Unitarian Memorial Church facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Unitarian Memorial Church
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Unitarian Memorial Church
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | Fairhaven, Massachusetts |
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| Built | 1901 |
| Architect | Charles Brigham |
| Architectural style | Late Gothic Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 96001374 |
| Added to NRHP | November 22, 1996 |
The Unitarian Memorial Church is a beautiful historic church located at 102 Green Street in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. It is home to the Unitarian Universalist Society of Fairhaven. This amazing building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
The church's story began in 1819 when the congregation was first formed. They moved into the Washington Street Christian Meetinghouse in 1832. In 1840, they welcomed their first minister. Today, Reverend María Uitti McCabe serves as the minister, and Julie Sullivan is the Society President. The Unitarian Universalist Society of Fairhaven (UUSF) is part of the Unitarian Universalist Association. It is known as a welcoming place for everyone and is also part of the Green Sanctuary movement. Services are held in the church's neo-Gothic style building from September to mid-June each year.
The Unitarian Memorial Church was built and paid for by Henry H. Rogers. He donated it to the Unitarians in 1904 to honor his mother, Mary Eldredge Huttleston. The church was designed by Charles Brigham, an architect from Boston. He used a style called Gothic Revival. The church is very tall, about 114 feet high. It is 100 feet long and 53 feet wide. The main part of the church, called the nave, is 32 feet wide and 71 feet long. The church building, along with the parish house and the former parsonage (now called Harrop Center), form three sides of a square. They are surrounded by nice lawns and bushes. The outside of the church is mostly made of granite from local quarries. It also has beautiful carvings made from Indiana limestone. Inside, you will see marble and limestone carvings. Forty-five Italian craftsmen were brought to Fairhaven by Rogers to create all this amazing stonework.
Contents
What Makes the Sanctuary Special?
The sanctuary is the main worship area of the church. All the wooden parts inside, like the pews and the pulpit, are made from English bog oak. Forty-five Bavarian craftsmen carved this wood. Each carving is unique, meaning no two are exactly alike. This includes the 32 pews, the fancy pulpit, the organ pipe cases, the choir screen, and the doors.
Look up at the rafters above the pews, and you will see ten wooden angels. These angels are covered in shiny beaten gold. Each angel is ten feet tall and holds items that represent ten different qualities of a smart and thoughtful life. Near the south entrance, there are twelve bronze symbols of the zodiac set into the marble floor.
Exploring the Church Tower
The church has a very tall tower, standing over 165 feet high. It is made of sparkling granite and carved limestone. This tower is so tall that it can be seen from many miles away. To reach the top of the tower, you would need to climb 180 granite steps.
Inside the tower, there is a set of eleven bells called a D Chime. These bells are very heavy, weighing a total of 14,000 pounds! They are played by iron hammers. The Meneelly Bell Company of Troy, New York, made these bells. There is still a special gallery in the tower where bell ringers used to stand. Today, the bells can be played by hand or electronically from a small room in the sanctuary.
The Grand Bronze Doors
At the south entrance to the sanctuary, you will find large bronze doors. They have a very rich and detailed design. Each door is made of solid bronze and weighs about 2 and a quarter tons! Along the Gothic shape of each door, there are many small spaces called niches. On the outside, these niches have small canopies over them. Each niche holds a beautifully made figure, about nine inches tall. There are 38 statues in total. They represent important people from the history of Christianity over 19 centuries.
The Baptismal Font and Foyer
From a covered walkway called the cloister, which has fancy bronze gates and a marble mosaic floor, you enter the foyer. Here, you will find the baptismal font. The font sits on elegant white Indian marble with bronze letters inlaid into it. Above the font hangs a large oak canopy. This canopy was carved by Johannes Kirchmayer. It features ten angels, each holding a scroll with one of the Ten Commandments written on it. Above these angels are ten standing figures of men who helped spread Christianity around the world.
The foyer also has a majestic vaulted ceiling. In its four corners, there are stone carvings. These carvings represent the four stages of a woman's life: baby, youth, adult, and old age. On the marble floor, there are beautiful bronze medallions. These medallions represent Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, who wrote parts of the Bible.
The Church Organ
The church organ is a very important part of the music during services. The first organ was built in 1904 by the Hutchings-Votey Organ Company of Boston. It had 2,300 pipes and was considered one of the best organs in the country at that time.
In 1968, a new heating system damaged the old organ. So, a new one was built in 1971 by the Roche Organ Co. of Taunton, Massachusetts. The Roche Organ Company kept the beautiful outer wooden cases and the best twelve sets of pipes from the old organ. They added more pipes, bringing the total to 3,163 pipes and 58 sets of sounds.
The organ is located on both sides of the chancel, which is the area near the altar. It is hidden behind the richly carved wooden cases of the original instrument. The main control panel, called the console, is in the choir loft behind the pulpit. The wooden cases are made of English oak, just like the other church furnishings. The pipes you can see are covered in gold leaf and have fancy patterns. The design of these cases is similar to an organ case in Southwark Cathedral in England.
In 2008, the console was updated with digital technology. Today, this organ is still considered one of the finest of its size. All the decorative pipes in the two organ cases are covered in beaten gold.
Stained-Glass Windows: A Story in Light
The beautiful stained-glass windows in the church were created by an American artist named Robert Lewis Reid. He was known for his Impressionist style. The main "Memorial Window" tells the story of the birth of Jesus. It uses many colors and shades, from cool blues to warm earth tones.
There are also nine smaller windows above the main level, called clerestory windows. Seven of these windows show one of the Beatitudes, which are blessings Jesus taught his followers. These teachings are also shown in the amazing 24-foot-high "Sermon-on-the-Mount" window on the west wall.
One special thing about these windows is how real the figures look. It took two years to design and make them. These stained-glass windows were Reid's most treasured work. They are considered a masterpiece and were his only project using stained glass.
See also
