490 Riverside Drive
Allen & Collens with Henry C. Pelton, 1927–30
New York City Individual Landmark

Riverside Church, conceived as an ecumenical Christian center and funded by John D. Rockefeller, features the tallest Gothic-style tower in the United States at 392 feet. The church is clad in Indiana limestone and its interiors are faced with Guastavino acoustical blocks. Though invisible, the church’s most marked feature is its steel structure, which used skyscraper construction methods rather than medieval load-bearing wall construction, like St. John the Divine. Harnessing this modern technology, Riverside Church was completed in just three years. Consistent with its ecumenical mission, its entrance portal bears the faces of scientists, philosophers and leaders of diverse religions.