Literally just a few blocks away from the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, St. Paul’s Chapel was built in 1766 by the Trinity Church.
St. Pauls Chapel, when it opened its doors in 1766, was a place for “faraway” parishioners who lived a considerable distance to the north of the burgeoning city that at the time rested at the very southern tip of Manhattan. Situated at the Broadway, Vesey and Fulton junction in lower Manhattan, the chapel is but a ten-minute walk to Battery Park, or the very southern tip of the island, depending on the amount of human and vehicular congestion at any given time of day.
Yet a few blocks away must have seemed like another world away for those living in the 1760s. Nevertheless, the chapels appeal and attendance steadily grew, as the new great city expanded northward, thereby absorbing this previously parochial structure. St. Pauls is, in fact, Manhattans oldest public building in continuous use, serving as a part of the Episcopal Parish of Trinity Church.
You might say the chapel has nine lives, what with the number of tragedies it has endured, including a fire that occurred in September of 1776 that consumed the original Trinity Church. That was when the British stormed the island and regained control of it, leveling a large number of structures in their path. The day George Washington, a hero of the American Revolution, was inaugurated nearby the chapel as our nations first president, he attended a service there. In fact, he became a regular parishioner for the next two years when New York was this countrys capital city. Still placed above his designated pew, after all these years, is an oil painting of the Great Seal of the United States.
The event that set the chapels chronicled course on an even more defined trajectory was the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, which lies just two blocks to the south. Although significant amounts of debris collected directly on and immediately surrounding the building, the chapel itself suffered no structural damage.
Due to its extremely close proximity to the affected site and enduring reputation for openness, St. Pauls served myriad functions immediately following the attacks. Most notably, it acted as host and provided unflagging medical and emotional care to many of the thousands of recovery workers that converged on lower Manhattan, traveling from locations all over the world. A poignant display a few steps from Washingtons pew symbolizes the overwhelming confluence of people that descended on New York City to assist with various recovery efforts. It is a collection of badges from first responders from all 50 states and countries as far away as Australia.
These badges were originally pinned directly to a priests cassock. However, so many different badges were shared by workers that not only are many of the original emblems covered but there are dozens (maybe even hundreds) more overflowing off of the cassock. Adjacent to this exhibiti is a display of thousands of origami cranes made by Japanese schoolchildren. These pieces serve as reminders that 9/11 happened to everyone, everywhere, and that healing is an ongoing process.
To accommodate the additional traffic the chapel has experienced since 9/11, and to facilitate the interaction between visitors and the numerous memorial exhibits, the parish had the pews removed in 2007. Each display was as reflective and heartrending as the next. I am not ashamed to say that I walked away with moist eyes from one specific exposition, which showcased clusters of pictures of dozens of individuals that perished in the attacks, only a couple of blocks away from St. Pauls. My wife and step-daughter were also in tears. It is both painful and cathartic.
One of the more remarkable things about St. Pauls Chapel, in my view, is how unremarkable the structure is. It does possess a majestically soaring steeple that is enveloped by a clutch of towering modern-day monoliths, and its cut glass chandeliers appropriately illuminate the rather bounded interior. In spite of its lack of expansiveness and plurality of architectural bells and whistles, it is saturated with historic and sentimental value that has only been amplified over time by its curious sense of accessibility.
For those who are in search of a truly authentic resolution of both markedly inspiring and harrowing events in our nations history, St. Pauls Chapel is such a place. To reach the chapel, I encourage you to get on the 4 train, or Lexington Avenue Line, out of Grand Central Station, and get off at the City Hall stop. From there, the chapel is but a short walk down Park Row and a right (heading west) onto Vesey Street. Admission to the chapel is free and open to the public, seven days a week.
(2011). Trinity Wall Street: for a world of good
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