St. Paul’s Chapel

St. Paul's Chapel tickets: which one to buy

Saint Paul's Chapel stands on Broadway in Lower Manhattan, across the street from the World Trade Center site and the 9/11 Memorial, and entry is free. It is the oldest surviving church building in Manhattan and part of the parish of Trinity Church, which stands a few blocks south on Wall Street. Most visitors come to the chapel as part of a visit to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, the One World Observatory and the Oculus transportation hub, and walking tours of the Financial District include the chapel, Trinity Church, Wall Street, Federal Hall and the Charging Bull.

The chapel is open daily for visitors, with services and concerts, and its churchyard, with eighteenth-century gravestones, is a quiet place in a busy neighbourhood. Security is usually light, and there is no ticket. The chapel's entrance faces Broadway, and the rear gate opens onto the World Trade Center site.

Visiting St. Paul's Chapel: what to see

The chapel was built between 1764 and 1766 in the Georgian style, modelled on Saint Martin-in-the-Fields in London, with a portico and a tower and steeple added in 1796. George Washington worshipped here after his inauguration as the first president of the United States in 1789, when New York was the capital, and his pew is preserved. The interior is light and elegant, with Waterford crystal chandeliers, a carved altarpiece designed by Pierre L'Enfant, the planner of Washington DC, and box pews. On 11 September 2001, the chapel survived the collapse of the Twin Towers across the street without even a broken window, protected, according to the story, by a large sycamore tree in the churchyard.

For eight months afterwards, it served as a place of rest and refuge for rescue and recovery workers, and exhibits inside recall that period, with banners and messages sent from around the world. The chapel's east window, above the altar, is clear glass, and a gilded Glory above the altar shows Mount Sinai in clouds. The churchyard's gravestones include those of actors, soldiers and early New Yorkers. George Washington's pew is marked with a painting of the Great Seal of the United States. Exhibits recall the thousands of volunteers who served meals and offered rest to recovery workers. A bell given by the city of London, the Bell of Hope, stands in the churchyard. The chapel's pulpit is topped by a carved coronet, a rare survival of British symbols in New York. Concerts in the chapel are part of the Trinity Church music programme.

St. Paul's Chapel opening hours and the best time to go

The chapel is open daily, with shorter hours on weekends. Lower Manhattan is busy on weekdays with office workers and tourists, and the 9/11 Memorial is crowded in the middle of the day. The anniversary of the attacks on 11 September brings commemorations and restrictions around the memorial. Concerts are held in the chapel at lunchtime on some days. Christmas brings decorations and services. Allow about twenty minutes for the chapel, and cross the street to the 9/11 Memorial pools. The Oculus, the transportation hub designed by Santiago Calatrava, is a short walk away and is open to walk through.