Nomination for Christ 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 DEC 3 | 1985 date entered JAN 3 0 1986 historic Christ Church Same and/or common 2. Location street & number 1220 River Street NA not for publication Boston (Hyde Park) NA city, town vicinity of state Massachusetts 3. Classification code 025 county Suffolk code 025 Category .district X building(s) structure site object Ownership .

public private both Public Acquisition in process n/abeing considered Status X occupied _ unoccupied _ work in progress Açcessible - yes: restricted _ yes: unrestricted no Present Use _ agriculture commercial educational entertainment government industrial military museum park x Private residence religious scientific transportation other: 4. Owner of Property name Parish of Christ Church 1220 River Street street & number Boston city, town NA vicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state Massachusetts 02136 courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Norfolk County Courthouse, Suffolk Country Registry of Deeds street & number 650 High Street Pemberton Square city, town Dedham, Massachusetts Boston state Massachusetts 6. Representation in Existing Surveys title a) Inventory of the Historic Assets of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,FORM # HP 506 has this property been determined eligible?

yes X no date August 1981 federal X : state county _ local Massachusetts Historical Commission depository for survey records city, town Boston, state Massachusetts 7. Description Condition X excellent good fair _ deteriorated ruins unexposed Christ Church, Boston (Hyde Park), MA Check one unaltered X altered Check one original site moved date n/a Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

Christ Church is an Episcopal parish church building designed in the Late Gothic Revival style by the firm of Cram and Wentworth in 1893-94. Located in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston, it is situated in the immediate vicinity of Cleary Square, the town's major commercial center formed by the intersection of River Street and Hyde Park Avenue. The Church and its connecting Parish House sit on a slightly elevated site at the corner of River and Maple Streets.ont granite retaining wall outlines the property along this north-east To the south the rear of the lot abuts a residential area. To the west the property is adjacent to a modern commercial block. A small park in the front of the Parish House along River Street and a landscaped strip along Maple Street set the Church apart from the predominantly commercial character of the area.

Christ Church is a modestly scaled basilican plan building with a slate gable roof. It consists of a nave and chancel (choir and sanctuary) with flanking side aisles and a small enclosed front entry porch. It is constructed of random-coursed, rough faced Quincy granite. Nova Scotia freestone is used for door and window trim and for a belt course outlining the basement level. Sandstone-colored stucco is applied to the sides of the building at the clerestory level and to the entire rear wall. Connected to the rear of the chancel is the Parish House. The Church itself has undergone only minor alteration. In 1920 a sacristy was added to the side of the sanctuary. The 5 bay, 1 story clerestory nave and choir are articulated by high flanking buttressed aisles. Five arched, double windows line each side of the clerestory.

Three broadly pointed windows, each with triple cinquefoil panels and stone tracery in the Perpendicular style dominate each aisle. A side door is located in the first bay of the Maple Street aisle. A tower was originally designed for this section, but was never built due to lack of funds. At the rear of the Church are the single bay walls of the sanctuary. The only opening in this section is the cathedral window over the altar, also designed in the Perpendicular style with 5 panels. Projecting from the central section of the symmetrical three bay, buttressed front facade is a small entrance porch with a pitched roof and small side windows. A series of steps leads up from the street to a pointed arched doorway, simply decorated with freestone trim and a carved quatrefoil. A cathedral window, of similar design as the first, dominates the central bay.

The single traceried windows of the side bays repeat the design of those in the side aisles. At the top of the central gable is a stone cross. Continued NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Boston Continuation sheet Christ Church, (Hyde Park) MA Item number OMB NO. 1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 For NPS use only receivec date entered 7 Page 1 The interior of the Church is organized by a pair of pointed arched stone arcades which separate the nave from the side aisles and lead to the chancel. The high ceiling of the nave and choir is composed of dark wooden beams supported by simple trusses. Antique oak wainscoting of rectangular panels and a shoulder-height molded rail line the walls of the aisles and the rear of the nave, contrasting with the off-white stone walls.

