22 Barclay Street
1836-40
John R. Haggerty and Thomas Thomas

Saint Peter’s Roman Catholic Church is one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture anywhere in the city, featuring hallmarks of the style in its monumental hexastyle Ionic portico, massive pediment and austere, smooth granite facades with crisp punched window openings. St. Peter’s has the distinction of being New York State’s first Catholic parish. Over the centuries, many notable New Yorkers worshipped here, such as Pierre Touissaint and Mother Seton, who professed her faith here. This church was also the root of the Knights of Columbus in New York State. The first house of worship was built on this site in 1786 and demolished in 1836, to make way for the present church, designed by architects John R. Haggerty and Thomas Thomas. St. Peter’s fostered the city’s first Syrian-American parish, St. George’s, offering them space in which to worship before the congregation had the means to purchase or build their own building. Saint Peter’s Roman Catholic Church is a NYC Individual Landmark and listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places.