Landscape Information
Situated between Broadway and Trinity Place at the intersection of Broadway and Wall Street, this church was founded in 1697, having received its charter from King William III. Its current church building, the third on the site, was designed in the Gothic Revival style by architect Richard Upjohn and completed in 1846.
The site is surrounded on all four sides by wrought iron fencing and backed by a high stone wall along Trinity Place. The churchyards to the north and south of the church building include the burials of many prominent New Yorkers dating back to 1681, arranged loosely in rows. The larger of the two, the northern churchyard is designed around a network of curving paths and is shaded by mature trees. It includes the Soldiers’ Monument, designed by Frank Wills and erected in 1852 in the northeast corner in honor of Revolutionary War soldiers held in captivity during the British occupation of New York City and who are believed to be buried on the property. Also along the eastern boundary is the Fireman’s Memorial Monument, and a fountain designed by architect Thomas Nash and built in 1911 as a memorial to Anna Maria Cotheal Swords by her son. In the center of the northern churchyard is the Astor Cross, also designed by Nash and dedicated in 1914 in honor of socialite Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor, who is buried in the cemetery. The southern churchyard includes Alexander Hamilton’s impressive tomb along the Rector Street fence, and a bronze statue of politician and jurist John Watts by sculptor George Edwin Bissell erected in 1893. Trinity Church and Graveyard was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976.
