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First Church in Albany
110 North Pearl Street
Albany, NY 12207-2231
(518) 463-4449
First Church in Albany, the second oldest church in New York State, was established in 1642 by the Patroon to serve this colony of Rensselaerswych, the first permanent settlement to support the fur trading post at Fort Orange. This is the fourth church building erected for the Dutch Reformed Church of Albany, which was organized in 1642. The design, by Albany architect Phillip Hooker, resembles 18th-century churches in England and may have been adopted from Charles Bulfinch's Hollis Street Church in Boston.
The dignity of the building lies in its delicate and graceful treatment of late Georgian-style elements, particularly on the towers where there are small pediments, oval vents, Baroque scrolls and acorn finials. Although the towers are essentially original in appearance, the portico was added in 1858 by architects Van Steinwehr and Hodgins, who also remodeled the interior. Hooker's 1798 portico had a triangle pediment decorated with swags and supported by columns. The pulpit dates from 1656 and was used in the congregation's first building, at the foot of Broadway. In 1910 the interior was extensively redecorated by the Tiffany Co., which installed the present stained glass windows.
