First Church of Christ, Lancaster
About this property
The First Church of Christ, Unitarian, also known as First Church in Lancaster and colloquially as "the Bulfinch Meetinghouse", is a historic congregation with its meeting house located at 725 Main Street facing the Common in Lancaster, Massachusetts. The church's fifth meeting house, built in 1816, was designed by architect Charles Bulfinch, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977, recognizing it as one of Bulfinch's finest works. First Church of Christ was "gathered in 1653 by the Puritans of Massachusetts Bay Colony." The town of Lancaster also dates from 1653. The current meeting house was built in 1816 of local brick and slate when Nathaniel Thayer was minister. On December 30, 1970, the meeting house was added to the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark. Architectural historian G. E. Kidder Smith has called it "one of the great federal style churches in the country." In May 2010, the Church began a restoration of the meeting house cupola and facade supported by contributions from the Bulfinch Fund, a secular organization dedicated to restoring Bulfinch's works. Formerly a Congregational church, it is now Unitarian Universalist. Rev. Wil Darcangelo, M.Div, currently serves as its 18th called minister. The church is a rectangular structure with a projecting front section supporting a two-stage tower, and with an arcaded and pedimented portico at the very front. The portico consists of three high openings with round-arch tops, which frame three entry doors (the central one taller) behind. The arches are separated by pilasters, which rise to an entablature and a fully enclosed gable pediment. The pediment is lined by modillioned cornices, with plain brickwork in the tympanum. The sides of the portico are also arched and pilastered. The tower section, whose interior houses the vestibule area, rises the full width of the portico to the height of the gable peak, where there is a cornice line, above which rises the tower, flanked by carved wooden fan designs. The first stage of the tower is square, with clock faces adorning otherwise plain brick walls. Above a cornice is the second stage, a round section with a partially open belfry surrounded by twelve Ionic columns, which support an entablature and dentillated cornice. An attic section decorated with swag drapery rises above the belfry, and is topped by a round dome and weathervane. List of National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places listings in Worcester County, Massachusetts William H. Pierson Jr., American Buildings and Their Architects: The Colonial and Neoclassical Styles (Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1970), pp. 270ff. ISBN 0385081820
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was First Church of Christ, Lancaster listed on the National Register?
First Church of Christ, Lancaster was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 29, 1970.
What type of historic resource is First Church of Christ, Lancaster?
First Church of Christ, Lancaster is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
Is First Church of Christ, Lancaster a National Historic Landmark?
Yes. First Church of Christ, Lancaster has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.
What is the period of significance for First Church of Christ, Lancaster?
The period of significance for First Church of Christ, Lancaster is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near First Church of Christ, Lancaster?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near First Church of Christ, Lancaster will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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