The Gothic temple of the Zion Protestant Episcopal Church on
the southeast corner of Madison Avenue
and East 38th Street. Photograph by
George Stacy (publisher), copyright 1863. Source: Collection of Library
of Congress.
This temple was erected from 1853 to 1854 by the Zion Lutheran Church, founded in 1797. The congregation was converted to Protestant Episcopal Church in 1801. The Episcopal Church has its origins in the Church of England, which had an official status in the American colonies. After the independence, the parishes of the United States of America formed their own dioceses and national church.
In 1802, the society built a church at 25 Mott Street and Cross Street (later Park Street). In 1854, the Zion Church merged with the Episcopal Church of the Atonement. This structure was bought by the South Reformed Dutch Church in 1890, which occupied it until about 1911. Then it housed the Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist. The temple was demolished in 1917 and replaced by the 16-story Fraternity Clubs Building, completed in 1924.
