[2][4] Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church (FAPC) has long been noted for its high standards in preaching and music and has been at the forefront of many movements, from the development of the Sunday school in the 19th century to its current leadership in homeless advocacy.

In 1910, the church's historic sanctuary was the site of the wedding of TR's son, Theodore Roosevelt Jr., an event attended by the former president, and 500 of his former Rough Riders.

[6] It was also the site of the 1965 recording of A Concert of Sacred Music by Duke Ellington and his orchestra, broadcast nationally by CBS television in 1966,[7] and of dance legend Frankie Manning's "rollicking three-hour memorial service" in 2009.

[8] Architecturally and historically, “Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church is famed for its sloping auditorium, its fine acoustics, its old gas brackets and reflectors.

Within five years, membership rose 50 percent, and Hall spearheaded the effort to construct a new church building (the current location on Fifth Avenue and 55th Street).

Bonnell played a leading role in the movement to strengthen ties between Protestants and Roman Catholics and was presented with a silver medal for ecumenical services by Pope Paul VI in 1966.

Dr. R. Maurice Boyd, a charismatic figure whose ministerial style alienated a large faction of the congregation and who resigned under protest in 1992.

In the wake of this dissension, many of his supporters left Fifth Avenue Presbyterian to join Dr. Boyd at the City Church of New York, which he founded.

A former professor of homiletics at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, he is the author of a blog about faith in New York entitled Sharp About Your Prayers.

Church leaders believed that the recently established Central Park would be a natural barrier against business and factory expansion.

Post, architect of the New York Stock Exchange Building and the former Cornelius Vanderbilt II House on Fifth Avenue, and Carl Pfeiffer (1834–88), a little-known, 37-year-old German émigré.

Wooden louvers installed beneath the pews allowed warm air to rise into the sanctuary from steam pipes in the basement.

Designed in the Victorian Gothic style, the Sanctuary interior follows strict, Reformed Protestant precepts—the most important being the emphasis on the spoken word.

There are no Biblical figures or saints depicted in the Sanctuary, reflecting an iconoclastic austerity prevalent among 19th-century Presbyterians, who believed no one should be venerated other than God.

One exception is the woodcarving on the front of the pulpit (above), which features the symbols of the four Gospel authors—Matthew (angel), Mark (lion), Luke (ox) and John (eagle).

The floor slopes, the pews fan outward, and the balcony surrounds all that is below, bringing the entire congregation within clear sight and hearing range of the preaching and music ministry.

The New York firm of Kimbel and Cabus designed the woodwork using ash, a durable, light-colored wood that has taken on a darker patina over time.

All is rigidly organized in a long and narrow rectangular space from back to front, where there is a semi-circular apse with a raised pulpit off to one side and a lectern on the other.

The project resulted in a new Christian Education Center, carved from the unused space below the Sanctuary, and a complete renovation of the church house, including air-conditioning and fire proofing systems.

Beginning in summer 2015, FAPC conducted extensive repair work to the brownstone exterior and renovated the music loft in the sanctuary.