Free previewStop 4 of Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan Walking Tour
The Little Chapel That Stood
You're on Broadway between Fulton and Vesey Streets, standing in front of St. Paul's Chapel. Look up at the spire, an octagon rising from a square base. Then bring your eyes down to the figure of Saint Paul on the Broadway side. It's a resin replica. The original, carved from tulip poplar and installed in 1790, was moved indoors in 2016 to protect it from the weather.
When St. Paul's was finished in 1766, it stood in a field some distance from the growing port city to the south. It was built on land granted by Queen Anne, land that had been Lenape country long before any crown claimed the right to give it away. It was a chapel-of-ease, meaning a second church for parishioners who found the mother church, Trinity, inconvenient to reach. On completion it was the tallest building in New York City.
That's the opening. The rest plays at stop 4 of Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan Walking Tour (3 min in all). Unlock the tour to hear it all, or try stop 1 free first.
