Old Ship Church is, according to "The New York Times", "the oldest continuously worshiped-in church in North America and the only surviving example in this country of the English Gothic style of the 17th century. The more familiar delicately spired white Colonial churches of New England would not be built for more than half a century." Within the church, "the ceiling, made of great oak beams, looks like the inverted frame of a ship," notes "The Washington Post". "Built in 1681, it is the oldest church in continuous use as a house of worship in North America."