St. Paul’s Chapel Completed
in 1766, this church has a glorious Georgian interior lit by Waterford
chandeliers. The pew where George Washington prayed after his
inauguration as president has been preserved . City Hall Built
in 1803–12, this Georgian building with French Renaissance influences
is one of New York’s finest. The interior features a rotunda circled by
10 Corinthian columns, opening to twin spiral marble staircases .
City Hall’s imposing façade
Trinity Church This
lovely, square-towered church has bronze doors designed by Richard
Morris Hunt. Built in 1839–46, the spire, once the tallest in Manhattan,
is now dwarfed by Wall Street towers. Alexander Hamilton and Robert Fulton are buried here . St. Patrick’s Cathedral James
Renwick, Jr. designed America’s largest Catholic cathedral (opened in
1879) in French Gothic style with twin 330-ft (100-m) towers. The
interior has side altars dedicated to saints and holy figures, chapels,
and stained-glass windows . Carnegie Hall Philanthropist
Andrew Carnegie financed the city’s first great concert hall, built in
1891. Major renovation in 1996 restored the wonderful interior bronze
balconies and ornamental plaster, and added a museum. Corridors are
lined with memorabilia of the great artists who have performed here. Cathedral of St. John the Divine The
world’s largest cathedral was begun in 1892 and is still a work in
progress. The part-Romanesque, part-Gothic building is impressive for
its stonework, enormous nave, bay altar windows, and rose window. The
seat of New York’s Episcopal archdiocese, the church is the scene of
many avant-garde musical and theatrical events . New York Stock Exchange Opened
in 1903, the façade of this 17-story edifice is appropriately
monumental for the building at the center of the U.S. economy. The
figures on the pediment represent the “sources of American prosperity”.
“Black Thursday,” the start of the Depression, began here in 1929 . U.S. Custom House One
of the city’s best Neo-Classical buildings, this eight-story structure,
built in 1907, features an elaborate mansard roof and fine sculptures,
including four by Daniel Chester French. A 1927 nautical mural by
Reginald Marsh adorns the huge, oval rotunda . New York Public Library This
white marble, 1911 Beaux Arts edifice is magnificent inside and out.
Imposing stairways, terraces, and fountains inspire awe; reading rooms
invite repose. Events and talks are also held here. Grand Central Terminal This
1913 public facility is remarkable for its beauty; the main concourse
is suffused with natural light and the vaulted ceiling is decorated with
twinkling constellations .
Grand Central Station
Top 10 Churches and Temples
Zion St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church Built in 1892, it is a reminder of the Upper East’s German past. St. George’s Ukrainian Catholic Church A contemporary church built in Byzantine style. St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral Five onion domes mark this Russian Baroque church. St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral Byzantine windows were added to this 1856 church. St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral The goldleaf dome was inspired by the churches of Armenia. St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church This Neo-Gothic church has a painted vaulted ceiling. Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Trinity Built in 1931 in Byzantine style as the seat of the Diocese. Temple Emanu-El The world’s largest synagogue was built in 1929. First Chinese Presbyterian Church The stone sanctuary dates from 1819. Islamic Cultural Center Ninety bulbs hang by brass rods from the dome.
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