During the September 11 attacks , people took refuge inside the church from the massive debris cloud produced by the first World Trade Center tower collapse . Some of the chapel pew 's paint was rubbed off from the people taking refuge . The pews were later replaced , but one still exists at the back of the chapel for remembrance of the events on 9/11 . Falling wreckage knocked over a giant sycamore tree that had stood for nearly a century in the churchyard of St. Paul 's Chapel , part of Trinity Church 's parish , located several blocks north of Trinity Church . Sculptor Steve Tobin used its roots as the base for a bronze sculpture titled '' Trinity Root '' , which stood in front of the church at the corner of Wall Street and Broadway until December 2015 when it was moved by the church to its conference center in Connecticut . The move was controversial as it damaged the sculpture , which was later repaired , and the artist has objected to its eviction
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Trinity Church (Manhattan)