Town or city New York, New York Structural system Masonry | Completed 1860 Opened 1860 | |
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Country United States of America Client Methodist Episcopal Church of the United States Address 135 West 4th Street, New York, NY 10014, USA Similar United Methodist Church of, John Street Church, Christ Church NYC, Christ United Methodist, Metropolit Koryo Untd Methodist | ||
Washington Square Methodist Episcopal Church was a former Methodist church located at 135 West Fourth Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York. It was built in 1860, became a United Methodist church and closed in 2004 when its diminished congregation rented space in Trinity Chapel, New York University (1964). The church was also known as "The Peace Church" resulting from the congregation's opposition to the Vietnam War. The Rev. Paul M. Abels, New York City's first openly gay clergyman, served as the church's pastor from 1973 to 1984 and promoted acceptance of the gay and lesbian community. The church could not be demolished as it was located in the Greenwich Village Historic District and was instead converted into "Novare", a condominium apartment building.