Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church (New York, N.Y.)

Dates

• Existence: 1808 June 25-

Biography

Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian church in New York City. The church, on Fifth Avenue at 7 West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan, has approximately 2,200 members and is one of the larger PCUSA congregations. The church, founded in 1808 as the Cedar Street Presbyterian Church, has been at this site since 1875.

Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church has long been noted for its high standards in preaching and music and has been at the forefront of many movements, from the development of the Sunday school in the 19th century to its current leadership in homeless advocacy. In 2001, the church successfully sued the City of New York for the right to shelter homeless individuals on its front steps.

In 1884, the joint funerals of the mother of President Theodore Roosevelt and of his first wife, Alice, were held here. In 1910, the church's historic sanctuary was the site of the wedding of TR's son, Theodore Roosevelt Jr., an event attended by the former President, and 500 of his former Rough Riders. It was also the site of the 1965 recording of A Concert of Sacred Music by Duke Ellington and his orchestra, broadcast nationally by CBS television in 1966,[7] and of dance legend Frankie Manning's "rollicking three-hour memorial service" in 2009.

Architecturally and historically, “Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church is famed for its sloping auditorium, its fine acoustics, its old gas brackets and reflectors. Instrumental in founding Princeton Theological Seminary, Presbyterian Hospital (now New York Presbyterian Hospital) and many a mission church, this grand house of God is often called the Cathedral of Presbyterianism.”

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