The Bicentennial of Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue

The Saint Thomas of today, standing proud at 53rd and 5th Avenue in midtown Manhattan, began in a hall on Broome Street and Broadway on October 12, 1823. Led by the Rev. Cornelius R. Duffie, the parish was incorporated on Christmas Day that same year and the cornerstone for the first church was laid in 1824 at Broadway and Houston. Fire struck that building in 1851 and with much of the original structure salvaged, a second church (very similar in appearance to the first) was consecrated in 1852. Social forces compelled the parish to relocate to its current corner, with the first service being held in 1870 and the church consecrated in 1883. The third church, much lauded for its artistic treasures and social standing, burned to the ground August 8, 1905, with only the altar cross surviving the fire and water damage. Only two months later, the parish worshipped once again on this corner, this time in a temporary wooden structure anchored by the surviving altar cross, which sits on the altar beneath the grand reredos today.

After the fire of 1905, the parish faced a critical decision: follow the fashionable trend and relocate to the Upper East Side, or rebuild on 53rd and 5th. The Rector at the time, the Rev. Dr. Ernest M. Stires, recommitted Saint Thomas to the corner where it stands today. The new building was dedicated in 1913.

And while we now enjoy a global presence and reputation, Saint Thomas remains a local parish at heart, dedicated to improving the community around us.

We invite you to be a part of our Bicentennial celebrations, where we will honor the past and look to the future as we commit ourselves, one day at a time, to the next 100 years at 53rd and 5th Avenue in midtown Manhattan.