The paneling is repeated on the lower sections of the simple stone piers. A simple molded rail outlines the clerestory level. The fixed oak pews have carved cinquefoil panels in their end boards. Along the right side aisle a Lady's Chapel was furnished in 1914. In contrast to the simplicity of the nave is the more decorated fabric of the chancel. An intricately carved oak rood screen separates the two sections of the Church. The chancel is composed of the choir lined with oak pews and an organ case and the sanctuary with the altar and related furniture. A gradual series of steps elevates the sanctu ary and the altar, the focal point of the Church, above the floor of the nave. Behind the altar is a finely carved wooden reredos composed of cinquefoil panels with projecting stone carved figures of the four Evangelists.

The slightly lower, arched ceiling of the sanctuary further distinguishes this section from the rest of the Church. The five clerestory windows lining each side of the nave have diamond shaped panes of various shades of yellow. Stained glass fills the cathedral window over the altar, four of the eight side aisle windows, and the Lady Chapel window. Diamond shaped panes of various shades of pink fill the rest of the windows. Designed to commemorate the life of Christ, the fine collection of stained glass represents the evolution of this art over 50 years, from 1895-1945. In 1895 the Crucifixion window was installed, representing the Tiffany-type opalescent window, in which, strands of color were introduced into the molten glass. The only painting in the window is on the flesh and in the lettering.

Harry Goodhue, a talented Boston designer, did the figure window over the altar in 1901, featuring Christ, the two Marys and Saints Peter and Paul. He achieved his fine colors and forms through the use of two layers of glass, antique transparent and opalescent in the manner pioneered by John La Farge. In 1901 Sarah Whitman designed the Lady's Chapel window depicting Christ after the Temptation in the Garden of Gethsemene. Continued NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Boston Continuation sheet Christ Church, (Hyde Park) , MAtem number 7 OMB No. 1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 For NPS use anly received dale entered Page 2 The last three windows are English-inspired. In 1912 the Resurrection window was added.

Based on windows in Salisbury Cathedral, portions of its background represent the grisaille tradition. Developed in 13th century England, this method made use of only slightly tinted or clear glass on which foliated patterns were painted. The emphasis of these was based upon light and design instead of color and figures. In 1925 the well-known London firm of Powell and Sons: Whitefriars Glass Works made the All Saints' window. Their symbolic signature of a robed white friar is located in the lower right hand corner. The last window, the Good Shepherd, was designed in 1945 by the firm of Reynolds, Francis and Rohnstock of Boston, all of whose principals were trained in the Connick studio. Previously they had executed windows for the Cathedral ofSt. John the Divine, the Princeton Chapel and the Washington Cathedral.

Of all the windows in Christ Church, this window most nearly represents the medieval tradition of emphasis on the primary colors. The windows are currently in fair condition due to buckling problems. The original 1861 church building was a simple Gothic style wood frame, gable roofed structure with bell tower and decorative bargeboards. In 1893 this structure was moved to the rear of the lot to serve as the Parish House. In 1913, the original interior fabric of the single story central hall was retained within an extensively enlarged and remodelled Parish House. Cram and Ferguson enlarged the Parish House into a stone structure abutting the Church with the addition of two wings and a two story section in the rear to produce the current building. steeply pitched roof and is similar in its stone wall surfaces and compatible in style to the Church.

A broad cross gable extends from the north side, sheltering a recessed offset entrance. Window openings in the parish house are filled with grouped units of square above vertical rectangles, each divided into small panes. Iwo small hipped dormers project from the roof on the north.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Significance Christ Church, Boston (Hyde Park), MA Period prehistoric 1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 1700-1799 1800-1899 X 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. law literature military music philosophy politics/government Builder/Architect Ralph Adams Cram religion science sculpture social/ humanitarian theater transportation other (specity) Specific dates 1893-4; 1913; 1920 Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) 52r330 104-9 Christ Church possesses integrity of location, design, materials, workmanship, setting, and association and meets criterion C of the National Register of Historic Places. It is significant as an excellent local example of the Late Gothic Revival, designed by the foremost proponent of this style, Ralph Adams Cram, and reflects his ideas on village parish church design and the importance of art to religion. The Church possesses several fine stained glass windows designed by noted Boston and London firms, dating from 1895-1945. The Episcopal Parish of Christ Church, the öldest church organization in Hyde Park, was formally established on Nove mber 8, 1860, eight years before Hyde Park became incorporated as a town. In 1861, the Parish built the first church in Hyde Park, a simple wood frame Gothic Revival structure with tower.

