Nomination for Arlington Street Church

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

PH0026522 Form 10-300 (Rev.

6-72) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM HB = 33/780 2n19 N 4688580 STATE: Massachusetts COUNTY: Suffolk FOR NPS USE ONLY ENTRY DATE (Type all entries - complete applicable sections) 4 1973 NAME C OMMON: Arlington Street Church AND/ OR HISTORIC: LOCATION STREET AND NUMBER: CITYCOTOR 78w of Arlington and Boylston Streets CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT: Eighth Boston STATE Massachusetts CLASSIFICA TION CATEGORY (Check One) District Site Building Structure CODE 025 COUNTY: Suffolk CODE 025 OWNERSHIP STATUS Object Public Private Both Public Acquisition: In Process Being Considered Occupied Unoccupied - Preservation work in progres: ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC Yes: Restricted Unrestricted No PRESENT USE (Check One or More as Appropriate) Agricultural Government Commercial Industrial Educational Military Entertainment Museum Park Private Residence Religious Scientific Transportation - Other (Specify) - Comments OWNER OF PROPERTY OWNER'S NAME: Arlington Street Church, Inc.

STREET AND NÜMBER: 355 Boylston Street CITY OR TOWN: Boston LOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION COURTHOUSE, REGISTRY OF DEEDS, ETC: Suffolk Registry of Deeds STREET AND NUMBER: Pemberton Square CITY OR TOWN: Boston STATE: Massachu Massachusetts 10 STATE Massachusetts 8 9 COD 025 CIVFT MAY 1 7 1973 NATIONAL REGISTER / CODE Suffolk/ 026 REPRESENTATION IN EXISTING SURVEYS TITLE OF SURVEY: 1. Historic American Buildings Survey (MASS-817) DATE OF SURVEY: 1965 X Federal DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS: Library of Congress STREET AND NUMBER: [continued] - County - Local 1973 CITY OR TOWN: Washington, D. C. STATE: CODE STATE COUNTY ENTRY NUMBER FOR NPS USE ONLY - DESCRIPTION Excellent X Good Fair (Check One) Deteriorated CONDITION (Check One) Ruins - Unexposed (Check One) X Original Site Altered X Unaltered Moved DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (if known) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Description of the property

The Arlington Street Church occupies a corner lot, facing the Public Garden, at the entrance to the Back Bay, and measures 70 feet on Arlington Street and 160 feet on Boylston Street. It is a 2 1/2 story structure of symmetrical plan with a modified gambrel roof, projecting entrance porch, and steeple rising to a height of 190 feet. The exterior is entirely sheathed in New Jersey brownstone ashlar and displays architectural embellishment derived from 16th century Italian Renaisgance and 18th century English sources. The lateral walls of the church are composed of two banks of five windows each. The first story windows are capped with segmental-arched lintels, while those of the second story are round-arched.

The projecting porch forming the entrance to the church is framed by corner pilasters supporting a central pediment, and the main doorway is surmounted by a glazed lunette and framed between monu- mental, engaged columns of a composite order. Above the porch rises the steeple, patterned after that of St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London, designed by James Gibbs in 1721. Its superstructure is built up in five stages and terminates in a columniated octahedral lantern and steep spire, stylistically akin to the steeple of the Park Street Church, built in 1809 and within sight of Arlington Street. The interior of the church continues to show the strong influence of 18th century English and American models. It is divided into a nave and two side aisles by a superb range of 35 foot Corinthian columns; this order is used again in pilasters along the walls.

Galleries flank the side walls of the second story and a choir loft and organ (with original case) occupy the rear space at this level. Above the columns, on each side of the nave, spring five arches. These support an impressive vaulted ceiling ornamented with caissons and rich plaster decoration. The general effect is similar to that of King's Chapel in Boston (1749; a National Historic Landmark); and the eighteenth century appearance is further heightened by the use of box pews made of chestnut and lined with old crimson damask. Other features include thirteen Tiffany windows, a sixteen bell set of chimes in the steeple, and a small chapel, 26 by 50 feet, attached to the rear of the church and entered from Boylston Street.

