St. Augustine's Church (Manhattan)

St. Augustine's Church at 290 Henry Street between Montgomery and Jackson Streets in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City.The church was built in 1827-29 as the All Saints' Free Church - "Free" meaning free of pew rent. - and was constructed out of Manhattan schist. The design - a Georgian structure with Gothic windows - is credited to John Heath, and includes a double pediment and a projecting tower. The church was enlarged in 1848 with the addition of a sanctuary and a chancel.Traditionally, it is thought that two rough galleries on either side of the organ loft might have been for the use of slaves, despite the church having been built after slaves were emancipated in New York.In 1949, the congregation merged with St. Augustine's Chapel of Trinity Church, then located at 107 East Houston Street, and the new combined congregation used the building on Henry Street. The parish became independent of Trinity in 1976.The building became a New York City landmark in 1966, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.