Church of the Presidents

Elberon, United States

Open to visitors

The interior is normally open, possibly ticketed.

Strollie cannot guarantee access — always check before you travel.

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Designed by architect William Appleton Potter in the Carpenter Gothic style, the Church of the Presidents is a former Episcopal chapel of ease located at 1260 Ocean Avenue in Elberon (Long Branch), New Jersey, just across the street from the Atlantic Ocean. For approximately seventy-five years it served as a seasonal summer resort church, hosting seven United States presidents: Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, and Woodrow Wilson—all but Grant visiting while in office. After the Episcopal Diocese deconsecrated the building in 1953 and marked it for demolition, local preservationists intervened, leading to its rededication in 1955 as the Long Branch Historical Museum. The structure is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and currently undergoes extensive structural repairs and renovations, remaining closed to the public.