Nomination for Charles Street African Methodist Episcopal Church

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form10-900 (3-82) OMB No.1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 United States Department of the Interior National Park 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 NPS use only received AUG - | 983 date entered historic Al1 Souls Unitarian Churche and/or common 2. Location Charles Street African Methodist Episcopal Church (preferred) street & number 551 Warren Streetl N/ A not for publication city, town Boston fRoxburyf N/Avicinity of state Massachusetts 3.

Classification code 025 county Suffolk code 025 Category _ district & building(s) structure site object Ownership - public X private both Public Acquisition N/ An process being considered Status X 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 - religious scientific transportation other: 4. Owner of Property name Charles Street African Methodist Episcopal Church street & number 551 Warren Street city, town Roxbury N/A vicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state MA courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Suffolk County Courthouse street & number Pemberton Square city, town Boston 6. Representation in Existing Surveys state MA titleComprehensive Boston Preservationas this property been determined eligible?

-yes X no Study date Fall, 1981 federal - state -countyX local depositary for survey records Boston Landmarks Commission, Room 805, City Hall city, town Boston State MA 7. Description All Souls Unitarian Church, 551 Warren St., Boston Condition . excellent good X. fair - deteriorated _ ruins unexposed Check one X unaltered altered Check one X original site _ moved date N/A Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

All Souls Unitarian Church in the Roxbury section of Boston is located at 551 Warren Street, in the acute angle formed by the intersection of Warren Street and Elm Hill Avenue. It is a short distance north of Franklin Park. The surrounding neighborhood largely retains the character of a late 19th century suburb with blocks of Mansard, Queen Anne and later Victorian single and double houses set back on small city lots. Architect J. Williams Beal designed All Souls in the Tudor style and carpenter Melzar W. Allen and mason Alfred Blight collaborated with him to create unusual architectural and decorative features. All Souls consists of the church proper and a Parish House by its side. The material is Roxbury Puddingstone, trimmed with Quincy granite. The interior is finished in cypress.

The building is L-shaped in plan, with the exterior sides of the I facing Warren Street and Elm Hill Avenue, the long arm running along the latter. For purposes of explanation, the narthex is on the Nend of the church, the apse on the S. The crenellated square tower with high, hipped roof and gargoyles is located on the NW corner, flanked by the gables of the W transept and the N front of the parish house, the latter appended to teee sert en f te L. The parish house also has a gable facing E, displaying considerable overhang; through it rises a large, tapering chimney, to emerge again from the roof. Between the parish house and the tower are situated the main entrance and narthex. On the Wside of the narthex rises a small polygonal , peaked-roofed structure serving as the stair tower to the contiguous main tower.

The sanctuary, constituting the long arm of the I, consists of the nave, a spacious transept with shallow arms and a pentagonal apse attached to the S end and entered through a round-headed arch. Subsidiary rooms are located off the NW (in the tower), SW and SE corners of the sanctuary. The latter, a broad, low space exhibiting the intimate proportions of the church as a whole, is defined by varnished wainscotting and roof timbers, the ceiling being supported and articulated by a complicated system of rafters, purlins and collar beams. a flat central plane. The ceiling rises in two slanting planes to The ribs rising at the junctions of nave and transept arms continue into four horizontal, diagonally-placed rafters which form a box-shaped inclosure over the crossing. Hammer beams mark the points where these rafters intersect and emphasize other critical points in the structure.

Screens with lobe-cutouts fill spaces between collar ties and the ceiling. The sanctuary is further decorated by the paneled screen surmounted by a delicate balustrade in the apse, and an impressive series of stained glass windows. Although a number of these windows were removed and replaced by plain leaded cathedral glass when the church was sold in 1939, several of the original windows remain. These include the two small chancel windows without figures (by LaFarge); the three windows representing St. Cecilia, St.

