Chelsea Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The seminary is frequently noted for the beauty of the gardens on its campus, called the Close, an English term used to refer to a private piece of enclosed property and often associated with cathedrals. The seminary's Close is characterized by a row of neo-Gothic buildings along 21st Street and tree-shaded lawns uncharacteristic of its urban setting. Worship Worship is at the center of seminary life and the community gathers several times throughout the day for worship in the centrally located Chapel of the Good Shepherd. People Because it has formed many of the church's clergy, GTS has maintained a considerable influence on the life of the church. Notable former professors include J. Robert Wright the St. Mark's in the Bowery Professor of Ecclesiastical History and David Hurd the Professor of Church Music and Organist of the Chapel of the Good Shepherd. Notable alumni include: James Lloyd Breck, a co-founder of Nashotah House and the founder of Seabury Divinity School Jeannette Piccard, one of the "Philadelphia Eleven" who were the first women to be ordained in the Episcopal Church Gene Robinson, ninth Bishop of New Hampshire and first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church Frank T. Griswold, 25th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church from 1998 to 2006. Many other notable figures, including a number of bishops, have graduated from the seminary. In popular culture Because of its proximity to film studios in New York City and its collection of neo-Gothic buildings, GTS has appeared in multiple television shows to portray a number of schools and universities. Only a block from the Chelsea Piers, where Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent were filmed and where Law & Order: SVU and The Blacklist are currently filmed, the seminary's Close has frequently appeared in those shows as a stand-in for several schools whose campuses are not as accessible and most frequently as the fictitious Hudson University. Gallery See also References Notes Bibliography Berner, Nancy and Lowry, Susan. Garden Guide: New York City. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2002. Boggs, Timothy A, Bruce Parker, and Sam Waterson. Through the Gates into the City: a Metropolis, a Seminary, and a Chapel. New York: The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church, 2007. Burrows, Edwin G, and Mike Wallace. Gotham: A History of New York City to