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An Episcopal parish with two female reverends and a congregation with a strong gay and lesbian contingent (50%), St. Luke in the Fields is not only progressive but pro-active. Volunteers from its AIDS Project at nearby St. Vincent's Hospital serve meals to patients in need, and the on-site Thrift Shop sells designer clothing and knick-knacks to benefit the parochial school. The church’s philanthropic nature is in keeping with its history: The land on which it was built was donated by author Clement Clarke Moore (’Twas the Night before Christmas) and St. Luke's was named after the physician-apostle in recognition of the area's role in providing refuge from the frequent yellow fever epidemic in the early 1800s. Since its inception in 1820, the church has become a center of community life. Along with Sunday services, baptisms, funerals, weddings and other rites of union are held regularly, and the surrounding cornflower and lily-bespeckled garden is open to the public, regardless of religious affiliation. — Rebecca Amato

The Parish House was once the childhood home of author Bret Harte, whose 1868 story The Luck of Roaring Camp told of the macho world of the California Gold Rush.

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