Elizabeth of Hungary and Mary in the east transept (also by LaFarge) with dedicatory windows below, except for the central one which was destroyed in a burglary; and the window in the Elm Hill side of the church NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Continuation sheet All Souls Unitarian Churdtem number 7 OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 Far NPS use only received date entered Page which represents St. Cecilia, typical of faith. In the western transept a large Tiffany window was once located. In three parts, the window represented the Angel of the Lilies. John LaFarge was the outstanding American stained glass maker of the nineteenth century; his work played a prominent part in the interior decoration of Trinity Church in Boston.

McDonald, too, was a well-known stained glass maker of the time. Other furnishings which should be mentioned include the E. Howard tower clock with two dials, the bell cast by Henry McShane and Company of Baltimore, Maryland, the Hook and Hastings organ (now disassembled, it was probably brought from Mt. Pleasant Congregational Church; the Unitarian Universalist Association files contain a bill from Hook and Hastings for $1096.05 for "organ alterations and setting") and the "eagle lecturn, carved by Kirchmeyer from cypress wood... placed in the chancel" ialso described in the abovementioned deed. The lecturn is no longer in the church. The exterior appearance of the church has changed little except for the replacement of the red and blue slate roof with rolled asphalt roofing and the addition of an unobtrusive glass entry to the narthex.

Exterior elevations show careful attention to detall; for example, the Quincy granite trim surrounds window openings and accents exterior corners and buttresses. The narthex and other subsidiary rooms of the interior have been largely covered with drywall and modern panelling; however, the sanctuary remains little-changed from its original appearance except for the replacement of some windows as noted above. New rooms are in process or planned in unused spaces below the sanctuary and above the narthex.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Significance A11 Souls Unitarian Church, 551 Warren St., Boston Period prehistoric 1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 1700-1799 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 X religion law literature military music - philosophy politics/government _ science _ sculpture x social/ humanitarian _ theater - transportation - other(specify) Specific dates 1888 Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) Builder/Architect J. Williams Beal, architect Alfred Blight, mason Melzar W. Allen, carpenter The All Souls Unitarian Church retains its integrity of location, design, set- ting, materials and workmanship. The church, designed by Boston architect J. Williams Beal, was erected in 1888-9 by the Mount Pleasant Congregational Church, which took the name of All Souls upon the completion of the building. Parishioners, such as fire engine manufacturer William Cooper Hunneman, were members of Roxbury's nineteenth century merchant class. From 1929-1933 the church was owned by the Episcopal City Mission and occupied by St. Ansgarius Swedish Church (originally an East Boston congregation). In 1939 the church was acquired by its present owner, the Charles Street African Methodist Episcopal Church. This congregation had owned the Charles Street Meeting House since 1876.

During pre-Civil war days, at a location on Anderson Street, the congregation's services had been the scene of many stirring abolitionist meetings where William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, Frederick Douglass and others led the fight against slavery./As the last black congregation on Beacon Hill, the move of the Charles Street African Methodist Episcopal Church to Roxbury reflected the decades long movement of Boston's black population from Beacon Hill to Roxbury and the changing population patterns in twentieth century Boston/ The first settlers in Roxbury had been English. neighborhood's BBAAL multi-ethnic character began in the 19th century with the immigration of Irish and German workers before the Civil War, followed by Eastern European Jews and small groups of Scandinavians, Lithuanians and French Canadians.

Afro-Americans began settling in Lower Roxbury in the early 20th century. As a building significant for its architectural excellence, its tradition and its history, All Souls Unitarian Church meets criteria A and C of the National Register of Historic Places. Architecturally, the church is significant as a major work of J. Williams Beal, a member of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's first graduating class in architecture (1877). He also designed the nearby Harris Wood Crescent, a block of Tudor rowhouses which stands on Horatio Harris Park in Roxbury, the Walnut Avenue Congregational Church and Eliot Church (1887-9). As a young architect, Beal was employed by some of the leading architects in America -- Richard Morris Hunt and the firm of McKim,Mead and White.

