Charles Street Meeting House
Encyclopedia
The Charles Street Meeting House, is an early-nineteenth-century historic church in Beacon Hill
at 70 Charles Street, Boston, Massachusetts. The church has been used over its history by several Christian denominations and is a good example of reuse
and adaptive reuse
, having recently been renovated into a mixed use complex heavily featuring office use.
Asher Benjamin
for the Third Baptist Church, which used the nearby Charles River
for its baptisms. In the years before the American Civil War
, it was a stronghold of the anti-slavery movement, and was the site of notable speeches from anti-slavery activists Frederick Douglass
, William Lloyd Garrison
, Wendell Phillips
, Harriet Tubman
, and Sojourner Truth
. Pastors of the Third Baptist Church included Caleb Blood (1807-1810), Daniel Sharp (1812-ca.1853) and J.C. Stockbridge (1853-ca.1861). The congregation was eventually "absorbed by the First Baptist Church
."
in 1876. Pastors included William H. Hunter and J.T. Juniper.
) and keep restrictions on the building’s exterior. It served as a Universalist Church of America
church from 1949 to 1961, then Unitarian Universalist after consolidation from 1961 to 1978/1979. This was a Universalist experimental church.
In 1979, it was sold to a private owner. At that time, the Society negotiated a more specific preservation easement with the owner. It was converted in the early 1980s by the architectural firm of John Sharrat Associates into four floors of offices with retail on the ground floor. The exterior was completely preserved.
The Meeting House is part of the Boston Black Heritage Trail
and located in the Beacon Hill Historic District, the nineteenth-century altered sanctuary was relatively intact but much of the rest of the interior held little architectural significance in comparison with the exterior. The National Park Service
then permitted extensive vertical and horizontal internal subdivision provided that the developer incorporate some existing ornamental features.
Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts
Beacon Hill is a historic neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, that along with the neighboring Back Bay is home to about 26,000 people. It is a neighborhood of Federal-style rowhouses and is known for its narrow, gas-lit streets and brick sidewalks...
at 70 Charles Street, Boston, Massachusetts. The church has been used over its history by several Christian denominations and is a good example of reuse
Reuse
To reuse is to use an item more than once. This includes conventional reuse where the item is used again for the same function, and new-life reuse where it is used for a different function. In contrast, recycling is the breaking down of the used item into raw materials which are used to make new...
and adaptive reuse
Adaptive reuse
Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an old site or building for a purpose other than which it was built or designed for. Along with brownfield reclamation, adaptive reuse is seen by many as a key factor in land conservation and the reduction of urban sprawl...
, having recently been renovated into a mixed use complex heavily featuring office use.
Third Baptist Church
The church was built between 1804 to 1807 to the designs by noted American architectArchitect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Asher Benjamin
Asher Benjamin
Asher Benjamin was an American architect and author whose work transitioned between Federal style architecture and the later Greek Revival. His seven handbooks on design deeply influenced the look of cities and towns throughout New England until the Civil War...
for the Third Baptist Church, which used the nearby Charles River
Charles River
The Charles River is an long river that flows in an overall northeasterly direction in eastern Massachusetts, USA. From its source in Hopkinton, the river travels through 22 cities and towns until reaching the Atlantic Ocean at Boston...
for its baptisms. In the years before the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, it was a stronghold of the anti-slavery movement, and was the site of notable speeches from anti-slavery activists Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...
, William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison was a prominent American abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. He is best known as the editor of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, and as one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society, he promoted "immediate emancipation" of slaves in the United...
, Wendell Phillips
Wendell Phillips
Wendell Phillips was an American abolitionist, advocate for Native Americans, and orator. He was an exceptional orator and agitator, advocate and lawyer, writer and debater.-Education:...
, Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Harriet Ross; (1820 – 1913) was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the American Civil War. After escaping from slavery, into which she was born, she made thirteen missions to rescue more than 70 slaves...
, and Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth was the self-given name, from 1843 onward, of Isabella Baumfree, an African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. After going to court to recover her son, she...
. Pastors of the Third Baptist Church included Caleb Blood (1807-1810), Daniel Sharp (1812-ca.1853) and J.C. Stockbridge (1853-ca.1861). The congregation was eventually "absorbed by the First Baptist Church
First Baptist Church (Boston, Massachusetts)
First Baptist Church is a historic Baptist church established in 1665. It first met secretly on Noddle's Island and then in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts...
."
First African Methodist Episcopal Church
The Baptist congregation sold the structure to the First African Methodist Episcopal ChurchCharles Street African Methodist Episcopal Church
Charles Street African Methodist Episcopal Church is an historic African American Episcopal church at 551 Warren Street in Boston, Massachusetts. The current church building was built in 1888 by J...
in 1876. Pastors included William H. Hunter and J.T. Juniper.
20th century
The building was later sold in 1939 to the Charles Street Meeting House Society. It was briefly an Albanian Orthodox church before the Society granted the building in 1947 to the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities with the understanding that the society would convey the building to the Massachusetts Universalist Convention (Universalist Church of AmericaUniversalist Church of America
The Universalist Church of America was a Christian Universalist religious denomination in the United States . Known from 1866 as the Universalist General Convention, the name was changed to the Universalist Church of America in 1942...
) and keep restrictions on the building’s exterior. It served as a Universalist Church of America
Universalist Church of America
The Universalist Church of America was a Christian Universalist religious denomination in the United States . Known from 1866 as the Universalist General Convention, the name was changed to the Universalist Church of America in 1942...
church from 1949 to 1961, then Unitarian Universalist after consolidation from 1961 to 1978/1979. This was a Universalist experimental church.
In 1979, it was sold to a private owner. At that time, the Society negotiated a more specific preservation easement with the owner. It was converted in the early 1980s by the architectural firm of John Sharrat Associates into four floors of offices with retail on the ground floor. The exterior was completely preserved.
The Meeting House is part of the Boston Black Heritage Trail
Black Heritage Trail
The Black Heritage is a path in Boston, Massachusetts, winding through the Beacon Hill neighborhood and sites important in American black history....
and located in the Beacon Hill Historic District, the nineteenth-century altered sanctuary was relatively intact but much of the rest of the interior held little architectural significance in comparison with the exterior. The National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
then permitted extensive vertical and horizontal internal subdivision provided that the developer incorporate some existing ornamental features.
See also
- Charles Street African Methodist Episcopal ChurchCharles Street African Methodist Episcopal ChurchCharles Street African Methodist Episcopal Church is an historic African American Episcopal church at 551 Warren Street in Boston, Massachusetts. The current church building was built in 1888 by J...
, congregation formerly housed in the Charles St. Meeting House (1876-1939)