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- - - - - - - - Sitemap - - - - - - - -	*Trinity Church* In 1696, Governor Benjamin Fletcher approved the purchase of land in Lower Manhattan by the Church of England community for construction of a new church. The parish received its charter from King William III of England on May 6, 1697. Its land grant specified an annual rent of sixty bushels of wheat. 1709 Trinity founds the Charity school, now known as the Trinity School. It is the oldest educational institution in continuous operation in New York City. 1750 A major fire began in the Charity School and damaged the Church and steeple. 1776 September 21, Lower Manhattan catches fire as the British retake New York City from the Continental Army. Trinity Church and the Charity School are destroyed but St. Paul's Chapel and King's College are saved by bucket brigades. 1790 The second Trinity Church structure, begun in 1788, is consecrated. 1838/39 Weakened by heavy snows in the winter, the second church structure is torn down. 1846 On Ascension Day, the third, and current, church building is consecrated. Designed by American Institute of Architects co-founder Richard Upjohn, it is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This church building is one of the first and finest examples of Neo-Gothic architecture in the United States. 1954 Trinity News publishes its first issue. In 1976 the United States Department of the Interior designated Trinity Church a National Historic Landmark because of its architectural significance and its place within the history of New York City. 1976 July 9 Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom visited Trinity Church. Vestrymen presented her with a symbolic "back rent" of 279 peppercorns. Since 1993, Trinity Church has hosted the graduation ceremonies of the High School of Economics and Finance. The school is located on Trinity Place, a few blocks away from the church. On September 11, 2001, debris from collapsing World Trade Center knocked over a giant sycamore tree that had stood for nearly a century in the churchyard of St. Paul's Chapel.	Battery Park Wall Street Trinity Church South Street Seaport Time Square Grand Central Empire State