The altar used in the Lady''s Chapel is from the 5Tesp original church. By 1890 the growing Parish needed a larger church. They dreamed of a stone church to occupy the central position on the town The Vestry approved the plans submitted by the firm of Cram,. Wentworth and Goodhue in May 1893. The cornerstone was laid on September 2hurc,noved to the radoptne pas het pethe Parish Housee Theoriginal Ralph Adams Cram (1863-1942) is credited by Douglas Shand Tucci in Church Building in Boston, 1720-1970, with "revolutionizing the visual image of American Christianity in the first four decades of this century" (p. 49). As the designer of such major works as St. Thomas Church, Cathedral of St. John the Divine and Princeton University Chapel, Cram was the leader of the Late Gothic Revival Style.

Rejecting the artificial and gaudy forms of Victorian Gothic, Cram proposed to return church architecture to the Perpendicular Gothic style of nearly 16th century England at a point where Henry VIII and the Reformation had cut off its evolution. His intent was not to copy models, as he thought Pugin and other proponents of the Early Gothic Revival had done, but to continue its development "along what might be assumed to be logical lines, with due regard to the changing conditions of contemporary culture" (Cram, My Life in Architecture, p. 73). while Cram's first church, All Saints' 'at Ashmont (Dorchester), is considered to be his masterpiece of suburban parish church architecture, Christ Church is cited to be 'one "of the most important of Cram and Goodhue's early local churches," and of this group of four it is the earliest.1 after All Saints!

helped to influence the use - Christ Church Designed immediate tne Gothic style for village parish churches that were being built in Boston's emerging suburbs in the last decade of the nineteenth century and the early decades of the twentieth century. While the Georgian style continued to be popular, the Gothic parish church was prevalent. Continued 9.

The rest of the file

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

Major Bibliographical References SEE ATTACHED CONTINUATION SHEET 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property 21,179" Boston South Quadrangle name UT M References A L1,9/ L3/2,4|3,0,01 Zone Easting 14,68,07,00 Northing LLILLL : 1= 25,000 Qfladranale +scale B LLLIL LIILL Zone Easting Northing DLI LuLL LILLLLL ELI FLU LELLL LILLL GLI HILL Verbal boundary description and justification Nominated property conforms to City of Boston Assessors' Parcel number 9134 (Ward 18). List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state n/ a code county code state N/A code 11. Form Prepared By county code name/title organization Edie Clifford, Boston Landmarks Commission/ Sarah Zimmerman,Director of Preservation Planning for Massachusetts HIstorical Commission date August, 1985 street & number 80 Boylston St.

telephone 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 _state X 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 accordingto the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service.

State Historic Preservation Officer signature valmii A Talmage Executive Director, Massachusetts Historical Commission title date State Historic Preservation Officer 12 20|85 For NPS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register Velares fireopau or the Matona agecter In ver:ed Natfonal Register date 1-30-86 Attest: date Chief of Registration U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1983 0 - 419-311 NPSForm10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Boston Continuation sheet Christ Church, (Hyde Park) MA Item number OMB No.

1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 For NPS use only recelved date entered 8 Page | Christ Church introduced the Gothic Revival style to Hyde Park, and as the third oldest church building in this town, offers an interesting contrast to the earlier Victorian Gothic and Queen Anne church buildings. The building, the only church in Hyde Park to be designed by a nationally known architect, reflects Cram's talents "as a master of mass and proportion, simply composed."2 Though the church was technically incomplete, Cram wrote that "the church will, even without the tower, yet to all appearances (be) practically complete."3 In 1912, the Town of Hyde Park was annexed to Boston. Within the context of the larger city, Christ Church is one of the two surviving Gothic village parish churches designed totally by Cram. The other village church is All Saints'.

The fine quality of the interior design and materials demonstrates Cram's innovative integrated design concept. For Cram, art was the visible expression of religious ideals and emotions. He therefore felt that for a church to function as a coherent whole, all the art associated with it, from the design of the structure to the carving of the interior wooden panels should come under the supervision of the architect. Bertram Goodhue, who later became Cram's partner, was known as a master of interior detail and worked on Christ Church as a draftsman. Cram also gathered around him a group of artisans to help him carry out his ideas, some of whose work is represented in Christ Church.