30 Bil19 1O RECEIVED MAY 771973 NATIONAL REGISTER LenTa Form 10-300a (July 1969) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM (Continuation Sheet) (Number all entries) Boston, Arlington Street Church STATE Massachusetts COUNTY Suffolk FOR NPS USE ONLY ENTRY NUMBER 4 DATE 19/3 6. Representation in Existing Surveys 2. Inventory of Historic Assets of the Commonwealth 1970 State Massachusetts Historical Commission 40 Beacon Street Boston, Massachusetts 025 6171 8 MAY 1 7 1973 NATIONAL REGISTER GP O 921.724

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

SIGNIFICANCE PERIOD (Check One or More as Appropriate) Pre-Columbian! 16th Century 15th Century 17th Century SPECIFIC DATE(S) (If Applicable and Known) 1859-1861 AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE (Check One or More as Appropriate) Abor iginal Education Prehistoric Engineering Historic Industry Agriculture Invention Architecture Landscape Art Architecture Commerce Literature Communications Military Conservation Music 0 18th Century X] 19th Century -] 20th Century Political Religion/Phi- 181/15 Sciencel Sculpture Social Ruman- RECÊIVED MAY itarian 1923 Theareo NATIONAL REGISTER Transportation Urban Planning Other (Specify) STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

Statement of significance

Arlington Street Church was built in 1859-61 from designs by Arthur Gilman. It was the first church and the first public building erected in Boston's Back Bays Gilman was a Boston architect who was associated for a time with Gridley Bryant. Together they designed what is now called Old City Hall on School Street, erected in 1862-65 (a National Historic Landmark). Arthur Gilman is also credited with devising the layout of the Back Bay street system, beginning with the scheme for Commonwealth Avenue in 1856. The design of Arlington Street Church, derived from eighteenth century English sources, marks it as an almost unique harbinger of the Colonial Revival. It was not until a quarter of a century after the church was built that Georgian- inspired architecture gained general popularity.

» The church is the fourth home in Boston of the Unitarians and the history of the congregation adds significance to the building. The church was gathered in 1729 by Scotch-Irish immigrants whose background prompted them to employ the presbyterian form of church government. In August of 1786, the church voted to adopt congregational polity, foreshadowing a gradual shift to a Unitarian theology. The first three church buildings were located on a site in what is now Boston's downtown business district. The first building (1729-1744) was a barn converted into a church by putting in some extra windows, a pulpit, and bare benches for pews. The second building (1744-1809) was larger and finer than the old and boasted a steeple with a bell. Here, in 1788, met the Massachusetts Convention which ratified and accepted the Constitution of the United States.

In honor of that event the name of Long Lane was changed to Federal Street. The third building (1809- 1859) was designed by Charles Bulfinch on more or less Gothic lines of architecture. In 1825 the American Unitarian Association was organizaed in the vestry of that church. William Ellery Channing, the renowned Unitarian leader, (1780-1842) was the senior minister from 1803 to 1842. For one hundred years, until 1965, the annual May Meeting of the American Unitarian Association met in the present building. Because of this, the church is considered to be the mother church of the denomination. The Arlington Street Church has a pivotal location across from the southwest corner of the Public Garden and balances the Park Street Church at the far corner of the Boston Common. The handsome steeple can be seen throughout the Garden and enhances the appearance of that public open space.

The position of the church at a major urban crossroads exemplifies the important role churches played in the development of the Back Bay and in the maintenance of the community's character.

