Unitarian Universalist Society of Springfield - Springfield, MA
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 42° 04.271 W 072° 33.645
18T E 701793 N 4660558
Unitarian Universalist Society of Springfield is located at 245 Porter Lake Road in Springfield. MA.
Waymark Code: WM1631F
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 04/24/2022
Views: 2
Unitarianism is a theological movement whose fundamental tenet is the belief that God is a single person as opposed to the more prevalent Christian dogma that God is a Trinity composed of the God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Unitarians believe that the teachings of Jesus were inspired by this singular God and Jesus is not an incarnated deity. In the United States, the Unitarian theology began in Boston, MA in 1784 and spread from New England. Many prominent Americans were Unitarians, including Presidents John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Millard Fillmore, and William Howard Taft; also poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and women's rights leader Susan B. Anthony. (
visit link)
The Unitarian Universalist Society of Springfield was organized in 1819 by forming the Third Congregational Society of Springfield in response to the prevailing orthodox Congregational Churches. Their first church was located on State and Willow Streets on land donated by Jonathan Dwight, the founder and president of the Springfield Bank.
Their second church was the Church of Unity which was built on State Street in 1869. This was the first building commission by the famous architect Henry Hobson Richardson. This magnificent building was razed in 1961. By then the Unitarian Universalist Society of Springfield had already moved to their sprawling Mid-century Modern style building on Porter Lake Drive which was built in 1940.
The brick and metal sided Unitarian Universalist Society building is built into a hillside with a a set of steps leading down to the ground level entrance. A set of brick columns supports the second level which extends over an entrance plaza. The second level has a wraparound porch supported by columns on the south and west sides. The remainder of the structure is a series of three rectangular buildings attached to the east side of the main building thus forming a L shaped addition.