The finely carved rood screen has been initially attributed to the firm of Irving and Casson, although final documentation is lacking.4 Of particular note is the fine collection of stained glass which, designed to commemorate the life of Christ, represents the evolution of this art over 50 years, from 1895-1945. In 1895 the Crucifixion window was installed. In 1901 Sarah Whitman, "One of the social and intellectual leaders of her time in Boston, " designed the Lady's Chapel window depicting Christ after the Temptation in the Garden of Gethsemene. 5 Harry Goodhue, a talented Boston designer, did the figure window over the altar in 1901, featuring Christ, the two Marys and Saints Peter and Paul. The last three windows are English-inspired. In 1912 the Resurrection window was added. In 1925 the well-known London firm of Powell and Sons: Whitefriars Glass Works made the All Saints' window.

The last window, the Good Shepherd, was designed in 1945 by the firm of roe laer l.ho», the coos shapard Reynolds, Francis and Rohnstock of Boston, all of whose principals were trained in the Connick studio. Previously they had executed windows for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the Princeton Chapel and the Washington Cathedral. Continued NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Boston Continuation sheet Christ Church, (Hyde Park) MA Item number 8 OMB NO. 1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 For NPS use anly received dale entered Page 2 NOTES 1. Douglas Shand Tucci, Church Building in Boston, 1720-1970. Concord, 1974. p. 49. 2. Douglas Shand Tucci, Built in Boston, p. 167. An Appeal for the New Christ Church, Hyde Park, Massachusetts. Hyde Park, 1983. p. 13. 4.

Parish Records_ Christ Church, Hyde Park, Massachusetts - 4/13/1891 -- 12/28/1920. pp. 305, 306. On these pages the rood screen is mentioned as being donated to the Church in 1912. There is no mention of the designer. Irving and Casson are listed as the designer in Tucci's Church Building in Boston, p. 126, with the Cram Archives at the Boston Public Library given as source. However, a recent check of the Cram Archives by personnel from the Library's Print Department could not locate this reference. 5. Wilbur Burnham and Joseph G. Reynolds, Jr., "Iwo Boston Studios Collaborate on Washington Cathedral Apse Windows," Stained Glass, Vol. XXXVIII, No. 111, Autumn 1943, p. 84.

NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Boston Continuation sheet Christ Church, (Hyde Park) MA Item number 9 OMB No. 1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 Far NPS use only received dale entered Page 1 BIBLIOGRAPHY An Appeal for the New Christ Church, Hyde Park, Mass. Hyde Park: Norfolk County Gazette, 1893. (located in Christ Church Archives) Atlas of the City of Boston, Ward 26, Hyde Park. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley and Co., 1912. Boston Landmarks Commission. Hyde Park Survey: Part 1 and II. Boston: Boston Redevelopment Authority, August 1981 Burnham, Wilbur and Reynolds, Jr., Joseph G. "Two Boston Studios Collaborative on Washington Cathedral Apse Windows," Stained Glass, Vol. XXXVIII, No. III, Automn 1943.

Christ Church-Hyde Park: 1860-1910 (50th Anniversary)._(located in Christ Church Archives) Connick, Charles. "Boston Stained Glass Craftsmen," Stained Glass, Vol. XXVIII, No. II, Summer 1933 Cram, Ralph Adams. Church Building. Boston: Marshall Jones Co., 1924 My Life in Architecture. Boston: Little, Brown and Co. 1936 The Gothic Quest. New York: Doubleday, Page and Co., 1918. Downs, Joseph, "Stained Glass by John La Farge," Stained Glass, Vol. XL, No. IV, Winter 1945. "English Perpendicular Gothic," December 1910. The Church Militant, Vol. XIII, No. 7, "Formal Opening of Christ Church." Norfolk County Gazette, December 8, 1894. Harris, Cyril M., Ed. Illustrated Dictionary of Historic Architecture. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1977. Insurance Maps of Boston-Vol. II. New York: Sanborn Map Co., 1930. Jenkins, Candace.

