Where'd you like to go?
{"name":"__sid_suggestions-hotels","value":"w-uk-3.133.91.171-fac378ac3b3d3886829021b3309d4fd1-17395982933172025-02-15 06:02:54suggestions-hotels"}
Enter
My Profile
Edit your profile
Close session
Write an opinion
Publish

Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church

{"name":"__sid_suggestions-hotels","value":"w-uk-3.133.91.171-fac378ac3b3d3886829021b3309d4fd1-17395982933172025-02-15 06:02:54suggestions-hotels"}

1 review of Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church

Highly recommended

We can find this little gem on 5th Avenue, between the enormous skyscrapers. It's an example of the perseverance and faith of a group of citizens, determined to honor their God in the middle of the huge buildings of the city. Built in red New Jersey sandstone, the church has stood on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 55th Street since 1875, older than many of its historic neighbors like St Patrick's Cathedral (1878), the Park Avenue armory (1880), and the Plaza Hotel (1907). The project was designed by a German, Cral Pfeiffer, who introduced innovative ideas like a steam piping system to keep the sanctuary warm on winter mornings. On hot days, huge blocks of ice were used in the basement to control the temperature; as recently as 2003, the church didn't have air conditioning.


The interior of the church follows the guidelines of the Protestant reformers, who emphasized the spoken word. The pulpit is, therefore, the focal point of the church, with the choir and organ located on a higher level. Unlike most Gothic churches, there are no right angles in the building, with the slope of the floor and the upper balconies pointing the congregation's gaze at the single focal point of the pulpit and altar. And of course, like in most Presbyterian churches, there is an absence of crucifixes and saints. The church tower, at 87 meters high, was once the tallest building in Manhattan. Its clock still uses the original, hand-wound mechanism. Curiously, there are no bells; this is because the nearby St Luke's Hospital (located where the Peninsula Hotel now stands) did not want patients' rest to be disturbed by the noise.

This is where Theodore Roosevelt married, with 1,000 guests in attendance, and also where Duke Ellington and his orchestra recorded their famous gospel mass. I recommend a visit.
Read more
+8
Have you been here?
Add your opinion and photos and help other travelers discover
{"name":"__sid_suggestions-hotels","value":"w-uk-3.133.91.171-fac378ac3b3d3886829021b3309d4fd1-17395982933172025-02-15 06:02:54suggestions-hotels"}

Information about Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church