Old South Church facts for kids
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Old South Church in Boston
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| Location | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
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| Built | 1873 |
| Architect | Charles Amos Cummings and Willard T. Sears |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 70000690 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | December 30, 1970 |
| Designated NHL | December 30, 1970 |
The Old South Church in Boston, Massachusetts, is also known as the New Old South Church or Third Church. It is a historic United Church of Christ congregation that started way back in 1669. The building you see today was designed in the Gothic Revival style by Charles Amos Cummings and Willard T. Sears. It was finished in 1873 and later made even bigger by architects Allen & Collens between 1935 and 1937.
This church was built on new land in the Back Bay area of Boston. You can find it at 645 Boylston Street on Copley Square. In 1970, it was named a National Historic Landmark. This was because of its amazing architecture, being one of the best examples of High Victorian Gothic churches in New England. It's home to one of the oldest church groups in the United States!
Contents
History of the Old South Church
The Old South Church congregation began in 1669, making it one of the oldest religious groups in the United States. It was started by Congregationalist members who wanted to form a new church, separate from Boston's First Church. They called themselves the Third Church to tell them apart from the First and Second Congregational Churches already in the city.
The Third Church first met in their Cedar Meeting House in 1670. Later, in 1729, they moved to the Old South Meeting House at the corner of Washington and Milk Streets in Boston.
Many important people have been part of this church. Some of the early members included Edward Raynsford and Thomas Savage. Famous parishioners included Samuel Adams, who was a leader in the American Revolution, and Benjamin Franklin, a famous inventor and statesman. Phillis Wheatley, one of the first African American poets, was also a member. In 1773, Samuel Adams even used the Old South Meeting House to signal the start of the Boston Tea Party.
During the early 1800s, when many churches were changing, Old South was the only Congregational Church in Boston that stuck to its original beliefs. In 1816, Old South Church teamed up with Park Street Church to create the City Mission Society. This group worked for social justice and helped poor people in Boston.
During the American Civil War, Old South Church became a place where people could sign up for the Union Army. Even though not everyone in the church was against slavery, they strongly supported the Union side. After the Civil War ended, the church became more open and welcoming to new members. In 1875, the congregation moved from its old meeting house to its current location in the Back Bay. They built the beautiful church you see today on land that was newly filled in.
Into the 1900s, Old South continued its work to help the city. It welcomed new members from different backgrounds, races, and even sexual orientations. The church has officially stated its commitment to equality, social justice, and peace for everyone.
Church Architecture
The Old South Church building was designed between 1870 and 1872 by a Boston architecture company called Cummings and Sears. They used a style known as Venetian Gothic. This style was inspired by the ideas of a British art critic named John Ruskin. He wrote a famous book called The Stones of Venice. Old South Church is one of the best examples in America that shows how Ruskin's ideas influenced building design.
The architects, Charles Amos Cummings and Willard T. Sears, also designed the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. The outside of the church is mostly made of a type of stone called Roxbury Conglomerate, which people often call "puddingstone." Many of the arches and stone walls have stripes of light yellow-beige and deep red sandstone. The porches and large open arches in the bell tower have simple stone patterns. The upper arches of the porches are decorated with fancy wrought iron screens. The roof has alternating bands of red and dark gray slate, and its edges are finished with decorative iron.
The Tall Bell Tower
A tall tower, called a campanile, is the most famous part of Old South Church. You can see it from many parts of Boston! This tower is on the western side of the church and stands 246 feet tall. Inside, it holds the church's 2,020-pound bell.
This is actually the second bell tower built on this spot. The first one, finished in 1875, started to lean by the late 1920s. Engineers found that the foundations, which were in soft, former swamp land, weren't strong enough for the tower's weight. So, the church hired another architectural firm, Allen & Collens, to design a new tower and a new chapel. The old tower was taken down. In the early 1930s, new technology like steam shovels and strong steel pilings were used to build a much more stable foundation. Today, the tower's straightness and height are checked every year, and it remains very stable.
The large wheel that swings the bell had worn out by the late 1900s, so the bell had to be rung with an outside hammer. But in 2006, a new wheel was installed, allowing Old South's bell to "full swing" again!
The Lantern
Right above the main worship area, on the east side of the church, is a copper-covered dome with twelve fancy Gothic arched windows. This part, called the lantern, looks a lot like the domes on the Basilica of St. Mark in Venice. While it looks striking, it was also built to be useful. Before air conditioning, special window panels could be opened to help cool the inside of the church.
Inside the Church: Decorative Arts
The inside of Old South Church is very rich and detailed, but also calm. It uses a mix of beautiful materials: finely carved Italian cherry wood, light-colored limestone, painted plaster, and stained glass. You enter the main worship area from the entrance hall through a screen carved in the Venetian Gothic style from French Caen limestone. If you look closely among the carved leaves, you might find a squirrel, a lizard, an owl, and a snail! You can find similar animal carvings on the outside of the building too.
Behind the choir, at the east end of the church, there's a screen of wooden arches with four-leaf clover shapes. These were inspired by the Doge's Palace in Venice. The stained glass windows were made by English artists Clayton and Bell. They look like glass from the 1400s in England.
