1846. Grace Church was designed in the French Gothic Revival style out of Sing Sing marble, and vestry minutes from January of that year break down some of the expenses for building a new church – including items ranging from the cost of the workers from Sing Sing state prison who cut the stone to the cost of the embroidery for the altar cloth. The church originally had a wooden spire, but under the leadership of the rector at the time, Henry Codman Potter, it was replaced in 1881 with a marble spire designed by Renwick. The interior of the church is primarily constructed from lath and plaster.