St. Paul’s Chapel is a National Historic Landmark, one of the only remaining colonial era houses of worship in New York, and the oldest continuously used public building in the city.

St. Paul’s Chapel is part of the larger Parish of Trinity Church. The chapel, designed by architect Thomas McBean and constructed by Andrew Gautier, was completed in 1766 on land granted by the British Crown.

The chapel is constructed from local Manhattan mica-schist in Georgian style. The design is said to have been based on James Gibbs' London church of St Martin-in-the-Fields. The chapel’s octagonal tower topped with a replica of the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates.

The interior of the chapel is simple in design reflecting many of the interior designs of domestic colonial structures meant to set it apart from the eloquence of Trinity Church. On the Broadway side of the chapel's exterior is an oak statue of the church's namesake, Saint Paul and below the east window is the monument to Brigadier General Richard Montgomery, who died at the Battle of Quebec during the American Revolutionary War. This memorial, commissioned by the Continental Congress in 1776, and sculpted by Jean-Jacques Caffieri, was the first memorial ever dedicated by the United States. The church also still maintains the original pew used by George Washington on inauguration day, April 30, 1789, and a Neo-Baroque sculpture called "Glory" designed by Pierre L'Enfant, the designer of Washington, D.C.

The back of St. Paul's Chapel is opposite the east side of the World Trade Center site. After the attack on September 11, 2001, St. Paul's Chapel served as a place of rest and refuge for recovery workers at the WTC site.

For eight months, hundreds of volunteers worked 12 hour shifts around the clock, serving meals, making beds, counseling and praying with fire fighters, construction workers, police and others. Massage therapists, chiropractors, podiatrists and musicians also tended to their needs.

The church survived without even a broken window. Church history declares it was spared by a miracle sycamore on the northwest corner of the property that was hit by debris. The tree's root has been preserved in a bronze memorial by sculptor Steve Tobin. While the church's organ was badly damaged by smoke and dirt, the organ has been refurbished and is in use again.

The fence around the church grounds became the main spot for visitors to place impromptu memorials to the event. After it became filled with flowers, photos, teddy bears, and other paraphernalia, chapel officials decided to erect a number of panels on which visitors could add to the memorial. Estimating that only 15 would be needed in total, they eventually required 400.

Rudolph Giuliani gave his mayoral farewell speech at the church on December 27, 2001.