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INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Town Property Address
<br /> LEXINGTON 1580 MASS. AVE.
<br /> MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
<br /> MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
<br /> 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD 5
<br /> BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125
<br /> HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
<br /> The current church replaces an earlier Baptist structure constructed on the same site in 1834,remodeled and enlarged
<br /> during the 1880s and destroyed by fire on May 13, 1891. On March 11, 1892 the building committee voted to build a
<br /> new church on the same site"after the plan of one just completed in Randolph"(MacDougall 1983: 37). By September
<br /> 1892 the foundation neared completion and the contractor,U.S. Holmes,was paid$650 and the architect,J.Williams
<br /> Beal,was paid$300. On October 21, 1892,the cornerstone was laid with a time capsule placed underneath(see
<br /> Lexington Minute-man, October 28, 1892 for a list of the contents of the time capsule). The total cost of the building was
<br /> approximately$12,000. The dedication of the new church took place on June 29, 1893 and the newspaper that day offers
<br /> a very detailed description of the building:
<br /> It is Elizabethan(?) in its style of architecture, a charming effect being gained by the generous use of field stone
<br /> in its construction,the foundation walls, chimney and base of the towers being of this material. The
<br /> superstructure is of cherry stained shingles. The exterior is distinguished by a high, square bell tower, intersected
<br /> in the centre of the low gable which forms the main structure. Jutting out from this is a circular tower which runs
<br /> half way up, and still another large tower effect is obtained by the springing out in a deep semi circular form of
<br /> the lower end of the building,which gives an opportunity for a series of clustered windows. An arched entrance
<br /> of the field stone,pointed dormer windows, and leaded cathedral glass are striking features of the church.
<br /> Entering the main entrance you are ushered into a spacious corridor running the length of the building. From this
<br /> are entered the main audience room,the Sunday school room and the ladies' parlor, all prettily finished in
<br /> cypress,with walls of a pleasant tone of terra-cotta. All these rooms can be practically thrown into one and each
<br /> is of excellent proportions. The parlor is in the large tower, and the circular form affords excellent lighting
<br /> facilities. A large open fire-place, faced with pressed brick and a neat mantle, is a feature of the room. The
<br /> audience room was referred to last week. The cypress,which is the wood finish, is very pleasing in its effect,
<br /> showing off finely against the vaulted intruncated ceiling of gray plaster and in the wainscoting which encases the
<br /> circular chancel as far as the springing of ceiling. The audience room has a wainscoting and supporting rafters
<br /> and the seats have high sides, all in keeping with the attractive style of the church,the distinctive tone of which is
<br /> a pinkish terra-cotta and the pale golden tint of the cypress. The furniture of the church is simple but handsome
<br /> in its design, consisting of an octagonal pulpit,placed on the left side of the raised platform,reading desk, large
<br /> communion table and a chair. The paneling and grill work in these furnishings are very pleasing in their style of
<br /> construction. The organ is to the right of the platform and has a small room leading out from the choir seats,
<br /> which affords a private entrance for the singers. To the left of the chancel are the retiring rooms. The furnace
<br /> rooms,toilette,kitchen,pantry and dining rooms are in the basement. Electricity is used to light the structure,
<br /> fixtures being of brass.
<br /> The building was designed by Boston architect John Williams Beal(1855-1919). J. Williams Beal was born in South
<br /> Scituate,Mass. and studied architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He worked as a draftsman in the
<br /> New York offices of Richard Morris Hunt and later,McKim,Mead,and White before taking several years off to travel
<br /> and study in Europe. In 1888 he opened an architectural office in Boston in practice with his two sons,Horatio and John
<br /> Woodbridge Beal. The MACRIS database maintained by the Massachusetts Historical Commission lists 127 buildings
<br /> designed by the firm(some postdating the elder Beal's death in 1919). Beal's most important works include the Plymouth
<br /> County Hospital and Jail,the Executive Building and Club House for the Walk-Over Shoe Company in Brockton and
<br /> numerous residences. Other churches in varying styles include the Acushnet Methodist Episcopal Church(1905),All
<br /> Souls Unitarian Church in Greenfield(1894), Central Methodist Episcopal Church in Brockton(1900), Charles Street
<br /> African Methodist Episcopal Church in Boston(1888),Haverhill Universalist Church(1893),Melrose First United
<br /> Methodist Church(1904),the Norwood First Universalist Church(1885).
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