Huntington Street Baptist Church facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Huntington Street Baptist Church
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(2022)
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 Location in Connecticut
Location in the United States
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| Location | 29 Huntington St., New London, Connecticut |
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| Area | 0.3 acres (0.12 ha) |
| Built | 1843 |
| Architect | Bishop, John |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 82004377 |
| Added to NRHP | April 12, 1982 |
The Huntington Street Baptist Church is a very old and important church building in New London, Connecticut. It's located at 29 Huntington Street. This church was built way back in 1843 by a person named John Bishop, who also designed it. It's a great example of Greek Revival architecture, which was a popular building style at the time.
The church was first built for a group called Universalists. Later, a Baptist group bought it. This building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. This means it's recognized as a special historical place. As of 2017, the church was still being used for worship.
Contents
What Makes the Church Special?
The Huntington Street Baptist Church stands west of downtown New London. You can find it on the east side of Huntington Street, just south of Jay Street. It's easy to spot because it sits on a big granite rock. This makes it stand out in the area.
Building Style and Look
The church is a single-story building made of brick. Its outside is covered in stucco, and it has a sloped roof. The front of the church has a large porch-like area called a portico. This portico has six tall, fluted columns. These columns are in the Corinthian style, which means they have fancy tops.
Above the columns, there's a decorative band and a triangular roof section called a pediment. This pediment has small block-like decorations called dentil molding. The wall behind the portico is simple, with the main entrance in the middle. A two-part square tower rises above the portico. Inside, the church still has many original Greek Revival details. Many of these designs came from special pattern books by Minard Lafever.
How the Church Came to Be
The building of this church started because of a disagreement. This disagreement happened among Baptist church groups in New London. In the 1830s, some church members and even a minister started to believe in Universalist ideas. Other Baptist leaders thought these ideas were wrong.
The Split and New Building
In 1842, a strong opponent of Universalism, Jabez Swan, led a religious revival. This event caused the Universalists to leave the main church. The Huntington Street Baptist Church was built the very next year, in 1843. It was built on purpose to have the tallest church steeple in the city. It was also placed to look down on the other Baptist churches in New London.
John Bishop, who was a member of the Universalist group, designed and built the church. His design was inspired by a book called The Beauties of Modern Architecture (1835) by Minard LaFever.
New Owners and Rededication
Building the church was very expensive for the Universalist group. Its members were also not happy with their minister, Thomas Greenwood. Because of these problems, they had to sell the building in 1849 for $12,000.
A new Baptist group bought the church. This group was led by Jabez Smith Swan. They were members who had left the First Baptist Church. The church was officially opened again on March 29, 1849.
See also
