Church of the Ascension, Episcopal

The Church of the Ascension is an Episcopal church at Fifth Avenue and West 10th Street in Greenwich Village. Built in 1840-41, it was the very first church to rise on what was then the newly developing Fifth Avenue. The architect was Richard Upjohn, who soon afterward designed Trinity Church on Wall Street, one of the defining Gothic Revival churches in America. In the 1880s Stanford White redesigned the chancel and integrated a vast mural by John La Farge above the altar. Today the church sits on one of the priciest corners in Manhattan and serves as a quiet counterpoint among the towers. Visitors can drop in for weekday noon concerts or Choral Evensong; the sanctuary is generally open during the day.