He became a pioneer in the structural use of concrete and designed numerous public buildings in Boston's South Shore area as well as private residences throughout New England. His domestic and ecclesiastical designs, and his imaginative display of plans and elevations, reflect his early training under the then Shingle Style architects. In a personal communication, his successor, Edward Poskus of J. Williams Beal Sons and Poskus, cites All Souls Church as a fine example of Beal's style. The church windows illustrate the work of McDonald of Boston, a noted local stained glass maker, and of John LaFarge, the outstanding American stained 9.

The rest of the file

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

Major Bibliographical References Suffolk County Courthouse; Boston, Mass.: Deeds relating to Mt. Pleasant Congregational Church, All Souls Unitarian Church, Charles St. Meeting House. Tucci, Douglass Shand. Built in Boston, Boston: New York Graphic Society, 1978. Figure 94: Harris Wood Crescent. 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property - 11,824 square feet Quadrangle name Boston South Quadrangle scale 1" = 25,000' UT M References A|19/ 3/218/21310 Zone Easting [1|6|815|3170 Northing Easting D F LILL Northing LuLL E GL HLd buLdtL Verbal boundary description and justification see attached deed description and assessor's map. List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries N/A state code county code N/A state code county code 11.

Form Prepared By name/title Candace Jenkins, Preservation Planning Director organization Massachusetts Historical Commissiondate 5/83 Woodard Openo, Museum of Afro-American Histor and the Boston Land- marks Commission. street & number 294 Washington Street telephone (617) 727-8470 city or town Boston state Massachusetts 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national local 7 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 thecriteria andprocedures set forth bythe National Park Service.

State Historic Preservation Officer signature// almehweslouski title State Historic Preservation Officer , MHC For NPS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register leloues Entered in the yer Jf Reoper on the Malional feagiser National Register Attest: Chief of Registration date 7/20/83 date 9/1/83 date NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form Continuation sheet All Souls Unitarian Churdtem number 8 OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 For NPS use only received date entered Page 1 glass maker of the nineteenth century, responsible for much of the interior decoration of Trinity Church in Boston. The architecture and furnishings of the church are significant not only for their high quality, but also because of the use of Roxbury products: the E.

Howard tower clock, the Hook and Hastings organ and Roxbury puddingstone. Parenthetically, the completeness of the building documentation (as found in the files of the Unitarian Universalist Association in Boston) makes the church an extraordinarily historical resource regardless of the importance of Beal, LaFarge and others connected with its construction and furnishing. The All Souls Church is among a number of architecturally distinguished later 19th century churches in Boston and the Roxbury neighborhood. It is unusual in Boston ecclesiastical architecture in that it combines Gothic Revival and Tudor Revival stylistic elements in rather picturesque massing. NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Continuation sheet All Souls Unitarian Churatem number 9 OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp.

10-31-84 For NPS use only received date antered Page 1 Unitarian Universalist Association, Boston. MA. Damrell, Charles. Half Century of Boston's Buildings, Boston: Louis P. Hager, 1895, P.63: Warren Avenue Congregational Church. Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts; 1 Joy Street, Boston, Library: St. Ansgarius Swedish Church. NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior NationalPark Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 For NPS use anly received date entered Continuation sheet All Souls Unitarian Churctem number 10 Page 1 The nominated property includes only the lot on which the building stands; it is described in Boston Assessor's Records as parcel # 2608 of Ward 12.

Its boundary is as follows: Beginning at the southeasterly corner of the premises, assessor's parcel #2608, on Warren Street, thence running northwesterly on said street, eighty-two and seventy hundredths (82.70) feet; thence running on a curve with a radius of twenty-two and twenty hundredths (22.20) feet, forty-two and fifteen hundredths (42.15) feet; thence running southwesterly on Elm Hill Avenue, one hundred and thirteen and eighty-four hundredths (113.84) feet; thence turning and running southeasterly along parcel # 2608, thirty -two and eight hundredths (32.08) feet; thence running still southeasterly a little more southerly by some forty-two feet ; thence turning and running northeasterly, along parcel # 2608, one hundred and twenty and sixty-seven hundredths (120.67) feet to the point of beginning on Warren Street.

Containing eleven thousand and eight hundred and twenty-four square feet.

