St. Stephen's Church (Boston)

St. Stephen's Church
National Register of Historic Places
	The building of St. Stephen's Church in Boston
location	401 Hanover Street , Boston , Massachusetts
Coordinates	42 ° 21 '56.2 " N , 71 ° 3' 10.1" W Coordinates: 42 ° 21 '56.2 " N , 71 ° 3' 10.1" W
Built	1804
architect	Charles Bulfinch
Architectural style	Early Republic and others
NRHP number	[1] 75000300
The NRHP added	April 14, 1975

The St. Stephen's Church (ehem. New North Church ) is a Roman Catholic church building in the city of Boston in the state of Massachusetts of the United States . Located at 401 Hanover Street in the North End neighborhood, it is the last remaining church designed by Boston architect Charles Bulfinch .

Design and construction

The building was built of bricks and has white pilasters on the facade . A clock tower and a bell tower form the upper end . The church was originally the second structure of the New North Religious Society , a congregational association. The foundation stone was laid on September 23, 1802 and the church was consecrated on May 2, 1804 . Three days later the Columbian Centinel wrote :

“The exterior is in a bold and commanding style; the front is decorated with stone pilasters of a composed order; a series of attic pilasters over them, a tower and a cupola, terminated with a handsome vane, about 100 feet from the foundation. The inside is a perfect square of 72 feet; two ranges of dorick columns under the galleries, and Corinthian over them, support the ceiling, which rises in an arch of moderate elevation in the center. "

“The exterior of the building has a daring and at the same time impressive style; the front is decorated with stone pilasters, the arrangement of which is deliberately coordinated; a series of roof pillars are above them, as is a tower and dome topped with a shapely weather vane that rises about 100 ft (30.48 m ) above the ground. The inside is a perfect 72 ft (21.95 m ) square ; under the side aisles there are two rows of columns in Doric order (below) and Corinthian order (above), which support the ceiling, which leads in an arch with a moderate rise to the highest point of the dome. "

- Columbian Centinel

However, Bulfinch's specifications indicate that the church was only designed to be "nearly" square - its interior dimensions according to the plans are 70 ft (21.34 m ) in length and 72 ft (21.95 m ) in width. A transverse area of the roof shows elaborate decorations that are identical to those of the Holy Cross Church . Parts of the wooden structure of the old church (built in 1714, new building in 1730) were reused, and during the restoration from 1964 to 1965 the underpinning was found to be completely intact. However, the roof was built with far less skill, so that serious leaks occurred, which could only be removed a few years after the inauguration by increasing the roof pitch and sealing with imported slate .

The construction costs of the church amounted to 26,570 US dollars , the sum nearly completely by selling pews was applied. Charles Shaw judged the building to be “a spacious brick house”, while William Bentley , who thought the construction time was too long, at least attested it “good style”.

Denominations

Unitarian

Like many other parishes of the time, the New North converted to Unitarianism . From 1813 to 1849 Reverend Dr. Francis Parkman (1788-1852), father of the historian Francis Parkman and eloquent preacher , her pastor . In 1822, the Church complained that "have married the young gentlemen who wives in other parts of the city, find it difficult to persuade them to defer their nobility to the point that they at the fair in the North End participate could ". Parkman himself preferred to live near Bowdoin Square .

Roman Catholic

In 1862 the composition of the parish changed significantly due to the influence of Irish Catholics. The church was sold to the Catholic Bishop of Boston , John Bernard Fitzpatrick , and renamed St. Stephen's . In the course of the conversion, the weather vane was removed, a pointed roof was built over the original dome based on the model of the Holy Cross Church and a cross and a clock were added. Either at this time or after a fire in 1897, the arched windows were built behind the altar and other changes were made inside. As part of the expansion of the Hanover Street in 1870, the building was 16 ft (4.88 m ) is reset and more than 6 ft (1.83 m ) on the original foundations increased.

The community was dissolved in 1992. The church building is now used by the Missionary Society of St. James .

restoration

In 1964, Richard Cardinal Cushing authorized the restoration of the church building, which included lowering it to the original foundation and reconstructing the dome. The architect in charge was Chester F. Wright , while the construction was carried out by Isaac Blair & Co. , who had built the church from scratch almost a century earlier. During the restoration, a careful search was made for traces of the original structure. In the course of this, the old copper-clad dome below the new roof and the original entrance doors walled into the church portal were found.

The interiors have not been completely redone in the Bulfinch design, although the pulpit and pews are copies of the originals that have long been kept in Billerica Church . The pilasters of sandstone on the facade were painted white to marble to simulate as some still standing old houses in the district of Beacon Hill can be seen.

Relationships with the Kennedy family

Former Boston Mayor John F. Fitzgerald was a member of the St. Stephen Ward. His daughter Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy was baptized here in 1890 and buried here in 1995.

literature

Harold Kirker: The architecture of Charles Bulfinch . Harvard University Press, Cambridge 1969, ISBN 0-674-04390-1 .

Individual evidence

^ National Register Information System . In: National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service . Retrieved January 23, 2007.
^ Charles Shaw: A topographical and historical description of Boston . from the first settlement of the town to the present period; with some account of its environs. Oliver Spear, Boston 1817, OCLC 2707017 .
^ William Bentley, Joseph G. Waters, Marguerite Dalrymple et al .: The diary of William Bentley, DD Volume III: January, 1803 – December, 1810 . The Essex Institute, Salem, Mass. 1911, OCLC 232989682 , p. 50 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
^ MA De Wolfe Howe, Samuel Chamberlain: Boston landmarks . Hastings House, New York 1946, OCLC 1523058 , p. 69 .
^ Walter M. Whitehill, Lawrence W. Kennedy: Boston. A topographical history . Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge 2000, ISBN 0-674-00267-9 , pp. 113 .
↑ George E. Ryan: St. Stephen's Church: Boston, Mass. Boston 1966, OCLC 15145205 .

[nris-1] National Register Information System . In: National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service . Retrieved January 23, 2007.

[2] Charles Shaw: A topographical and historical description of Boston . from the first settlement of the town to the present period; with some account of its environs. Oliver Spear, Boston 1817, OCLC 2707017 .

[3] William Bentley, Joseph G. Waters, Marguerite Dalrymple et al .: The diary of William Bentley, DD Volume III: January, 1803 – December, 1810 . The Essex Institute, Salem, Mass. 1911, OCLC 232989682 , p. 50 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).

[4] MA De Wolfe Howe, Samuel Chamberlain: Boston landmarks . Hastings House, New York 1946, OCLC 1523058 , p. 69 .

[5] Walter M. Whitehill, Lawrence W. Kennedy: Boston. A topographical history . Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge 2000, ISBN 0-674-00267-9 , pp. 113 .

[6] George E. Ryan: St. Stephen's Church: Boston, Mass. Boston 1966, OCLC 15145205 .