Trinity Church Wall Street, which has served the Episcopal community in Lower Manhattan for 321 years, has initiated a $98.6 million “rejuvenation” that will close the building’s nave, the main body of the church, for approximately 20 months.
The architect on this project is Murphy, Burnham and Buttrick. Trinity Church had not identified the engineers or GC on this project at presstime. The rejuvenation will be financed entirely from the church’s endowment, one of the largest of any single religious institution in the country.
The 82,700-sf church is actually the third building from which Trinity Church has operated. The first, built in 1698, was destroyed by fire in 1776. The second, which opened in 1790, was torn down after being weakened by storms in the winter of 1838-39. The current church, whose construction was completed in 1846, at 281 feet stood as the tallest building in the U.S. until 1869.
The current building hasn’t had a significant renovation since 1946. “Underneath the skin, there are a lot of problems,” both structural and mechanical, says Rev. Phillip Jackson, Trinity’s Vicar. He adds that Trinity “is a little dark [inside]; we want to give back its light.”
The rejuvenation will return parts of the church to the original 1846 plan devised by Richard Upjohn, a British-born American architect. Its chancel, near the altar, will be restored to its original size, increasing capacity by 140 seats. The building’s interior walls and ceiling will be painted to reflect Upjohn’s stone design.
The remodeling will include making the church's altar movable to accommodate different events. The church's stained-glass windows will be repaired or restored. Image: Courtesy of Trinity Church
Other renovations and changes will include:
•Repairing and restoring the church’s stained-glass windows, and redesigning the clerestory windows so they match the church’s interior.
•Adding ramps to the North and South entrances, and modifying the East plaza, which would include removing steps in the Chapel of All Saints chancel, to make the entire church ADA-accessible.
•Separating the altar from its reredos (the ornamental screens behind the altar) and making the altar movable to accommodate different events.
•Installing a new lighting and sound system inside the church, and upgrading its exterior lighting.
•Renovating the choir room with acoustical panels to upgrade the practice and performance space.
•Adding a glass and steel canopy outside the church’s South side to provide processionals with protection from inclement weather.
•Installing gender-neutral bathrooms.
•Redesigned and refurbishing pews for comfort.
The top image shows what the church's West entrance looks like today. The bottom image shows how steps will be removed, and a plaza created, to make that entrance ADA-accessible. Images: Courtesy of Trinity Church
Trinity Church has a rich religious and political history. President George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay were among the government officials who worshipped there. When terrorists attacked New York City on Sept. 11, 2001, local residents took shelter in the church. Trinity, which is located near Zuccotti Park, also lent some moral support to protesters during the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011, although declined to allow protesters to use its grounds.
During its renovation, which should be completed by Spring of 2020, Trinity Church will conduct many of its services and other functions from nearby St. Paul’s Chapel, the oldest building in New York, which itself recently underwent a restoration.
Related Stories
| Sep 2, 2014
Ranked: Top green building sector AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
AECOM, Gensler, and Turner top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest green design and construction firms.
| Aug 4, 2014
Jean Nouvel commissioned to design Islam Museum next to WTC
El-Gamal's plans has been dubbed controversial by many industry professionals.
| Jul 28, 2014
Reconstruction market benefits from improving economy, new technology [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Following years of fairly lackluster demand for commercial property remodeling, reconstruction revenue is improving, according to the 2014 Giants 300 report.
| Jul 28, 2014
Reconstruction Sector Construction Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Structure Tone, Turner, and Gilbane top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest reconstruction contractor and construction management firms in the U.S.
| Jul 28, 2014
Reconstruction Sector Engineering Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Jacobs, URS, and Wiss, Janney, Elstner top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest reconstruction engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.
| Jul 28, 2014
Reconstruction Sector Architecture Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Stantec, HDR, and HOK top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest reconstruction architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.
| Jul 23, 2014
Architecture Billings Index up nearly a point in June
AIA reported the June ABI score was 53.5, up from a mark of 52.6 in May.
| Jul 21, 2014
Economists ponder uneven recovery, weigh benefits of big infrastructure [2014 Giants 300 Report]
According to expert forecasters, multifamily projects, the Panama Canal expansion, and the petroleum industry’s “shale gale” could be saving graces for commercial AEC firms seeking growth opportunities in an economy that’s provided its share of recent disappointments.
| Jul 18, 2014
Contractors warm up to new technologies, invent new management schemes [2014 Giants 300 Report]
“UAV.” “LATISTA.” “CMST.” If BD+C Giants 300 contractors have anything to say about it, these new terms may someday be as well known as “BIM” or “LEED.” Here’s a sampling of what Giant GCs and CMs are doing by way of technological and managerial innovation.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Construction Management Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Jacobs, Barton Malow, Hill International top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest construction management and project management firms in the United States.
