This is the ruins of the enlarged first temple of Trinity Church in New York City, after it was burned in the Great Fire of 1776, during the Independence War. Artist: John Evers. Lithographer and publisher: John Childs. Date depicted: about 1780. Date issued: about 1840. Source: New York Public Library.
According to Stokes (Iconography of Manhattan Island, ... 1915),
this view was drawn at a later date than the watercolor view on the right, as it
shows the tower of the church after it had crumbled away so that only a jagged
section remained standing. In May, 1784, the Vestry of Trinity Church ordered
that this remaining part of the tower be taken down. John Evers, the artist,
lived in New York for many years. His name is found in the city directories of
the period. John Childs appears in the directories as colourist, print colourer,
and finally, in 1840, as lithographer. The lithograph was probably made from an
original watercolor drawing presented to the Corporation of Trinity Church by
James Barrow in 1841.
In the background, on the right, it is shown other ruins on Auchmuty Street (now Rector Street), where the English Free School, the Rector’s House and the Lutheran Church stood, also destroyed in the fire.
The second temple was built from 1788 to 1790 and demolished in 1839 due to structural problems.
