The exterior design, attributed to Blesch, was influenced by the Rundbogenstil (round-arch style) Ludwigskirche in Munich and the plain hall churches of Germany.

[9] By 1880, the Episcopal church sat in the middle of a neighborhood filled with immigrants, who were largely Catholic and Jewish; its parishioners had moved elsewhere under pressure of new populations.

Rainsford, who had experience with urban ministries, felt that "the whole aspect of the modern Protestant churches, in our large cities at least, is repellent to the poor man.

"[11] His plan, of which Morgan approved, was to downplay doctrinal matters, abolish pew rentals, and offer secular social services programs aimed at helping the poor: an industrial school, sewing classes, soup kitchens, health programs, boys' and girls' clubs, and other educational and recreational initiatives.

[11][12][14] Besides J. P. Morgan, another notable congregant of the church was Harry Thacker Burleigh, the spiritual singer and classical composer.

It then operated as a marketplace and from 2017 as a gym.The church is part of a complex of buildings which includes Eidlitz' rectory, and the St. George Memorial House at 207 East 16th Street, designed by his son, Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz, and built in 1886 as a gift from J. P. Morgan,[2][6] as well as the neo-Romanesque St. George's Chapel by Matthew Lansing Emery and Henry George Emery, built in 1911–1912[2][6] All the buildings are part of the Stuyvesant Square Historic District, and the church itself is a New York City landmark, designated in 1967, and was named a National Historic Landmark in 1976.