Nomination for First Baptist Church in Newton

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

FHR-8-300 (11-78) Renotification/80 Amendments United States Department of the Interior Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form See instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Type all entries - complete applicable sections 1. Name For HCRS use only received MAR 18 1982 date entered APR 15 1982 historic First Baptist Church in Newton and/or common same 2. Location street& number city, town 848 Beacon Street, corner of Centre Street Newton NA vicinity of congressional district NA not for publication 4th state Massachusetts 3. Classification Category Ownership district public x _ building(s) X private structure _ both site object Public Acquisition NA in process being considered code 025 county Middlesex code 018 Status - occupied . unoccupied . work in progress Accessible X yes: restricted yes: unrestricted .

no Present Use agriculture commercial educational entertainment government industrial military museum -park - private residence X - religious scientific transportation . other: 4. Owner of Property name First Baptist Church in Newton street & number 848 Beacon Street city, town Newton NA vicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state MA 02159 courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Middlesex County Registry of Deeds street & number 40 Thorndike Street city, town Cambridge state MA 02141 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Inventory of the Historic Assets of the title Commonwealth has this property been determined elegible? yes Xno date Sept. 15, 1979 federal * State county _ local depository for survey records Massachusetts Historical Commission city, town Boston state Mass. 7.

Description Condition excellent X good fair _ deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one X unaltered _ altered Check one x original site moved date NA Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

The Eiss Bap tiat hurch in e tonc faceted at oh ente sterstc ton o he farisn Hal ling extends at right angles to the north and Beacon Street. Diagonally opposite the Church is a sizeable grassed park area, Newton's colonial common. The Church serves as a transition from commercial to residential uses being abutted to the north and east by primarily one story commercial structures and to the south and west by late nineteenth century single family res- idences. The Church, with its Parish Hall, is an excellent example of the Richardsonian Romanesque style, with its emphasis on horizontal mass and asymmetry. Typically, it is constructed of rock faced granite with dark red East Longmeadow sandstone trim. The trim forms strong horizontal belt courses, accentuates door and window openings (often round arched) and forms decorative banding patterns.

The complex gable roof is covered with gray slate. The Church follows a Greek cross plan and is enclosed by intersecting gable roofs. The apse at the western end, which houses the chancel, is enclosed by a conical roof. The Parish Hall which is attached to the Church at the northwest corner, assumes a basically rectangular form with projections and is enclosed by a gable roof. The Church measures approximately 85'x135' while the Parish Hall measures 50'x75'. The Church interior which seats 600 is dominated by four low, broad arches forming the central crossing. Extensive ornamentation, much of it Christian symbols, ranges from elaborate sten- cilling and gold trim along the arches to a rich, gold frieze surrounding the room atop the dado and again at the cornice line.

North and south transepts each have large, stained glass rose windows dominating the gable ends and a similar half rose window throughout are opales- cent glass, in the style of LaFarge and Tiffany, and have been maintained in excellent condi- The clock which hangs on the east wall was built by Simon Willard in 1826 and hung as well in both of the Church's earlier buildings. The original carved oak pews have remained unchanged. In 1963 an educational wing was added abutting the west edge of the Parish Hall and running parallel to Beacon Street. Measuring from 50 feet by 75 feet, it is 2½ stories above grade, flat roof, sheathed in split faced composition stone. It houses classrooms, offices, nur- sery, and a large parlor. Architects were Harold C. Knight Associates (later Knight, Bagge and Anderson), Boston.

The building is not sensitively added, but detracts minimally from the original buildings because of its location at one edge. Alterations to the original buildings except to attach the educational wing have been minor involving principally modernizing the Parish Hall (Chapel) and rearranging -elements (organ, pulpit, choir) in the chancel. Electric lighting was added to the Church in 1901. The main elevation (east) consists of a broad gable, a projecting porch and a tall bell tower at its northern corner. The porch contains a triple arched Syrian portal reached by a flight of three steps. It is decorated with patterned sandstone bands and topped by a trefoil pierced parapet. The gable contains a large semicircular light with radiating sandstone bars at its base and is also decorated with patterned sandstone bands. A triple window lights its apex, above which rises a sandstone cross.