All Saints' Church: National Register of Historic Places: Nomination Form. Boston: Massachusetts Historical Commission, 1979. Continued NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Boston Continuation sheet Christ Church, (Hyde Park) MA Item number 9 OMB NO. 1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 For NPS use anly received date entered Page 2 BIBLIOGRAPHY, Cont. Knight, Joseph King. Memorial Sketch of Hyde Park, Mass. - 1868-1888. Boston: L. Barta and Co., 1888. Lee, Lawrence, Seddon, George and Stephens, Francis. Stained Glass. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1976. Memorial File: Descriptions of Stained Glass Windows. (located in Christ Church Archives) Muccigrosso, Robert. American Gothic: The Mind and Art of Ralph Adams Cram. Washington, D.C.: Unversity Press of America, 1980.

Outstanding Events in the History of the Parish of Christ Church. (prepared by Mabel Hicks, Parish Historian, February 1977.) (located in Christ Church Archives) Parish Records: Christ Church, Hyde Park, Mass. -4/13/1891-12/28/1920. (located in Christ Church Archives) Skinner, Orin B. "Boston: A Stained Glass Tour," Stained Glass, Summer 1965. "The New Christ Church: Laying of the Corner Stone." Norfolk County Gazette, September 28, 1893. "The New Episcopal Church." Norfolk County Gazette, July 22, 1893. Topographic and Planimetric Survey-Derived From City of Boston Assessors Plans (6N-7E), Prepared under the Direction of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, 1965. Tucci, Douglas Shand. Built in Boston. Boston: New York Graphic Society, 1978. Tucci, Douglas Shand. Church Building in Boston, 1720-1970. Concord, Mass.: The Rumford Press, 1974. Tucci, Douglas Shand.

Ralph Adams Cram: American Medievalist. Boston: Boston Public Library, 1975. Whiffen, Marcus. Amerian Architecture Since 1780. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1981. Withey, Henry and Elsie. Biographical Dictionary of American Architects (Deceased). California: New Age Publishing Co., 1956. WASO Form - 177 ("R" June 1984) Ry # 86000140 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET Christ Church Suffolk County MASSACHUSETTS resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: Reviewer's comments: sample J request Working No._ DEC 3 | 1985 Fed. Reg. Date: 2-3-87 Date Due: Ba bered i Action: 1/30/86 - 3/14/86 ACCEPT - 1- 30-86 Matienal Bogletep RETURN _REJECT - Federal Agency: .

Jappeal LNR 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 J 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 L clarity E 330 - applicable criteria Jjustification 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 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:..

GPO 918-450 Comments for any item may be continued on an attached sheet Christ Church 1220 River St. Hyde Park (Boston), Massachusetts Rosalind Pollan, 1981 Negative at Boston Landmarks Commission Boston City Hall Photo #1 of 2 Northeastern oblique view, camera facing southwest FIRST NATIONAL BANK BOSTON Christ Church 1220 River St. Hyde Park (Boston) , Massachusetts Rosalind Pollan, 1980 Negative at Boston Landmarks Commission Boston City Hall Photo #2 of 2 Northern elevation, camera facing south PROVIDENCE S T. 14,207 1253 125> 1255 259 8100 13,758 1263A 1277 1287 1285 1283 1279 1281 295 1289 STREET 280 267 13,843 1269 1273 8650 7867 1279 1281 1663 1283 9521 1285 287 STREET 10,325 129| PARK HYDE 1295 AVENUE CLEARY SQ. 248 1248A 12 25 3/81 1256 7762 ~ RIVER 292l 0921 8921 7675 1257 1255 92I 1253 251 1249 PARKING W.

37,511 4971 1247 1245 1243 1241 1239 1237 1235 1233 1231A 1229 1227 1225 1225A 10,866 1223 1221 1219 217 1215 STREET 1209 1207 205 1203A 21 1203 1201 STREET 1204 1202 13,933 9981 6921 1758 1260 1262 266 1268 1270 1272 1274 1276 1278 1280 25,755 1282 4420 1284 I0 12 4 2921 0921 8021 9721 10,487 20z/ Otzl 8EZ/ 92ZI ZEZI OEZI 6586 4628 12,477 10,7!! 22 21,170 6881 26 STREET CHRIST EPISC. CHURCH * WALL MAPLE 9759 3g OAK 38 3/ WALL MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD CHURCH 33 11,510 1736 ¿6[g 1290 1292 1294 8621 962 6400 MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD SCHOOL 10,000 1298A PARKING 108,940 WALL 6044 WALL 13,588 VENUE 88 5052 PINE 14,670 9539 4303 1325 1327 ,,2 1300 1302 1304 4100 2347 26 88 1189 770M 6365 591, 5720 4534 5799 4520 Christ Church 1220 River Street Boston (Hyde Park), MA (Boston South Quad) UTM References: 19/324300/468700 Scale: 1" = 100 10 65 THE PARISH OF CHRIST CHURCH c/o Mrs.

