New York’s Grace Church: Gilded Age Society’s Most Fashionable Church (Bowery Boys Archive)

Grace Church, a soaring neo-Gothic church built in 1846 still sits today at the famous bend in Broadway at 11th Street. Throughout the 19th century it was in many ways the most fashionable church for old New York society even as the elite moved up the island of Manhattan. Grace Church represented the early world of the Astors, Schermerhorns and other families who had their beginnings in the neighborhood around Lafayette Place. The church which has a vibrant congregation today was the scene over its history of many famous events including the christening of Edith Wharton in 1862, the wedding of Tom Thumb in 1863, the wedding of one of the most famous “million dollar princesses” Consuleo Yznaga, the future Duchess of Manchester in 1876 and the funeral of famed social arbiter Ward McAllister in 1895. 

In this episode from the archives of the Bowery Boys history podcast, Greg Young and Tom Meyers trace the history of this landmark church as well as pay a visit themselves for a talk with the Reverend Harry Gross, Grace Church historian.