St. Luke’s Chapel (Church of St. Luke in the Fields), ca. 1912.

St. Luke’s was established in 1820 as a chapel of Trinity Church. Clement C. Moore, the first pastor, was responsible for planning the full-block complex that included a brick church building in the Federal style (1821-2), private burial ground, rectory, and surrounding townhouses. James N. Wells, a prolific builder, was responsible for construction.

The popular moniker “St. Luke’s in-the-fields” arose from the character of the surrounding neighborhood at the time the church was built. Greenwich Village, though starting to be developed, still included considerable tracts of farmland.

St. Luke’s has long had a reputation for philanthropy and ministry to the poor, including in recent decades, as the West Village community was hard-hit by the AIDS crisis. The AIDS Project of St. Luke’s, founded in 1987, provided food and care to New Yorkers, including many parishioners, affected by the crisis.