On February 7, 1876, at 8 PM evangelist DL Moody opened his “The Great Campaign” at Gilmore’s Concert Garden, formerly P.T. Barnum’s Hippodrome. 7000 people jammed into the hall, 4000 filled the overflow room, and the streets were jammed with people who could not get and listened through the doorways and windows. The choir was 1,200 strong.
After seeing the event, one 19th Century writer concluded, “Perhaps, the most important [evangelism event] ever conducted by Mr. Moody. In moving New York, God moved the country, and the voice of evangelists was heard throughout the land.” The evangelist was the most well-known preacher of the 19th Century.
Dwight Moody prepared for his globally influential evangelism meetings in Manhattan by first opening the year before at the Clermont Rink in Brooklyn. Although the NY Sun predicted that Moody would find “stony ground” in the city, the response turned out to be overwhelming.
