St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church
Why it's listed
St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church at 22 Barclay Street in lower Manhattan is a granite and schist Greek temple-church, with a portico of six widely spaced Ionic columns beneath a low pediment. John R. Haggerty designed the exterior, drawing on the Temple on the Ilissus at Athens, and withdrew in 1838; Thomas Thomas, credited with the interior, completed the building in 1840. Inside, a single unobstructed space two and a half stories high is finished with a rear gallery carried on two fluted Ionic columns, a fine plaster ceiling and an original organ screen. The site is the oldest place of continuous Roman Catholic worship in New York City. The parish dates to 1785, when a first church was begun on the land; that building was razed in 1836. The present church is the second on the site and has served its congregation without interruption since 1840. It is valued as an outstanding, monumental example of Greek Revival design.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it the foremost and finest Greek Revival church in New York City and one of only two Manhattan churches with a full temple front. Its site holds the oldest place of continuous Roman Catholic worship in the city, with a parish founded in 1785. The present building has been in continuous use since 1840.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 80002721, listed April 23, 1980. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 22 Barclay St., New York |
|---|---|
| County | Manhattan |
| Listed | April 23, 1980 |
| Reference number | 80002721 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899 (specific dates 1836-1840) |
| Architect / builder | John R. Haggerty and Thomas Thomas |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | National |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as occupied, in excellent condition, unaltered, on its original site, and in religious use. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.71231, -74.00952 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
Religious properties are listed for their architectural or historical significance, not their religious use. Listing is honorary and does not restrict the congregation's use of the building. The federal rehabilitation credit is generally unavailable unless part of the building is income-producing; some state programmes and preservation grants do cover religious buildings. Federal funding or permits trigger Section 106 review.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 80002721.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q3916688
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.