The 1875 Look
When Old South Church opened in 1875, it looked very much like it does today, thanks to the design by Cummings and Sears. The walls were decorated with colorful patterns in shades of red, yellow, green, gray, and orange, with touches of gold. Most of the inside structure, except for the carved wood along the balconies, was already in place by 1875.
High above where the main parts of the church meet is the lantern, or dome. The ceiling of the lantern was painted a deep blue with gold stars, meant to look like God's sky. The carved stone on the west wall, with its leaves and animals, along with the detailed wood carvings and the starry ceiling, were all meant to remind people of God's creation. Above the doors on the east walls are glass mosaics of the tree of life by Antonio Salviati. Another mosaic by Salviati was originally above the main tower doors. It was moved to the entrance area when the tower was rebuilt. The overall effect was very grand and spiritual, much different from the simpler Old South Meeting House. The 1875 interior matched the outside style and showed Ruskin's idea that art brings together a person's "heart, head, and hand."
The 1905 Tiffany Style
In 1905, the church hired Louis Comfort Tiffany to redecorate the main worship area. Tiffany led a group of artists who worked in a style called the Aesthetic Movement. Tiffany was part of a new American design trend that was less focused on European styles. He had decorated famous places like Mark Twain's home and parts of the White House.
Tiffany believed in the importance of human craftsmanship, similar to John Ruskin. However, by the time Tiffany worked on Old South, his fancy style was starting to go out of fashion. A new, simpler style was becoming popular. In Tiffany's redecoration, the stained glass windows were covered with purple glass. The original painted walls were painted purple, then decorated with silver patterns that looked like mother-of-pearl. This created a very rich and unified look, using a limited color palette.
The 1950s Simpler Look
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In the early 1950s, the church was renovated again. This time, the style was much simpler, perhaps influenced by the "International Style" of architecture. This renovation mostly ignored the church's past designs. Louis Comfort Tiffany's paint and patterns were covered with light gray paint, and the purple Tiffany glass over the stained glass was removed. The opening in the dome was also closed. In some ways, removing all the decoration reminded people of the church's early, simpler roots.
Recognition and Restoration
Old South Church was named a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1970.
In 1984, a careful restoration project began. Using old photos and drawings, and analyzing the original paint colors, the inside of the church was brought back to look very much like it did in 1875. The walls were repainted red, and the original patterns by Cummings and Sears were recreated. The opening in the dome was reopened, letting light into the worship area again. The colorful patterns used the original shades of yellow, green, gray, and orange with metallic gold.
The Church Organ
The church's current organ, called Opus 308, was built in 1921 by E. M. Skinner & Company in Boston. It was originally made for a theater in St. Paul, Minnesota. When that building was torn down, the organ was brought to Old South Church in 1985. It started with 82 ranks (sets of pipes) and 5,728 pipes. Now, it has 115 ranks and 7,625 pipes! These pipes range from tiny ones that are only about 0.25 inches long to huge ones that are 32 feet long.
The organ's keyboard and controls are behind the pulpit. They are on a special platform that can be raised for concerts and lowered for regular church services. The organ pipes are hidden behind and to the sides of the main worship area, and also at the back of the balcony. Ten beautifully painted wooden pipes are displayed on the front of each side balcony.
In December 2008, construction for the nearby MBTA Copley subway station caused a crack in the church's outside wall and some damage inside. Because of this, the organ wasn't used from then until just before Easter in 2009, to avoid further damage.
The Bay Psalm Book
Old South Church owns one of only eleven remaining first-edition copies of the Bay Psalm Book. This book was printed in 1640 by Stephen Daye. It was the very first book ever printed in what would become the United States! Until 2013, Old South Church actually owned two of these rare first-edition copies. One was sold at an auction. The copy that Old South Church still owns is kept safe in the Rare Books Department of the Boston Public Library.
Senior Ministers of Old South Church
So far, twenty ministers have led the Old South congregation. Here are some of them:
- At Cedar Meeting House
- Thomas Thacher 1670-1678
- Samuel Willard 1678-1707
- Ebenezer Pemberton 1700-1717
- Joseph Sewall 1713-1769
- Thomas Prince 1718-1730
- At Old South Meeting House
- Thomas Prince 1730-1758
- Alexander Cumming 1761-1763
- Samuel Blair 1766-1769
- John Hunt/John Bacon 1771-1775
- Joseph Eckley 1779-1811
- Joshua Huntington 1808-1819
- Benjamin B. Wisner 1821-1832
- Samuel H. Stearns 1834-1836
- George W. Blagden 1836-1872
- Jacob M. Manning 1857-1882
- At Old South Church
- George Angier Gordon 1884-1927
- Russell Henry Stafford 1927-1945
- Frederick M. Meek 1946-1973
- James W. Crawford 1974-2002
- Carl F. Schultz Jr. 2002-2005 (Interim)
- Nancy S. Taylor 2005-2022
- Rich Spalding 2022-2023 (Interim)
- John M Edgerton 2023 -
Images for kids
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The Old South Church at dusk, August 2015
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LGBTQ+ banners at the church
See also