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES Boston Evening Transcript, December 6, 1861, contained an article by Arthur Gilman, architect, describing the ehurch in detail. Kilham, Walter H., Boston After Bulfinch 1800-1900, Cambridge, Harvard Univer- sity Press, 1946. Mumford, Lewis and Walter Muir Whitehill, Back Bay Boston: The City As A Work of Art, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, 1969. Whitehill, Walter Muir, Boston: A Topographical History, Cambridge, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1963. GEOGRAPHICAL DATA LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES DEFINING A RECTANGLE LOCATING THE PROPERTY CORNER LATITUDE Degrees Minutes Seconds LONGITUDE Degrees Minutes Seconds R LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES DEFINING THE CENTER POINT OF A PHOPERTY OF LESS THAN TEN ÁCRES LATITUDE LONGITUDE Degrees.

Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds NW NE 42 21 07 71 SE SW APPROXIMA TE ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY: one half acre ILIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES CODE COUNTY 19 04 19 CODE STATE: CODE COUNTY: STATE: CODE COUNTY: STATE: CODE COUNTY: RECEIVED MAY I 7 1973 NATIONAL REGISTER 1L CODE CODE CODE FORM PREPARED BY NAME AND TITLE: Andréa Calfee and Alexander Cassie, Consultants ORGANIZATION Massachusetts Historical Commission STREET AND NUMBER: 40 Beacon Street CITY OR TOWN: STATE Boston STATE LIAISON OFFICER CERTIFICATION DATE March 20, 1973 CODE Massachusetts NATIONAL REGISTER VERIFICATION 025 As the designated State Liaison Officer for the Na- tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the c-iteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service.

The recommended level of significance of this nomination is: National State Local X) I hereby certify that this property is included in the Nationa 1 Register. Robertu Director, Office of Archeology and Histofic Preservation Date 6/4/73 Name ltkN John F Davoren, Secretary of the Commonwealth and Chairman, Massachusetts Title Historica Commission Date April 30, 1973 ATTEST: IPradfd eeper of The Natfonal Register Date 13117 GP0 931-894 M PROPERTY Arlingten Stret Chusseste Nass WORKING NUMBER 5./2.23.2945 TECH REVIEW Photos 2 Maps suttolle CONTROL REVIEW Cn 5-24- 73 HISTORIAN ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN OK KH 5-29-73 ARCHEOLOGIST REVIEW UNIT CHIEF BRANCH CHIEF KEEPER ON' FES CK 1420T 6/317? National Register write-up Federal Register entry _ 8-?-23 Send-back Re-submit Entered JUN 4 1375 delihtititiita BOSTON, ARLINGTON ST.

CHURCH-, EXTERIOR LOOKING TOWAAD NORTHWEST MPS Number 6-4-73 mst1o: Diliiter Sheet Cluch Loc. Suloce Ce, Mass. diteri PROPERTY OF THE NATIONAL REGISTER NPS Number 6.4:73 Title: Cleister Streel Church Loc. Suffole Co.:Maso Vitera PROPERTY OF THE NATIONAL REGISTER Form 10-301 (July 1968) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES PROPERTY MAP FORM (Type all entries - attach to or enclose with map) AND/OR HISTORIC 1. NAME COMMON Arlington Street Church 2. LOCATION STATE COUNTY TOWN Massachusetts STREET AND NUMBER corner of Arlington and Boylston Streets Suffolk 3. MAP REFERENCE SOURCE DATE ISCALE U. S. G. S.

Boston South 1956 81 REQUIREMENTS: PROPERTY BOUNDARIES, WHERE REQUIRED, AND NORTH MRRO" RECEIVED MAY 1 7 1973 NATIONAL REGISTER NUMERIC CODE (Assigned by NPS) JUN 4 1973 Boston 1 : 24,000 GPO 932-010 IITCBLACIDAN WE LEANO ARERA John F. X. Daroren Secretary of the Commonwealth The Commonwealch of Massachusetts Office of the Secretary Massachusetts Histovical Commission 3--Jey-Itrect- Boston, Mass. 02108 40 Beacon Street May 11, 1973 B T18I0 RECEIVED MAY 1 7 1973 NATIONAL REGISTER 112 National Register of Historic Places Department of the Interior National Park Service 18th and C Streets, N.W. Washington, D. C. 20240 Attention: Mr. Jerry Rogers CERTIFIED MAIL Dear Jerry: Enclosed are National Register submissions for: Plymouth County, Hingham, Cushing Homestead; Suffolk County, Boston, Arlington Street Church.

