Saint Augustine's Episcopal Church

Previously called All Saint's Church, Saint Augustine's Episcopal Church has been a fixture on the Lower East Side since its completion in 1829. This modest stone church originally catered to a diverse array of European immigrants from all economic backgrounds. (Edgar Allan Poe reportedly used it as a calming place to sit and think.) Saint Augustine's is most notable for its infamous "slave galleries"—airless, hidden rooms where African-American worshippers were segregated. The church has come a long way since then; it now has the largest African-American congregation on the Lower East Side.