St Paul’s

St Paul’s Chapel (1938). Built between 1764-66 to accommodate the expanding Trinity Church parish congregation.  It is the oldest church in Manhattan—the original Trinity Church was destroyed in the New York City fire of 1776—and the oldest extant public building in the city.

Located less than 100 meters from ground zero, it survived the collapse of the twin towers essentially unscathed, protected by a large sycamore tree on the northwest corner of the chapel’s grounds, which took the brunt of the damage caused by the falling debris.  The Little Chapel that Stood, a 2003 children’s book with verses by A. B. Curtiss and pictures by Mirto Golino, tells the story of 9/11 by focusing on St Paul’s.