St. Joseph Church - Pittsfield, MA
Posted by: neoc1
N 42° 27.248 W 073° 15.119
18T E 643734 N 4701680
The Gothic Revival style, Roman Catholic, Church of St. Joseph, a.k.a. St. Joseph Church, is located at 414 North Street in Pittsfield, MA
Waymark Code: WM14C7D
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 06/09/2021
Views: 3
The Church of St. Joseph is the oldest Roman Catholic church in Berkshire. Therefore, it hold the title as the Mother Church of Berkshire County. It was not until 1835 that the first Roman Catholic mass was held in Pittsfield. The first Catholic church was built in 1844 and in In 1849 St. Joseph Parish was founded. Even though that church was replaced, Pittsfield still claims the oldest Catholic church in Berkshire County.
The Gothic Revival style St. Joseph church was built in 1866 to a design by architect Patrick Charles Keely of Brooklyn, NY. The builder was Patrick Treanor of Boston. The church is built of locally quarried blue granular limestone. It has a gable slate covered roof.It is 160' and 70' wide. The façade has a protruding front with a Gothic style entrance. Set back on both sides is a bay with a lancet window. A second set back features Gothic style entrances at the with oblate spheroid windows above. MACRIS: (
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A 176' high steeple rising from the central block of the façade, Above the entrance is a Gothic style stained glass window. The next level is short with a false pointed arch window. Above is a hexagonal belfry with louvered windows. At the top is a tapered hexagonal spire with a 9' high gold cross at the top.
The sides of the church are eight bays wide. The first bay is occupied by a semi-octagonal vestibule and the remaining bays each have a tall Gothic style stained glass window. At the back an there are extensions to the north and the south.