The tower rises from a square buttressed base to an eight sided configuration and is enclosed by a polygonal roof. Gargoyles project trom FHR-8-300 (11-78) United States Department of the Interior Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form For HCRS uSeMAR 1 8 1982 received date entered Continuation sheet Item number 7 Page 1 four sides of the tower at mid height; above this are eight tall round arched openings behind which is the belfrey. The south elevation is dominated by the broad gable of the transept arm which contains a large rose window set within a round arch. The west elevation consists of the conical roofed apse which contains four round arched windows, and a small polygonal projection at the southern corner. The north elevation, like the south, is dominated by the transept arm contäining a rose window.

The Parish House continues the design elements of the Church with the execep- tion of the windows which are square headed rather than arched. Chimney stacks rise from it north and south elevations and polygonal projections are located at each corner with the exception of the southwest which is attached to the Church.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Significance Period - prehistoric 1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 1700-1799 X 1800-1899 1900 Areas of Significance-Check and justify below - archeology-prehistoric community planning - archeology-historic conservation agriculture economics _ architecture education art engineering commerce exploration/settlement - communications industry invention landscape architecture * religion law literature military .music - philosophy politics/government science - sculpture - social/ humanitarian .theater .transportation other (specify) Specific dates 1888 Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph)' Builder/Architect John Lyman Faxon The First Baptish Church in Newton possesses integrity of location, design, materials, and workmanship and embodies the distinctive characteristics of the Richardsonian Romanesque style thereby meeting criterion C. It is historically significant as the home of Newton's first Baptist congregation. The Church is the work of John Lyman Faxon (b.1851), Boston architect strongly influenced by his brilliant contemporary, Henry Hobson Richardson. Richardson's spirit is evident in the similarity of the over-all plan to that of Trinity Church (1877), of the tower to Richard- son's Town Hall in North Easton (1881) and of the porch to Austin Hall at Harvard Law School (1883), as well as the use of Romanesque detailing executed in rock faced granite and brown- stone.

Richardons's powerful, uniquely American style was eclipsed within a decade by more traditional classicism, and well executed examples of "Richardsonian Romanesque" such as First Baptist Church are comparatively rare. Faxon was said to have studied the best churches of Europe and applied many of their features to the First Baptist. The strong Byzantine decoration of the interior is said to have been influenced by St. Mark's Basilica in Venice. Faxon's other churches include Rollins Chapel (Dartmouth College), the Central Baptist Church (Norwich, Connecticut), the First Congrega- tional Church (Detroit, Michigan), and the Mount Olivet Baptist Church (Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge). Faxon also designed the Hotels Kensington and Victoria in the Back Bay, the East Boston High School, and the Ferdinand Department Store at 2260 Washington Street, in Roxbury.

Cost of the First Baptist Church was reportedly about $90,000. Construction was by the firm of Mead, Mason and Co., and interior decoration was by L. Haberstroth & Son, a Boston decor- ating firm known for their work on the Colonial and Saxon/Majestic Theatres. The First Baptist Church in Newton is among the oldest Baptist congregations in the state. Baptists were recorded as living in Newton as early as the 1720's, but growth of the sect was slow and markedby persecution. It was not until 1776 that Newton Baptists were relieved of the obligation of paying taxes in support of established congregational churches. Four years later, in 1780, a congregation was assembled and the next year a rough, unplastered barn like meeting house was begun alongside Baptist Pond (now Crystal Lake).

Fifteen years later the congregation was finally able to afford a stove; twenty one years later, in 1802, the struc- ture was enlarged. In 1836, the congregation constructed a larger Romanesque Revival meeting house in a more convenient location, the corner of Beacon and Center Streets. The second building was remodelled in 1856 and 1869 and finally was moved from the site to make way for the present church, the third meeting house, dedicated on November 1, 1888. The latter is now the only one of the three still standing. Among the distinguished leaders of the church over the years were its second pastor, Father Grafton, minister for nearly half a century (1788-1836) and one of the founders of the Newton Theological Institute (now Andover-Newton Theological School) in 1825. In 1818, Mrs. Charles Hyde founded the church's Sabbath School, one of the earliest in 9.