These have been declared eligible for submission by the Massachusetts Historical Commission, the State Review Board, and have been signed by Secretary of the Commonwealth John F.X. Davoren, Chairman of the Massachusetts Historical Commission and the designated State Historic Preservation Officer. Sincerely, Robert B. Rettig Executive Director Massachusetts Historical Commission ATG BOND RBR/akc enclosures ENTRIES IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER STATE MASSACHUSEITS JUN 4 1973 Date Entered Name Arlington Street Church The Cushing Ionestead Jackson Honestead Peabody Inseitute Library Wapanucket Site Location Boston Suffolk County Hinghem Plymouth County Newton Middlesex County Peabody Essex County Middleboro Plymouth County Also Notified Hon. Edward M. Kennedy lon. Edvard W. Brooke lon. Thonaa P. O'Neill, Jt. Hion. Cerry E. Studds Hon, Robert Drinan lion. Michael J. Harrington ion.

Hargazet M. leckles Director, Northeast Region PHR State Histeric Preservation Officer Hon. John F. X. Davoren Secretary of the Conmonwealth Chaicuan, Massachusetts llistorical Couaission 40 Beacon Street Boaten, Nasanchusette 02108 NRowland: pcl 6/12/73 NOTIFICATION OF GRANT-IN-AID ACTION - STATE APPLICATION IDENTIFIER 74070490 3. GRANTOR: a. Federal agency Department of the Interior b. Organizational unit National Park Service c. Administering office - (1) Name Division of Grants (2) Address - Street or P.O. Box 18th and C Streets, Nw. 4. FEDERAL AGENCY GRANT IDENTIFIER: a. Code b. Title 2. (Reserved for use by State central information reception agency) City Washington State D.C. Zip Code 20240 25-75-00156-00 Arlington Street Church c. Purpose The exterior walls will be cleaned and repaired. 5. GRANTEE: a. Name Massachusetts Mrs. Elizabeth R. Amadon, Exec.

Dir., MA Historical Commission b. Address - Street or P.O. Box 40 Beacon Street Boston Massachusetts Zip Code 02108 6. GRANTEE TYPE (Check only the single most applicable bo) o. State b. Inter- c. County d. City state e. School district f. Special unit g. Community action h. Sponsored organization i. Other 7. APPLICATION RECEIPT DATE 8. ACTION DATE Year Month Day Year Month 75 10 7 75 12 Day 12 9. EFFECTIVE STARTING DATE Year Month 75 12 Day 12 11. TYPE OF ACTION (Check as many bozes as apply to this action) o. New b. Continuation c. Supplemental d. Chonge in existing grant grant grant grant (identify agency in item 16) (1) Increase in duration (2) Decrease in duration (3) Cancellation 10. ENDING DATE Year Month 78 12 Day 11 (4) Increase($) (5) Decrease($) 12. AMOUNT OF CONTRIBUTION a. Federal - (1) basic (2) Supplemental $ 10,000 13.

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (if none, clarify in item 16) b. State $ 11,070* a. Program Number 15.904 c. Local d. Gther b. Supplemental Program Number 14. AUTHORIZATION a. Federal Budget Accounts b. Public Laws 10-58-1040-0-1-405 PL Title Sec. 89 665 c. U.S. Code 16 U.S.C. 470 15. FACILITY LOCATION: (For facility grant actions only) a. City PL Title Sec. PL Title Sec. Ib. County Boston Suffolk (CD 8) 16. REMARKS *Arlington Street Church Do Not Use This Space Prepared by Ralph E. Thomas 523(139)-5054 STANDARD FORM 240 June 1970 Bureau of the Budget Circular A-98 240-101