Reed Freeman SileW/NR 9 LOCHLAND ROAD, HYDE PARK BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02136 (617) 364-0022 November 5, 1985 RECEIVED NOV - 6-1985 Massachusetts Historical Commission 80 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116 MASS HIST.COMM. attention: Valerie Talmadge Gentlemen: We understand from a letter of October 24, 1985, that Christ Church, Hyde fark, will be considered by your State Review Board for nomina- tion to the National Register of Historic Places on December 11, May we urge you to approve, and submit, this nomination? We are the oldest church in Hyde Park: this year, in fact, we are celebrating 125 years of continuous service to God and to the community. 125 years may not seem as "old" as some of the properties you consider, which probably date back to Colonial Times, but in the history of Hyde Park, we are the oldes church organization, and also the oldest actual church building.

Of equal, or perhaps more, importance, is Christ Church's architectural significance. We are a Ralph Adams Cram church, the second oldest one, pre-dated only by All Saints in Ashmont. We are surpassed by none in beauty, not only in overall design but in the finishing touches such as our stained glass windows and our hand carved rood screen. Rather than go on at any greater length, may I close by saying we want this honor not only as an aid in putting across the importance of preserving our church for the future, not only as an official recognition of our special qualifications, not only for the prestige it might be thought to bring us.

We feel it might also serve as an example and inspiration toward the preservation and care of many other historically and archi- tecturally significant placeskin Hyde Park, and give added impetus to the overall trend toward historical preservation - especially right here in this town of Hyde Park. I hope I have succeeded in putting forward our case as strongly as I wish. Sincerely, Elizabeth H. Freeman, parishione Yametoun Pint 1.O.Bor 308 66 Maple sTs2 HyDe PARK BF 05136 MaSSile w/ no Nov 111985- DeAR VALeRIe TALmadge.- 1 MIsH to SAy+Fel I AM IM FAVOR OF CHRIST CHURCH HYDe PARK MaSS- BeINa MOMINaler For hisimG on the National Regiske OF Historic PLaceS I AM A MeMBeR oF tHis Beao/igoL CHurot /LIND FHank yeu for your Yours truty! Annamarie Caffare XRUS SIT DETE vsz BF fle w/NR BOSTONIA CONDITA AD. City of Boston The Environment Department RECEED NUV 1 8 1985 MASS.

HIST, COMM. Boston City Hall/Room 805 Boston, Massachusetts 02201 617/725-4416 or 725-3850 November 12, 1985 Valerie Talmage Executive Director/ State Historic Preservation Officer Massachusetts Historical Commission 80 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02116 Dear Ms. Talmage: Mayor Flynn has forwarded your letter, concerning the consideration of Christ Church, 1220 River Street, Hyde Park for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places, to me. As you know, the Boston Landmarks Commission has approved the submission of this nomination and looks forward to the listing of Christ Church on the National Register of Historic Places. Sincerely, Mlle Douny Director Air Pollution Control, BostonArt,Back BayArchitectural, Beacon HillArchitectural, Boston Landmarks and the Conservation Commissions Dec. 2, 1985 Att: Valerie Talmadge filew/NR I believe that Christ Church in Hydd Park, Mass.

should be designated as an historical landmark because it was designed by Ralph Adams Cram, one of the greatest church architects of the United States, and it is a prime example of his work. As a vestryman of Christ Church and recording secretary of the Hyde Park Historical Society, I ask that you approve this petition. Christ Church is celebrating it's 125th. anniversary this year and this would add to our celebration and benefit the community of Hyde Park. Sincerely, Ehl Qeed RECEIVED DFC 31985 MASS. HIST. CO.VM. Hometaun Prints S2 RECEIVED To: Valerie Talmodae 6 1985 DEC - 9 1985 leanledee d Aupprt bar Chrurt Churce as Hetle PartE. HIST. COMM. I have heen a member of the paresch of chust chevrce far the poit faver years ane from the ferrt dax e entered th Church wos emprenee ef it keautyand in ferlng of nestors et leaverone uith che empression ab.

