Church of the Ascension


Fifth Avenue. 
New York, N.Y.


Additional Name(s): Well, J. -- Artist 

Digital ID: 801039 
NYPL Call Number: PC NEW YC-Chu-(A-Z)

History with pictures: Window dedications listings: 
Church of the Ascension

Ascension in the City of New York was founded in 1827. 
Its first church building, on Canal Street just east of Broadway, was consecrated in 
1829 and burned to the ground in 1839. 

The present edifice at Fifth Avenue and Tenth Street, the first church on Fifth Avenue, 
is one of the earliest churches designed by the English-born architect Richard Upjohn 
(1820-1878), who was working on plans for Trinity Church, Wall Street, at the same time. 
The cornerstone was laid in 1840 and the church was consecrated on November 5, 1841.

During the years 1885-1889, the interior of the church was remodeled. Galleries on the 
north and south were removed. The chancel was decorated as we see it today, a memorial 
to William C. Rhinelander and Mary Rogers, his wife, given by their daughters. The work 
was done by McKim, Mead and White under the general direction of Stanford White (1853-1906). 



In 1957, the Municipal Art Society and the New York Chapter of the Society of Architectural 
Historians named the Church of the Ascension as nationally important and worthy of preservation 
because of its architectural value, sculpture, stained glass, and painting. In 1988, 
the church was declared a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.



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