Broadway Tabernacle Church

Founded as the Second Free Presbyterian Church, organized in 1832 by Lewis Tappan for Charles Grandison Finney, a famous evangelist / revivalist from western New York. It was founded on Chatham Street (Manhattan) in lower Manhattan, New York City, in the former Chatham Garden Theatre (built 1824), which became known as the Chatham Street Chapel.

This first chapel was abandoned and shortly thereafter demolished in 1836 for the purpose-built Broadway Tabernacle, which was erected in 1836. It was considered one of the most influential churches constructed in America. Finney influenced the design; it held 2,400 people. Then a Presbyterian church, it was founded as a center of anti-slavery spirit in New York City.  In the following decades, the church became a gathering place for opponents of slavery, advocates of women's suffrage, and prohibitionists, hosting speakers like John Neal, America's first women's rights lecturer, whose speech attracted 3,000 attendees in 1843.

Finney left the church to join the Oberlin College's Theology Department in April 1837 and the Tabernacle building was demolished in 1856. 

Designed by Leopold Eidlitz, was a major cultural and religious center in 19th-century New York. Pastor Joseph Parrish Thompson documented its final services in a pamphlet, detailing sermons, prayers, and a choir performance. During the Civil War, Thompson's Unionist stance made him a target for a Confederate sympathizer. The church was progressive, granting women voting rights in 1871 and supporting missions and education for the poor. It also hosted North America’s first performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah.

Broadway Tabernacle moved to 56th and Broadway and the construction of a ten-story parish house. The church hosted over 1,200 meetings in 1910, supported soldiers in WWI, and aided actors during the Great Depression. The pastors helped establish the New York Peace Society, defended the Scottsboro Boys, supported the NAACP, and led pacifist efforts. Despite opposing war, the church welcomed servicemen during WWII.

Broadway UCC continued its human rights advocacy into the 1960s, supporting the March on Washington and affordable housing efforts. Facing costly repairs, the church sold its property in 1969, moving multiple times before settling at St. Paul and St. Andrew. In 1991, it became an Open and Affirming congregation, supporting LGBTQ+ rights, anti-apartheid efforts, and social justice ministries.