| Trinity Church | |
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| Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark | |
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Location of Trinity Church in Pittsburgh
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| Location: | 322 Sixth Avenue, Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Coordinates: | |
| Built/Founded: | 1872 |
| Architect: | Gordon W. Lloyd |
| Architectural style(s): | Gothic Revival |
| Governing body/Owner: | Episcopal Church, Anglican Church in North America |
| PHLF designated: | 1970 |
Trinity Church is an Episcopal Church and an Anglican Church[1] in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The present Gothic church, the third structure to hold the congregation, was completed in 1872 on the site of a hilltop cemetery.[2] The site, centered on a terrace above the historic "point" (where the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River join to form the Ohio River) was sacred to Native Americans as a burial ground. Early settlers also used this site as a cemetery. The congregation built its second church here in 1824. The Trinity Churchyard has the oldest marked graves west of the Atlantic Seaboard, of both Native American leaders, French, English, and American colonists.
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The first Trinity Church was built two blocks to the west of this burial ground at the base of the hill or terrace initially. It was constructed from the 1780s to 1805.
In 1824 Trinity moved to its current site in the middle of the terrace churchyard with what is regarded as the first gothic structure in Western Pennsylvania. John Henry Hopkins led the design and construction of the cathedral, which was complete with butresses, a tower, pointed arches and a vaulted ceiling. The growing congregation built St. Peter as a chapel of ease. However, in 1869 the growing congregation erected a new structure.
In 1872 the new Trinity Cathedral was completed. It was the tallest building in the city until the construction of the Allegheny County Courthouse in 1888.
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