The Riverside Church is modeled after the late 12th - 13th century French Gothic cathedral in Chartres, France (1194-1260). Since it was built in the 1920s, however, Riverside's construction design is modern because it has a steel frame enclosed with masonry.
In 1926, the architects Charles Collens and Henry Pelton went to Europe to study religious architecture to serve as inspiration for the design of Riverside. After studying a variety of churches and cathedrals, the architects agreed that, "he who designs a great church in anything but Gothic has lost a divine spark in the structure itself which only that great art can supply."