Grace United Methodist Church (Keene, New Hampshire) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Grace United Methodist Church
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Grace United Methodist Church
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 Location in New Hampshire
Location in the United States
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| Location | 34 Court St., Keene, New Hampshire |
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| Area | 0.2 acres (0.081 ha) |
| Built | 1869 |
| Architect | Woodcock, Shepard S. |
| Architectural style | Gothic, High Victorian Gothic |
| NRHP reference No. | 85000476 |
| Added to NRHP | March 07, 1985 |
The Grace United Methodist Church is a very old and important building in Keene, New Hampshire. It stands at 34 Court Street. This church was built in 1869. It was designed by a famous architect named Shepard S. Woodcock. It is one of the biggest churches in southwestern New Hampshire. Because of its history, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. The church group moved out in 2009 and later closed down in 2016. Today, the building is being fixed up to become offices.
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About This Historic Church
This old church building is right in downtown Keene. You can find it a little north of Central Square. It is a large building made of brick. It has a special style called Gothic Revival.
What It Looks Like
The church has a pointed roof, which is called a gabled roof. It also has strong supports along its sides and corners, known as buttresses. A tall tower with a spire (a pointed top) rises from the front corner. This spire has colorful slate tiles. There are three doors on the front of the building. One door is in the tower, one is in the middle, and another is to the left. Inside, the building has two floors. The first floor used to have classrooms and offices. The main church area, called the sanctuary, was on the second floor.
Its Story and Design
The Grace church group started way back in 1832. They built their first church building in 1852. The current church building was constructed between 1868 and 1869. It was designed by Shepard S. Woodcock. He was a very busy architect from Boston, Massachusetts. Building this church was very expensive, costing $40,000 at the time. This was a huge amount of money for the people in the church. They were still paying off the debt until 1896! The roof was originally made of colorful slate, just like the spire. But a big storm in 1938, called the 1938 New England Hurricane, damaged the roof. It had to be replaced after that.
What Happened to the Church Group
Over time, fewer people attended the church. Because of this, the Methodist group decided to move. They started renting a smaller space in the Odd Fellows Hall. The church group officially closed down in 2016. The church had a special organ made by Steer and Turner. This organ was taken out and sold to a Catholic church in Germany. In 2018, a businessman bought the historic church building. He plans to use it for his businesses.
See also