The rest of the file

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

Major Bibliographical References Kings Handbook of Newton, M/F. Sweetser, Boston, 1889. Mirror of Newton Past and Present, Newton Federation of Women's Clubs, Newton, 1907. History of the Early Settlement of Newton From 1639-1800, Francis Jackson, Boston, 1854. Tercentenary History of Newton 1630-1930, Henry K. Rowe, Newton, 1930. History of Newton, Massachusetts, 1630-1880, S.F. Smith D.D. (ministor of ist Baptist Church) Boston ,1880 10. Geographical Data Historical Sketch of The First Baptist Church, E.D. Herrick, Newton, 1955. Acreage of nominated property - Quadrangle name _ Newton UMT References *L119/ |3/119/01410/ Zone Easting 63.499 sq. ft. ACREAGE NOT VERHI Quadrangle scale 1:24000 JIM NOT VERIFED 416 818/4170 B Northing Zone DLI E Easting LUL LLLLL LILL Northing LILLL LILILI AILu F H Verbal boundary description and justification block®,Ses Ctton 62ngineering Dept.

Blcok/Section Map. The church occupies 1ot 15, List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state NA code county code state code county 11. Form Prepared By name/title Candace Jenkins, Registration Director, MHC, with Elsie M. Husher, Chairman, Newton Historical Commission organization Massachsuetts Historical Conmission date code October 1, 1980 street & number 294 Washington Street telephone 617-727-8470 city or town Boston, state MA 12.

State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: .national _ state local As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National 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 criteria and procedures set forth by the Heritage Conservation and fecreation Service.

State Historic Preservation Officer signature tuwhWeslayk Executive Director, Massachusetts Historical Commission date 12/1/8 For HCRS use only hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register mtered in the eloues Fyeu National Register Keeper of the National Register date 4/15/82 Attest: Chief of Registration date GPO 938 835 FHR-8-300 (11-78) United States Department of the Interior Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form For HCRS use only received MAR 1 8 1982 date entered Continuation sheet Item number 8 Page 1 Masschusetts. The Rev. Samuel F. Smith, minister from 1842-1854, was the author of the lyrics to "America". Mrs.

Gardner Colby, a member of the congregation, was instrumental in the founding of the Women's American Baptist Foreign Mission Society in 1871, while her husband, Gardner Colby, successful dry goods merchant, became a generous benefactor to Baptist ventures and gave his name to Colby Hall (listed on the National Register) at Andover-Newton Theological School and to Colby College in Maine. Other pastors include Rev. William Newton Clarke, author of Outlines of Christian Theology, a book which shapec the theological thinking of divinity students and clergymen alike at the turn of the centüry; Rev. Eagar Mullins, later President of the Baptist World Alliance; Rev. Emory Hunt, President of Denison University before being called to Newton , and Bucknell University atter; and Rev. Gene E. Bartlett, the present minister, who served previously as President of Colgate- Rochester Divinity School.

SdN15 to NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION / RETURN SHEET Property: FRst BaptistChurchin newton State, County:MA, middlesex Federal Agency: resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: Reviewer's comments: United States Department of the Interior NationalPark Service Working No. 3-18.82-804 Fed. Reg. Date: Date Due: 2.1.83 415-82 5-2-82 Action: L ACCEPT 4/15/82 Entered in the - RETURN National Register - REJECT_ photos_ maps - sample - _ request - appeal - NR decision Recom. /Criteria - Reviewer Discipline_ Date - see continuation sheet - technical corrections cited below - substantive reasons discussed below -Nomination returned for: 1. Name 2. Location 3. Classification atogory Dwnership ublic Acqulsition 4. Owner of Property Ntatus Present Use 5. Location of Legal Description 6.

Representation in Existing Surveys hes this property been determined eligible? - - no 7. Description snditien excellent good fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check ene unaltered .aftered rlbe thhe procent and ertginal (if known) phryeical summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary selection Check one - original site - moved date 8. Significance Perted Spocific dates Mtatem ant of Signifleaneo (t - ono paragran Chook and juatify beler lullder/Archhteel summary paragraph completeness clarity applicable criteria justification of areas checked relating significance to the resource context relationship of integrity to significance justification of exception other 9. Major Bibliographical References 10. Geographical Data Aoreage of nominated property Quedrengle name UMT References Verbel boundery description nd justiication 11. Form Prepared By 12.

