Calvary Methodist Church is a historic

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

church building at 300 Massachusetts Avenue in

Arlington, Massachusetts Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The town is six miles (10 km) northwest of Boston, and its population was 46,308 at the 2020 census. History European colonists settled the Town of Arlington in 1635 as a village ...

. Built in 1919-23, the building is a near replica of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

's Kings Chapel, executed in wood. Its tower is topped by a belfry designed by architect

Charles Bulfinch Charles Bulfinch (August 8, 1763 – April 15, 1844) was an early American architect, and has been regarded by many as the first American-born professional architect to practice.Baltzell, Edward Digby. ''Puritan Boston & Quaker Philadelphia''. Tra ...

in 1809 and built for use on Boylston Market; it was rescued from demolition and given to the church in 1921. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

in 1983.

Description and history

The Calvary Methodist Church is located on the southwest side of

Massachusetts Avenue Massachusetts Avenue may refer to: * Massachusetts Avenue (metropolitan Boston), Massachusetts ** Massachusetts Avenue (MBTA Orange Line station), a subway station on the MBTA Orange Line ** Massachusetts Avenue (MBTA Silver Line station), a stati ...

, southeast of Arlington center. It is a rectangular wood frame structure, with a projecting vestibule and tower. The main block has a hipped roof, and its side walls have four round-arch windows. The projecting is fronted by four Ionic columns, with a square stage above that houses a clock with a single face facing front, and small round windows on the other three sides. This stage is topped by a balustrade, and a flush-boarded stage with wide projecting sections and a dentillated cornice. Above this is an octagonal belfry, with four wide sides housing round-arched louvered openings with engaged columns at the corners. A stepped-back octagonal section tops the belfry, with a concave roof at the very top. A parish house, built in 1953, is attached to the church by a narrow passage. The Methodist congregation first met in Arlington in 1916, and a plan for construction of a church for it soon followed. The present building was designed by James Macnaughton and William Perry, and construction began in 1919. The congregation had difficulty keeping up with the construction costs, and the builder threatened to sell off the partially-finished building for use as a theater. A town-wide appeal raised sufficient funds to cover the costs, and the building was completed in 1923. During the design process, Macnaughton had learned of

's planned cupola for Boston's Kings Chapel, which was never executed. He learned of the existence of a Bulfinch-designed cupola that had been installed on the Boylston Market, a Bulfinch design built in 1810 and torn down in 1887. The cupola had been removed in 1886 and purchased by a brewery in Charlestown, which was itself slated for demolition after closing due to

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

. The owner agreed to donate the cupola to the church, on condition that its origin be properly credited.

References

File:Bulfinch steeple (Boylston Market, Boston) - Arlington, MA.jpg, Bulfinch belfry

External links

Church web site
{{Authority control Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Methodist churches in Massachusetts Churches in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Arlington, Massachusetts Charles Bulfinch church buildings National Register of Historic Places in Arlington, Massachusetts

Description and history

See also

References

External links