Charles Street Meeting House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Charles Street Meeting House |
|
|---|---|
Pictured in 2022
|
|
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Georgian / Colonial |
| Town or city | Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts |
| Country | United States of America |
| Construction started | 1804 |
| Completed | 1807 |
| Client | The Third Baptist Church |
| Technical details | |
| Structural system | Rendered masonry |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Asher Benjamin |
The Charles Street Meeting House is an old and important building in Beacon Hill, Boston. It's located at 70 Charles Street. This historic church was built in the early 1800s.
Over the years, many different Christian groups used this building. These included Baptists, the First African Methodist Episcopal Church, and Unitarian Universalist congregations. In the 1980s, the building was updated. It was changed into office spaces, but its outside look was carefully kept the same. This project won awards for its great work.
The meeting house is a special stop on the National Park Service's Black Heritage Trail. It is also part of the Beacon Hill Historic District. This district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Contents
History of the Building
The 1800s
Third Baptist Church Builds It
The Charles Street Meeting House was built between 1804 and 1807. A famous architect named Asher Benjamin designed it. It was built for the Third Baptist Church. This church used the nearby Charles River for baptisms.
Before the American Civil War, this church was a strong center for the anti-slavery movement. Many famous people who fought against slavery gave speeches here. These included Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, Harriet Tubman, and Sojourner Truth.
Some of the pastors of the Third Baptist Church were Caleb Blood (1807–1810) and Daniel Sharp (1812-around 1853). Later, this church group joined with the First Baptist Church.
First African Methodist Episcopal Church Takes Over
In 1876, the Baptist church sold the building. The First African Methodist Episcopal Church bought it. This AME church was part of the first independent Black church group in the United States. It started in Philadelphia in the early 1800s. William H. Hunter and J.T. Juniper were some of its pastors.
The 1900s and Today
The AME Church sold the building in 1939. It was then used for a short time as an Albanian Orthodox church. In 1947, the building was given to the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. They made sure the outside of the building would always be protected.
From 1949 to 1979, the building was used by Universalist and then Unitarian Universalist churches. It was known as an experimental church. A community newsletter called Gay Community News started here in 1973.
In 1979, the building was sold to a private owner. The preservation society made sure that the building's historic look would be kept safe.
The Meeting House is a recognized site on the Boston Black Heritage Trail. It is also in the Beacon Hill Historic District. The inside of the building had been changed over time. So, the National Park Service allowed the inside to be divided into different spaces. This was allowed as long as some of the original decorations were kept.
In 1980, a group called Charles Street Meeting House Associates bought the building. They wanted to fix the outside and find new uses for the inside. Work began in 1981 to turn it into offices, shops, and homes. The project was finished in 1982. The outside of the building was fully saved.
The Charles Street Meeting House won important awards for its restoration. On May 6, 1983, the National Trust for Historic Preservation gave it a Preservation Honor Award. On September 22, 1984, the American Institute of Architects gave it an Award for Excellence in Architecture.
In Books
In a novel called Contending Forces (1900) by Pauline Hopkins, a character sits in the church. She remembers how Black people were not allowed in the main seating area before the Civil War. She finds it interesting that a Black church group later bought the building in 1876.
See also
- Charles Street African Methodist Episcopal Church, the church group that used to be in the Charles St. Meeting House (1876-1939)