State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: _ netional . state - local Btate Hietoric Preeervation Officer eigneture date 13. Other Maps Photographs Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to. Signed Date _ Phone: 202 272-3504 Comments for any Item may be continued on an attached sheet FIRIT BATTIET CHUECH IN NEWTON, MAN EAST e partial NORTA ELEVATIONS 1979 NEWTON, MA First Baptist Church East Elevation Photo by Frank O1ney, August 1979 Negative at Jackson Homestead, 527 Washington St, Newton TELEPHONE 552-7100 City of Newton, Massachuset1s Incorporated 1873 CITY HALL COMMONWEALTH AVENUE AND WALNUT STREET NEWTON CENTRE 02159 THEODORE D. MANN MAYOR 21 November 1980 RECEIVED NOV 24 1980 MACE. HIST. COMM. Patricia L.

Weslowski State Historic Preservation Officer Massachusetts Historical Commission 294 Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108 Dear Ms. Weslowski: I strongly believe that the First Baptist Church should be nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, for the following reasons: The First Baptist Church in Newton was designed by John Lyman Faxon, a Boston architect strongly influenced by the work of Henry Hobson Richardson (architect for the Bigelow House, but better known for Trinity Church 1n Copley Square, Boston). Constructed in 1887, it is a building of high exterior and interior architectural quality style. Many architects and architectural historians believe that this church inent arece or tareh netum in Richardsonian Romanesque building is Newton's finest piece of architecture.

The building's magnificent features have been carefully maintained inside and out by its congregation. In 1980, the First Baptist Church in Newton is celebrating its 200th anniv- ersary as a congregation; it is Newton's oldest established congregation still gathered. Reverend Joseph Grafton, the church's second minister 1788-1836, was one of the founders of the Newton Theological Seminary in 1825, the first Baptist seminary in the United States. It is now called Andover-Newton Theological School and is Protestant interdenominational. In addition, Reverend Samual F. Smith, minister 1842-1854, was the author of the lyrics to the beloved patriotic hymn, "America." I enthusiastically support this nomination. IDi) Sincerely, /eth MAR 18 li2 NATIONAL REGISTER -9 ferre Theodore D.

Mann Mayor 10 1S1 MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS Office of the Secretary of State 294 Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108 617-727-8470 MICHAEL JOSEPH CONNOLLY Secretary of State December 12, 1980 Ms. Carol Shull, Chief Registration Branch Heritage, Conservation and Recreation Service DOI, W434 Dear Ms. Shull: Enclosed you will find the following nomination forms: Chelsea-C. Henry Kimball House (Local) Great Barrington-Searles Castle (national) Ipswich-Turner Hill (state) Newton-First Baptist Church (Local) Richmond-Goodwood (national) All have been voted eligible by the State Review Board and have been signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer.. The owners of the above properties all consent to their nomination.

Sincerely, Candace fenkins Candace Jenkins Registration Director CJ/1k PECEIVED MAR 18 1982 NATIONAL REDASTER First Baptist Church in Newton 848 Beacon Street Newton, MA The owner was originally notified of MHC's intent to nominate on 11/7/80. A letter of support was sent by the city mayor. The State Review Board considered the nomination on 12/10/80 and voted unanimously in favor. The nomination was submitted to the National Register on 12/12/80; it was returned to MHC on 12/13/81. Ownership was verified on 12/2/81 and the owner was renotified of Massachusetts Historic Commission's intent to nominate on 12/14/81. No response was received.

ENTRIES IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES STATE MASSACHUSETTS Date Entered APRIL 15, 1982 Name First Baptist Church in Newton Roughan Hall Location Newton Middlesex County Boston (Charlestown) Suffolk County Notified Honorable Barney Frank Honorable Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. Honorable Edward M. Kennedy Honorable Paul E. Tsongas Mid-Atlantic Regional Office, NPS North Atlantic Regional Office, NPS State Historic Preservation Officer Mrs. Patricia L. Weslowski Executive Director, Massachusetts Historical Commission 294 Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108 For further information, please call the National Register at (202) 272-3504