Grace Church Cam on Broadway in New York City

Anyone searching for a quiet spot away from the hustle and bustle of New York City will find it in the garden of Grace Church. A couple of minutes wandering along the pathways winding through the church’s well-trimmed lawns is enough to remind anyone that peace and tranquillity can still be found even in America’s biggest and most populated city.

Grace Church has been occupying the same spot on Broadway since 1843 and while not as well known as the Statue of Liberty, it has become one of New York’s iconic landmarks. Built in Gothic Revival style, the construction of the church was completed in limestone blocks, also called Sing Sing marble, cut to size by the inmates of the Sing Sing Correctional Facility. While originally light coloured, city smog and pollution has given the church a dour, dark colour. Maybe it’s time to give some of the inmates from Riker’s Island a scrubbing brush and let them loose so they can give it a spruce up and restore the stone to its natural celestial glory.