(Suffolk Deed L1832 £526, 1887) Al1 Souls Unitarian Church 551 Warren Street Roxbury, Massachusetts 1" = 100' UTM References: 19/328230/4686370 5/14 6089 $955 5266 8555 3511 4008 4504 3282 4773 6623 6561 STREET 30 7300 3500 3844 3922 4049 4105 6962 REET 4127 10,220 8/94 6434 8946 6499 5071 11,422 66/73 509 -513 5400 9940 7906 5570 5841 AVENUE 2,6 :33 3600 3600 3856 4693 CARLISLE 6890 8766 6000 6000 3700 6000 4000 4000 4000 5000 6000 8971 6700 GASTON 5000 STF 50 6428 5000 5510 11,6/7 5000 5277 5043 4965 5559 5040 6588 3546 3469 3119 1458 16/0 ELM HILL 5734 PARK 5024 50/5 5006 33-33 499 1396 171/ 2955 6/47 3028 2966 3 449/ 3600 3600 8937 3600 4 S 20,533 INTERVALE 222H/-2 4 108.68 120.9 3878 2100 2410 BRUNSWICK 3864 2196 32 2443 43 4798 STR 4654 4481 6832 5912 12,235 5000 -6380 4704 524/ BLS 15000 15728 DEVON 5805 6 PPLNES EGRM 5924 S> ok WASO Form - 177 ("R" June 1984) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET Charles Street African Methodist Episcopal Church Suffolk County MASSACHUSETTS resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: Reviewer's comments: -sample -request Working No.AUG 11083 Fed.

Reg. Date: . 2-7-84 Date Due:_ 9/1/83- 9//S Entered Actinie- LACCEPT - 9/1/83 Nat1ona1 Regieter-RETURN -REJECT_ Federal Agency: _ Jappeal - NR decision Recom./Criteria Reviewer Discipline Date - see continuation sheet Nomination returned for: technical corrections cited below substantive reasons discussed below 1. Name 2. Location 3. Classification Category Ownership Public Acquisition 4. Owner of Property 5. Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Has this property been determined eligible? yes no 7. Description Condition excellent good fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one unaltered altered Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary selection Status Accessible Present Use Check one original site moved date 8.

Significance Period Areas of Significance-Check and justify below Specific dates Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) Builder/Architect summary paragraph completeness clarity applicable criteria justification of areas checked relating significance to the resource context relationship of integrity to significance I justification of exception other 21 9. Major Bibliographical References 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property Quadrangle name UTM References Verbal boundary description and justification 11. Form Prepared By 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national state _local State Historic Preservation Officer signature title date 13. Other -Maps - Photographs Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to Signed.

Date Phone: Comments for any item may be continued on an attached sheet Photo #1 of 2 All Souls Unitarian Church 551 Warren Street Roxbury, Massachusetts view from northwest corner: tower flanked by north front of parish house and west transept. Woodard Openo, Afro-American Museum, 1980. Photo #2 of 2 All Souls Unitarian Church 551 Warren Street Roxbury, Massachusetts Chules st. AFrieme charch view from southeast SufFelk MA Woodard Openo, Afro-American Museum, 1980. 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 July 20, 1983 Ms. Carol Shull, Chief National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Department of the Interior 18th and C,Streets, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20240 Dear Ms.

Shull: Enclosed you will find the following nomination forms: Boston Charles Street African MethodistEpiscopal Church (local) Boston - Harrison Loring House (local) Chicopee - Valentine School (local) Gardner - Heywood-Wakefield Complex (local) Greenfield - Garden Theater Block (local) Monterey - Rock Ridge (local) Pittsfield - Allen Hotel (local) Williamstown - Col. Benjamin Simond House (local) All have been voted eligible by the State Review Board and have been signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer. Owners were notified of pending State Review Board consideration 30-75 days before the meeting and were afforded the opportunity to comment. Comments received to date are attached to the nomination forms. Sincerely, Candace lenkins Candace Jenkins Registration Director Massachusett& Historical Commission rec 'd AUG - | 1983 CJ/hi Enclosure