Grace Church was initially organized in 1808 at Broadway and Rector Street, on the current site of the
Empire Building. the decision was made to move the church uptown with the city's expanding population. In 1843, the land on which the church was built was purchased from
Henry Brevoort. The 25-year-old architect
James Renwick Jr.—a nephew of Brevoort—whose sole completed work at the time was the
Bowling Green Fountain, was commissioned as the architect. The
cornerstone for the new church was laid in 1843 and the church was
consecrated in 1846. Grace Church was designed in the
French Gothic Revival style out of
Sing Sing marble, The interior of the church is primarily constructed from
lath and plaster. The east window over the high altar created by the English stained glass manufacturer
Clayton and Bell in 1878, dominates the
chancel, and the whole church; a "Te Deum" window, its theme is praise. The figures with their faces raised toward Christ, who is seated at the top center, represent prophets, apostles, martyrs and all the world. Other windows in the church are by
Henry Holiday.
Chapels Like Trinity and the
First Presbyterian Church, Grace Church spun off new congregations by building chapels elsewhere in the city. Its first chapel was on
Madison Avenue at
East 28th Street, built in 1850. The congregation became the Church of the Incarnation in 1852 and built its own sanctuary, and the chapel, which is no longer extant, was renamed the Church of the Atonement. The day school began in 1934, In 2006, the School became a legal entity separate from the Church, and owns the buildings on Fourth Avenue from #84-96, which includes Clergy House, Memorial House and Neighborhood House. The Church owns #80 (Huntington Close), as well as #100 and 102, two red-brick buildings north of the landmarked church houses. ==Services and programs==