Marble Collegiate Church in New York City

The Marble Collegiate Church, located at 272 Fifth Avenue, corner of West 29th Street in Manhattan. The temple was completed in 1854. Its origins date back to the founding of the Collegiate Reformed Protestant Dutch Church in the 17th century, during the Dutch rule of New Amsterdam (now New York).

The Dutch Reformed Church was established in New Amsterdam (now New York) by the first Dutch settlers. The first known worship took place in 1626, in a horse-mill.

In April 1628, the first ordained minister arrived in New Amsterdam, beginning the Reformed Dutch Church in North America. In 1633, the first temple was erected in wood on what is now the north side of Pearl Street, between Whitehall and Broad streets. In 1642, the St. Nicholas Church was built inside the fort, on the southern tip of Manhattan. In 1693, the Dutch Reformed Church in New York moved to a new temple built on Garden Street (now Exchange Place). In 1696, the Reformed Dutch Church of New York was incorporated under a charter granted by King William III of England as Collegiate Church.

In the 18th century, two more temples were built in Manhattan: the New Dutch Church at Nassau and Crown streets, finished in 1731, and the North Dutch Church, at Fulton and William streets, dedicated in 1769.

The cornerstone of the new temple of the Collegiate Protestant Reformed Dutch Church was laid on November 26, 1851, on Fifth Avenue, northwest corner of West 29th Street. It was designed in the Neo-Romanesque Gothic style by architect Samuel A. Warner (1822–1897). The church was constructed of white marble quarried in Hastings-on-Hudson in Westchester County (Tuckahoe marble). The 215-foot steeple is topped by an original Dutch-style weather vane with a rooster. The temple was dedicated on October 11, 1854, originally called the Fifth Avenue Church. In 1906, the Consistory officially designated this church as the "Marble Collegiate Church".

The original ten windows were clear glazed. In 1891 these were replaced with a simple geometric design of blue-green and amber diamond shaped panes. In 1900 and 1901, the first two windows of stained glass were decorated with biblical scenes. After 1997, the other eight windows were also decorated with religious scenes.

In 1891, Marble Church was renovated and received electricity, installing the city’s first electric organ.

The original mahogany pews with swinging doors are still in use today. The church bell of the Old North Church on Fulton Street is exposed in the churchyard. It was cast in Amsterdam in 1795.

The Marble Collegiate Church is the oldest temple of New York City’s four Collegiate churches. It was designated a New York City landmark in 1967 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.