St. Mary's Church Steeple - Westfield, MA
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 42° 07.513 W 072° 44.727
18T E 686354 N 4666139
St. Mary's Church is the oldest Roman Catholic Church in Westfield. It is located at 30 Bartlett Street in Westfield, MA.
Waymark Code: WM17562
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 12/15/2022
Views: 0
St. Mary's Church dates back to 1853 when the first wooden Roman Catholic church was constructed in Westfield. The church was nearly burned on July 3, 1854 by a crowd of anti-Catholic's led by members of the Native American Party commonly known as the Know-Nothing Party. The mob was quelled by the town selectman Hiram Hull. The church became a parish in the Diocese of Springfield in 1862 and actually did burn to the ground in March of 1881. Subsequently, the current church was built and dedicated on March 1, 1885.
The High Victorian Gothic style brick building with brownstone trim has a basilica plan, with a corner steeple on the east side. The steeple has an entrance at the base covered by a gable roof. Above is a Gothic style window. The upper part has a belfry with rounded openings and an irregular, octagonal, polychrome slate roof topped by irregular, octagonal, spire with alternating large and small gables at the base and four triangular windows on he larger of the sides. The steeple is topped by a cross.
The main block has a polychrome-patterned slate roof. A concrete stairway leads to the gabled-roof main entrance of a 2.5 story nave. Two other sets of stairs lead a gabled-roof entrance on either side of the main entrance.
The front of the church features five pointed-arch windows on the second level. They are arranged symmetrically with the tallest window in the center and the smallest windows on each end. At the upper level is a tripartite set of windows below a gable roof topped by a cross. The side of the church contains seven pairs of pointed arch windows.
In March of 2008, a three year process of renovating the church was completed. Improvements to the church include bathrooms, air-conditioning, an elevator and handicapped accessibility.
St, Mary's Church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing building to the Westfield Center Historic District.
Location of the Steeple:
30 Bartlett Street
Westfield, MA United States
01085
Approximate Date of Construction: 1885
Website: [Web Link]
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