This Noble Building...
This noble building in Newton Corner was built in 1881 by a group of Unitarians who were meeting in an old wooden meeting-house on Washington Street. The architect was a member of the church, George F. Meacham, who also designed the nearby Eliot Church and the South Congregational Church in Boston. The cornerstone was laid on Fast Day, April 7, 1881. At a total cost of $110,000, the construction was completed in one year and the building was dedicated on May 23, 1882.
The Gothic look was adopted by several denominations from 13th century English designs. The pointed arch, vaulted ceiling, use of buttresses, corner turrets, and large, stained glass windows characterized this style. The Victorians loved somber earthen materials, and the new edifice was built of light cream-colored sandstone trimmings from Amherst, Ohio, and red and brown sandstone from the McGregory Quarry, Longmeadow (Indian Orchard), Massachusetts. The roof was covered with black Maine slates bordered by bands of red and green slates.
The sanctuary (seating 700) is cruciform in outline with seating on the sides. At the northern end of the sanctuary, a long cherry-paneled platform, pulpit, and choir gallery lead one's gaze to the magnificent organ. Constructed by Hook & Hastings for $5,000, the organ was enclosed in a richly molded, cusped arch that was supported by columns and pedestals of cherry. Above the panel-backed cherry pews were interlacing arches and large beams rising from massive brackets in the walls to the 70-foot apex.
The inspiration for the stained glass windows came from cartoons of Raphael, but the artist, Donald McDonald of Boston, added his own color perceptions in executing them. The Channing Memorial Window (30' by 15') depicts Paul on Mars Hill preaching from the temple steps to a multitude of men, women, and children. The Bigelow Memorial Window (27' by 12') in the eastern transept illustrates the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The Deacon Calvin Bailey Memorial Window (27' by 12') in the western transept depicts the young boy Jesus in the temple. Four smaller windows illustrate the Good Shepherd, an open doorway with the original benediction at the laying of the church cornerstone ("Peace be to this house"), Christ and the Samaritan woman at the well, and the lily window filled with passionflowers.
Off the sanctuary in what is now called the vestry, the original chapel was finished in ash and seated 250 people. The large coved ceiling was accented with cambered and molded ribs of wood. The parlor was separated from the chapel by large, sliding, wooden doors and seated 135 persons. A stage platform was erected at the end of this room. The refreshment room was built above the parlor and accessed by a spiral stairway. A small kitchen upstairs served the needs of the church for years.
The congregation of Newton Presbyterian Church purchased the building in 1946 for the nominal sum of $25,000 from the Unitarian Church. They renovated the building for an additional $25,000 and occupied it officially on Easter Sunday, April 23, 1946. (One of the first changes made was placing a large cross inside the sanctuary to declare the new congregation's commitment to the Trinity.) In 1961, a two-story addition for Christian Education was annexed. In 1984, a large kitchen on the ground floor was built. On September 8, 1996, new classrooms in the Lower Level were dedicated on Rally Day.
Each generation continues to steward the gift of this building, and we recently re-appointed and re-dedicated the beautiful brick façade, stained glass windows, and steeple. The church building stands regally on the corner of Vernon, Park, and Eldredge streets in Newton Corner, preaching without a word to passersby about God's magnificence and strength.
