St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Troy, New York)

St. Paul's Episcopal Church
West (front) elevation and south profile, 2009
Religion
Affiliation	Episcopal Church in the United States of America
Leadership	The Rev. Michael Gorchov, rector
Year consecrated	1828
Location
Location	Troy, NY, United States
Geographic coordinates	42°43′49″N 73°41′24″W / 42.73028°N 73.69000°W / 42.73028; -73.69000
Architecture
Type	Church
Style	Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking	1827
Completed	1828[1]
Specifications
Direction of façade	West
Spire height	100 feet (30 m)
Materials	Limestone
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Added to NRHP	September 7, 1979
NRHP Reference no.	79001624
Website
St. Paul's Church in Troy, NY

St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Troy, New York, United States, is located at Third (northbound US 4) and State streets. It is home to one of the oldest congregations in the city. In 1979, the church and two outbuildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places. Seven years later, when the Central Troy Historic District was created and added to the Register, it was listed as a contributing property.

St. Paul's is one of the oldest churches in Troy; the first Episcopal services were held in 1795. In 1804 St. Paul's was incorporated and a brick church erected. This was replaced in 1827-28 with the current structure. The exterior is a close copy of Trinity Church, New Haven, Connecticut (1813-1816), designed by the architect Ithiel Town in the Gothic revival style. Indeed, due to changes in the original, St Paul's is closer to Trinity's original appearance than Trinity itself. Today, the exterior of St Paul's is remarkably unchanged, but the interior underwent complete redesign in the 1890s. Balconies had caused structural problems, and the Rector, Dr. Edgar Enos, convinced the church to fund a complete interior renovation by the Louis Comfort Tiffany Company.

St. Paul's is unusual because all aspects of the design are based on a concept by the Tiffany Company: chandeliers, glass mosaics, tile work, a glass jeweled altar rail, a baptistery of wood and plaster filigree, decorative stenciling of the ceiling, walls and organ pipes, pews and support members, stunning windows by Tiffany and Tiffany artisan J.A. Holzer - indeed, nearly all interior elements. As such it is a fully integrated interior design; only four such churches done by the Tiffany Company have survived intact, and St. Paul's is arguably the finest expression of this concept.