In thes age of canstant change ane transparent ube styler, thes Church hos stoodas a canstan, remenler of whot a canstant Value ane standard shaule be, tef ans buuldeng desernes to ve callee a natiarel treosure cirut churca Certaines qvalefues to be such a ploce. Il hape and pros far the suppors of the Masrocherett Hestarecue Sammesion to seme theer Manenation to Warkenaton. nd el vaull ne personally thanafue ana graaefue for that. There u a Vevz personal are emosiore feeuns for thu churu on my part ane e apenl, adnet to that, af is mare thon sunt a buldens, to me ameagon, a do hape that Chrur chuus uull he recosnezed on tho Hutarecne Lanenara etes. Thanken you for yeu time and conseleration. Sercere Narmon Marse 52 15 Setucket Rd Yarmouthport, Mass. 02675 Dec. 6, 1985 Massachusetts H istorical Comm.

80 Boylston Street Boston, Mass, 02116 RECEIVED Gentlemen; DEC 10 1985 It is my wish to give support to the in- clusion of Christ Church, Hyde Batas, HISTS COMM. in the National Register of H istoric Having grown up in this parish, I can remember the beauty of the stained glass windows, especially with the sun shining through. mhla carco mita to lonearoaddspaeted Christ Church should be recognized as a historic building, and an important national treasure. Pileensitherland (Miss)Eileén Sutherland S2 51 Sreenward Gre yRÉCE7E216 Vec 7,19f5 Dear hpétalmadge DEC 1 0 1985 MASS. HIST. COMM Vbelere the Phund peccapal Phesach mn Nyde Posk. chould le lected mn the natinal Reguter IHectone Place becauce it war Ralph Cedame Pram feset chusch. Tuuly your dang MRS. WALTER R.

COLLINS 90 BEACON STREET HYDE PARK, MASSACHUSETTS 02136 Massachuuth Hestorial Conmessien IVED 86 Baglaton Shet DEC10 1985 Borton, Ma 6 2116 MASS. HIST. COMM. Deorme Talmalze, 2 teliive that Chrit Epereapal church atr /2 20 Ruve Steut, Hyde Pah choulde be unduded in the Nateanial Registu of Hestora Ploce. It io a Reeph Adows Crarn brilhing - ose l andy thre in the asen. Hir a hey trilding in thee cntr f Hyde Porh.. There a f oa vitorcin tamer in te asca. Tume is a great deal df tustong in thei ssea abro. Thic chanh war encosporatil 125 yean ago aud it reeme apprprate t cauridu it an lustori place . youn Fruly, Dontly ,S. Callui (un. l altu R.) *Dec. 9,1985 Do Nhon It May Concen: RECEIVED Thes letter is to show mo appsss por the ixclusion o Christ huch, Mlyde Park, Massochusetted MAStA Netione Register o Aistouc Places.

conotuction, rehalr Lave be guie Mitatn Sedese o redevelop. ment projects could be undertakes the aren. our architectura Os an ealy Ralpt ldama Cam desigs, conaderation Chist Chuuch is a beaut iee ters we ar bated on the Regisa! Suncngoa Lewet EENE DETI CRACTON SVBLIRER ELLEN H. ANDERSON ASSOCIATE COMMISSIONER The Commonucalth of Massachusells Metropolitan District Commission 20 Somensel Street Boston, Massachuselts 02108 RE ED VS2 BF - fieen/nom DEC121985 Ms. Valerie Talmage MASS. HIST. COMM. Massachusetts Historic Commission 80 Boylston St. Boston, Mass. 02116 December 10, 1985 Dear Ms. Talmage, I am writing to support the application of Christ Church, Hyde Park, for placement on the National Register.

As a parishioner and member of the vestry of Christ Church I have come to understand and appreciate the church's important architectural and artistic qualit- ies as well as its significance in the history of Hyde Park and Milton. The protection of historic properties has been one of my major concerns as a member of the Metropolitan District Commission. I have come to care very deeply about giving proper recognition to all of the treasures of our heritage in Massachusetts. Christ Church is really one of those treasures and I hope you will be able to give it the recognition and protection it deserves. Sincerely Cuer Ellen H. Anderson