{"nrhp_refnum":"73001216","name":"Church of the Transfiguration and Rectory","other_names":["The Little Church Around the Corner"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1 E. 29th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.74553386300005,"lon":-73.98687666299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-06-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Gothic Revival Episcopal church and attached five-story rectory at 1 East 29th Street in Manhattan, New York City. The church was completed in 1849, with the rectory dating from about 1849-50.","why_significant":"The church is picturesque, human-scaled and reminiscent of an English village church, and is long associated with the theatre as the 'actor's church.' It has been known since 1870 as 'The Little Church Around the Corner,' after actor Joseph Jefferson sought a funeral service for a friend. It is also thought to have served as a refuge for escaped slaves and Black New Yorkers during the Civil War and the 1863 Draft Riots.","narrative":"Tucked behind a fence and a quiet garden on East 29th Street in Manhattan, this small Gothic Revival church and its five-story rectory survive in the shadow of much taller buildings. The brick and brownstone church was completed in 1849 and grew through additions, including a tower and transept in 1854, a lich-gate given in 1896, and a Lady Chapel in 1906. The connected rectory, from about 1849-50, has a brownstone front, slate mansard roof and a five-sided tower-like wing. The church is best known as 'The Little Church Around the Corner,' a name dating from 1870 when actor Joseph Jefferson was directed there to arrange a friend's funeral. It became closely tied to the theatre, with memorial windows to leading actors, a window by John LaFarge, and the Episcopal Actors Guild headquartered there from 1923. It is also believed to have sheltered escaped slaves and given refuge during the 1863 Draft Riots.","period_of_significance":"19th Century","architect_builder":"Frederick C. Withers (architect of the lich-gate); rectory architect unknown","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition is listed as excellent and altered; the church is in religious use and the property is occupied.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:38.855548-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/73001216.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001216/9fc4be6c88-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001216/9fc4be6c88-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Beyond My Ken","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Little_Church_Around_the_Corner_west_courtyard.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Beyond My Ken</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Little_Church_Around_the_Corner_west_courtyard.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319403","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Transfiguration,_Episcopal_(Manhattan)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q431339"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/church-of-the-transfiguration-and-rectory-73001216/"}