The descriptions of the early images in this collection  are taken from the first edition of the Collegiate  Church Yearbook, published in 1880.
Back to   About the   Collegiate Church   Historical   Overview       A Detailed History of the Early Collegiate Church       Key Events in Collegiate Church History              The Succession of Ministers 1628-1998             The Charter Granted by King William III of England    A Directory of the Collegiate Church Staffs in New York          Life in The Collegiate Church Today  Back to the Collegiate Church Home Page	The Stone Church in the Fort, 1642. This was seventy-two feet long and fifty feet wide, and cost twenty-five hundred guilders. For purposes of security from any sudden attack of the Indians, it was built within Fort Amsterdam, near what is now the Battery. It remained nearly a century, until 1741, when it was destroyed by fire. The First Garden Street Church 1693. The building in the Fort being required for use by the English garrison, the Dutch people determined to erect another. This was built in Garden Street, now Exchange Place. It was an oblong square, with three sides of an octagon on the east side. Its windows consisted of small panes of glass set in lead, most of them having coats of arms curiously burnt on the glass by Gerard Duyckinck. In front was a brick steeple on a square foundation, large enough to admit of a room over the entry for the meetings of the Consistory. This structure answered the needs of the congregation for nearly forty years, when... The Old Middle Church, 1729, was erected in Nassau Street, between Cedar and Liberty Streets. It was a hundred feet by seventy within the walls. The ceiling was one entire arch without pillars. The spacious edifice possessed admirable acoustic qualities, and was kept in use until the year 1844, when it was leased to the General Government for secular purposes. In 1861 they received a conveyance of the fee. The next building in order after this was... The North Church, 1769. The growth of the congregations demanded a new building, which was put on what was called Horse and Cart Lane, now William Street. It was of the same dimensions as its predecessor in Nassau Street, and was used exclusively for English services. For a century its walls resounded with a pure gospel, but as the church-going population had nearly all removed from its vicinity, in 1875 the site was leased for secular uses, and building removed. In 1766 the church in Garden Street was repaired and remodeled at considerable expense, but forty years afterward it was entirely removed, and on the same site the Consistory built...

The Second Garden Street Church, 1807. This was sixty-six feet long and fifty feet wide, with a circular end. It continued only a short time under the Collegiate Consistory, being set apart to an independent organization in 1812. For nearly a quarter of a century it flourished under the ministry of the Rev. Dr. Matthews and his subsequent colleague the Rev. Dr. Hutton, and was finally burned to the ground in the disastrous fire of December, 1835. Soon after this the Consistory occupied the first and only church edifice which they had not themselves erected. This was The Ninth Street Church, 1836. A building on the ground now covered by the large establishment of A. T. Stewart & C., of which no photo exists. The Middle Church, Lafayette Place, 1839. This house (75x120) is built of granite and adorned with twelve Ionic columns, each a monolith. A tall steeple inconsistent with the style of the architecture has been removed, and the building now resembles the temple of Erectheus at Athens. Its interior is very effective.

The Marble Church, corner 29th Street and 5th Avenue, opened for worship in October, 1854, the corner-stone having been laid in November, 1851, by the Rev. John Knox, D.D. Twenty years after its dedication, it was thoroughly repaired, and a tasteful polychromatic decoration placed upon the walls. It is built of Hastings marble in the Romanesque style of architecture. It has a massive clock and bell tower, terminating in a spire two hundred and fifteen feet from the ground, which is surmounted by a weathercock (six feet six inches high ), after the custom of the earlier churches. The St. Nicholas Church, corner 48th Street and 5th Avenue, 1872. The ground was purchased from Columbia College in 1857. Upon the rear of the lot of convenient lecture-room was erected, which was opened for worship on Christmas Day, 1866. In July, 1869, the corner-stone of the church was laid, but many hindrances retarded the completion of the work, and it was not dedicated until November, 1872. Its style is the decorated Gothic of the 14th century. Its buttress projections offer a fine play of light and shade, and the stone carving is rich yet chaste and simple. The material is Newark sandstone. The dimensions are 70 by 100.

In 1891 two churches were erected, each to fill a special need. In order to carry on aggressive work in the populous portion of the city " below Fourteenth Street",  a church (known today as the Middle Church) was built on Second Avenue and Seventh Street and furnished with all the modern appliances for this special work. The parish house contained a reading room, classrooms, and a well-equipped gymnasium. As a unique feature of the church architecture it is well to note the beautiful memorial windows which receive their only light by means of electricity. The large rose window is in memory of the long line of deceased ministers. The quaint coat-of-arms of John Harpendinck is preserved in this place. It is treasured as commemorative of his munificent gift of land, bequeathed to the Collegiate Church in 1723. This ancient relic hung for many generations in the Old North Church, on Fulton Street, above the pulpit. The other church erected in 1891 and the last one dedicated, is the West End Church, on West End Avenue and Seventy-seventh Street. This was built to accommodate the large number of families who were moving into that section of the city. The Flemish style of architecture is employed and is historically appropriate. On the cornerstone is inscribed: "Organized A. D. 1628—Erected 1891".  The interior is particularly beautiful. It is a good example of Dutch architecture adapted to modern uses: the roof is of heavy dark timber beams, the supporting arches rest on pillars of purple Knoxville marble. The pulpit is a handsome piece of carved oak, the panels showing the coat-of-arms of the Reformed church, and the seal of the Collegiate Church. The armorial window at the south end is worthy of detailed examination.                       The descriptions of The Middle Church and The West End Church are taken from the booklet, "A Brief Account of an Historic Church", published by The Consistory in the early part of this century. In 1902 the Consistory of the Collegiate Church purchased the land on which the Ft. Washington Church now stands. On May 4, 1905 a reccomendation was made that a portion of the plot be sold and the proceeds be used for the erection of a chapel. On December 8, 1908 the cornersone was laid, and the new building was occupied for the first time on February 28, 1909.

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