Trinity Church

Look down to the end of Wall Street: the street of money ends, quite literally, at a church. Trinity Church is the oldest Anglican parish in the city. It received its charter from King William III in 1697, and since then three churches have stood on this very spot.

1Three churches on one site

The first, from 1698, burned in the Great Fire of 1776, during the British occupation. The second was consecrated in 1790, and Washington worshipped there as president. Heavy snows damaged it and it had to be pulled down in 1839. The one you see today, designed by Richard Upjohn, was consecrated in 1846 and is one of the great examples of the Gothic Revival in the United States.

2New York's rooftop

With its spire of about 86 meters, roughly 280 feet, Trinity was the tallest building in the city until 1890. For decades, ships entering the harbor used it as a landmark. Today it is dwarfed by the towers around it, which says a lot about how Manhattan has grown.

Its churchyard is the resting place of Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, and his wife Eliza.

Hamilton, who laid the foundations of the nation's financial system a few steps from here, died in 1804 after his duel with Aaron Burr. Also buried here are Robert Fulton, the steamboat pioneer, and Albert Gallatin, another Treasury secretary.

3What to look for

• The spire, seen from Wall Street as the backdrop of the street.
• Hamilton's grave, a white marble monument topped by a pyramid on the south side of the churchyard.
• The bronze doors with biblical scenes in relief.