Church of the Covenant (Boston)
Encyclopedia
Presbyterian Church (USA)
The Presbyterian Church , or PC, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. Part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S...
and the United Church of Christ
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination primarily in the Reformed tradition but also historically influenced by Lutheranism. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC...
.
History
Built of Roxbury puddingstoneRoxbury conglomerate
Roxbury conglomerate, also known as Roxbury puddingstone, is a puddingstone or conglomerate stone that forms the bedrock underlying most of Roxbury, Massachusetts, now part of the city of Boston...
in Gothic Revival style
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
it was one of the first churches to relocate in the new Back Bay
Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts
Back Bay is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts famous for its rows of Victorian brownstone homes, which are considered one of the best-preserved examples of 19th-century urban design in the United States, as well as numerous architecturally significant individual...
and was built largely with funds donated by Benjamin E. Bates
Benjamin E. Bates
Benjamin Edward Bates was a New England industrialist and philanthropist, who was the namesake and a founder of Bates College and the Bates Mill in Lewiston, Maine.-Biography:...
, an industrialist who founded Bates College
Bates College
Bates College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college located in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. and was most recently ranked 21st in the nation in the 2011 US News Best Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. The college was founded in 1855 by abolitionists...
. Designed by Richard M. Upjohn
Richard M. Upjohn
Richard Michell Upjohn, FAIA, was an influential American architect, co-founder and president of the American Institute of Architects.-Early life and career:...
, the son and partner of Richard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn was an English-born architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to such popularity in the United States. Upjohn also did extensive work in and helped to popularize the...
, who insisted on "a high gothic edifice ... which no ordinary dwelling house would overtop." It has a 240 feet (73.2 m) high steeple, that overtops the Bunker Hill Monument
Bunker Hill Monument
-External links:****: cultural context**...
. Oliver Wendell Holmes said: "We have one steeple in Boston that to my eyes seems absolutely perfect--that of the Central Church on the corner of Newbury and Berkeley Streets." In the 1890s the sanctuary was redecorated by Tiffany Glass and Decorating Co.
Tiffany & Co.
Tiffany & Co. is an American jewelry and silverware company. As part of its branding, the company is strongly associated with its Tiffany Blue , which is a registered trademark.- History :...
with stained-glass windows and mosaics and an electric-light chandelier designed by Tiffany's Jacob Adolphus Holzer
Jacob Adolphus Holzer
Jacob Adolphus Holzer was a Swiss-born designer, muralist, mosaicist, interior designer, and sculptor who was associated with both John La Farge and Augustus Saint-Gaudens before he left to direct the mosaic workshops of Louis Comfort Tiffany, where he was preceded by his friend from La Farge's...
for the World's Columbian Exhibition, Chicago, 1893.
The Church of the Covenant is located at 67 Newbury Street. It was known as the "Central Church" until 1932 when the Central Congregational Church merged with the First Presbyterian Church of Boston creating the Church of the Covenant, which is now affiliated with both the Presbyterian Church (USA)
Presbyterian Church (USA)
The Presbyterian Church , or PC, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. Part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S...
and the United Church of Christ
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination primarily in the Reformed tradition but also historically influenced by Lutheranism. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC...
.