Grace Van Vorst Church
39 Erie Street, northwest corner of Second and Erie Street
Harsimus Cove Neighborhood
National Register of Historic Places
State Register of Historic Places

Designed by architect Detlef Lienau, the Grace Van Vorst Church is an English Gothic-style Episcopalian church. The building is constructed of of brownstone, hammer dressed, with buttresses and ornamental work. Construction for the church began in 1850, and it was consecrated on May 18, 1853.

The exterior of the church has a pointed slate roof with gables surmounted by stone crosses and a clerestory of fourteen round windows. The baptistry on the southern facade had a groined ceiling and a circular staircase of cut stone. The baptistry is known as the Saint Margaret's Room, where the church archives are stored. In 1864 the church was expanded with two bays to the west; a Baptistry added midway on the south side features a groined ceiling. An iron fence donated by Joseph McCoy was installed around the property in 1872. The 57-foot high square tower with embattlement sides features finials surmounted by quatrefoil crosses at each corner and was added in 1913. The rectory adjacent to the church was also designed by Lienau in a style similar to the church.

The interior of the church has an open roof with arches resting on twelve solid stone columns. Wainscoting, 173 pews, and other woodwork of black walnut accent the church, as do stained glass windows made in England, France and the United States. The original frescoes, donated by Benjamin Illingworth and John Van Vorst were painted over at the time of a needed renovation of the church in 1913. A parish hall was attached to the northern facade in 1964, but it is not of the same architectural style as the main church.

The congregation of Grace Van vorst was begun in 1847. Services were held at a Baptist church and then at a church on Grove Street when it was in the Van Vorst Township from which it took its name. Also, four women of the Van Vorst family donated the lots for the construction of the church on its present site. Members of the Van Vorst family continued to be benefactors of the church throughout its development.

The architect Detlef Lienau (1818-1887), born in Denmark, was a founder of the American Institute of Architects and had an office at 111 Broadway in New York City. He was known for the building of homes on Fifth Avenue and for his wealthy clients like August Belmont and the Astors. Lienau built his first house in Jersey City for his brother Michael (today at Linearu Place in Jersey City Heights) in 1849. He also built the Mechanics and Traders Bank Building in 1859, the original First National Bank building at One Exchange Place in 1864, and the building that became the American Sugar Refinery at 174 Washington Street in 1863. Lienau's brother Michael was a member of the Grace Van Vorst congregation and the brother-in-law of Henry A. Booraem, the founder of the parish in 1847. A resident of Jersey City, Detlef Lienau married Catherine Van Geissen on May 11, 1853, in the church, a week before its official opening.

Over the years, the parish has been involved with youth programs and other community-oriented outreach efforts such as the Interfaith Community Organization, a coalition of churches in Hudson County.