St. Paul's Church - Boston, MA
Posted by: 
silverquill
N 42° 21.343 W 071° 03.772
19T E 330109 N 4691333
Boston's first totally American Episcopal Church was consecrated in 1820, and in 1912 was designated as the Cathedral Church for the Diocese of Mass. Designed by Parris and Willard, it is the first example of Greek Revival architecture in Boston.
Waymark Code: WM7B88
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 09/29/2009
Views: 10
From the
Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
St. Paul's Church, Boston's fourth Episcopal Church, was established in 1818 by a group of wealthy and influential Boston patriots who decided to found a distinctly American Episcopal parish.
In 1819, the founders commissioned Alexander Parris and Solomon Willard to construct a Greek temple to contrast with the existing colonial and "gothick" structures of the town. St. Paul's Church was consecrated by Bishop Alexander Viets Griswold on June 30, 1820.
The first example of Greek Revival architecture in Boston, St. Paul's contrasted strongly with the colonial meeting house appearance of the Park Street Church (1809) across Tremont Street. The light Quincy granite, used for the body of the building, was brought from the quarries on the first railroad operated in the United States. The Ionic columns on the portico are of brown sandstone quarried near Acquia Creek in Stafford County, Virginia. To symbolize the patriotic fervor that inspired the church, a stone from Valley Forge in Pennsylvania was also included.
The exterior of St. Paul's remains virtually unchanged since the time of its construction. The still unfinished pediment was intended to contain a carved frieze representing Saint Paul preaching before King Agrippa.
The interior of the church has undergone repeated and extensive redecoration. The current curved apse is a later addition to what was originally a nearly square New England meeting house interior.
ST. PAUL'S CHURCH
Has been designated a
REGISTERED NATIONAL
HISTORIC LANDMARK
Under the provisions of the
historic sites act of August 21,1935
this site possesses exceptional value
in commemorating or illustrating
the history of the United States
U.S. Department of the Interior
National Park Service
1971
The Cathedral Church of St. Paul was established in 1818.
St. Paul's was the first example of Greek Revival architecture in Boston.
In 1846, Alexander Crummel was ordained deacon here, making him the third African American in the United States to be ordained and the first in Massachusetts. (The second was ordained 121 years later.)
In 1908, in response to a bequest by Mary Sophia and Harriet Sarah Walker, daughters of a Congregational clergyman, the Diocese of Massachusetts established St. Paul's as the Cathedral Church.
It was consecrated on Oct. 7, 1912 by Bishop William Lawrence as "house of prayer for all people."
In December 1985, St. Paul's held the first public AIDS healing service in Boston.
In this Cathedral, on September 24, 1988, Barbara C. Harris was elected the first woman Bishop of the Anglican Communion.