Middle Collegiate Church

Description

Founded, 1628

The congregation was founded. It is one of the oldest continuous Protestant congregations in North America.

Constructed, 1731

Built its first church in 1731 on Nassau Street.

Transformed, 1844

During the American Revolutionary War, when the British occupied New York, the Nassau Street building was used as a prison, a hospital, and a riding school. After the war it was converted back to a church, but became the city's main post office in 1844, a role it played for over 30 years.

Moved, 1839

Meanwhile, the congregation built another sanctuary on Lafayette Place from 1836 to 1839. Called the Second Middle Collegiate Church, or the Lafayette Place Middle Dutch Church, it was an Isaiah Rogers-designed Greek Revival building with a spire, an unusual combination which provoked the remark that the spire was there to Christianize the pagan building below it.

Moved, 1882

The congregation abandoned the building in 1887, and it was razed, but not before the bell was moved to the Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas. It returned to the Middle Collegiate Church – by now at Second Avenue – when St. Nicholas was demolished in December 1949.

Destroyed, Dec, 1949

Constructed, 1892

The Gothic Revival church was built from 1891 to 1892 as the congregation's fourth location, and was designed by Samuel B. Reed. It featured stained-glass windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany. It is located within the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District. It is part of the Collegiate Reformed Protestant Dutch Church.

Burned, Dec 5, 2020

A fire spread to the church from a neighboring building, engulfing the structure and left intact only the exterior stone walls. The fire took nearly eight hours to extinguish. The roof collapsed, the Tiffany windows were blown out and the sanctuary was destroyed. The "Liberty Bell" also survived. The tower in which it hung was also not destroyed.

Demolished, Nov, 2023

The remaining facade was demolished in November 2023. The congregation plans to build afresh, with elements salvaged from the old church building

1st church in Manhattan

New York's Liberty Bell

Timeline

1731

1839

1882

1892

2020

2020 - Burned

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2020 - Burned - Images

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A massive blaze that started in a vacant East Village building spread to the nearby Middle Collegiate Church last week

The facade of the Middle Collegiate Church after a fire left it in ruins after the fire

1892 - Constructed

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1892 - Constructed - Images

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The Middle Collegiate Church in the late 19th or early 20th century

A Sunday church service at Middle Collegiate Church

1882 - Moved

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1882 - Moved - Images

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Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas, with Rockefeller Center in the background on Fifth Avenue and 48th Street, 1936

1839 - Moved

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1839 - Moved - Images

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The Middle Dutch Church, on La Fayette Place

1731 - Constructed

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1731 - Constructed - Images

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A bird's-eye view of the New Dutch Church

The Middle Dutch Church

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37-24, 24th St, Suite 102, Long Island City, NY 11101