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Charles Street Meeting House

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1806–1807, attributed to Asher Benjamin; 1982, John Sharratt Associates. 70 Charles St.
  • Charles Street Meeting House (Peter Vanderwarker or Antonina Smith)
  • Charles Street Meeting House (alternate shot) (Peter Vanderwarker or Antonina Smith)
  • (Damie Stillman)
  • (Damie Stillman)

The Charles Street Meeting House has been attributed to Asher Benjamin due to its similarities to his Old West Church (WE1; 1806) on Cambridge Street. The cupola, three-story narrow arches, and carved wooden fans in the gable ends provide decorative flourishes to this brick-gabled block, although a balustrade with urns originally bordered the roof below the base of the cupola. Erected as the Third Baptist Church by a congregation with antislavery sentiments who used the nearby Charles River for baptisms, it later became the African Methodist Episcopal Church. With the widening of Charles Street in 1920 the church was moved west ten feet. John Sharratt Associates converted the building for commercial purposes that include his architectural office.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Keith N. Morgan
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Data

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Citation

Keith N. Morgan, "Charles Street Meeting House", [Boston, Massachusetts], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/MA-01-BH44.

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of Massachusetts

Buildings of Massachusetts: Metropolitan Boston, Keith N. Morgan, with Richard M. Candee, Naomi Miller, Roger G. Reed, and contributors. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2009, 118-118.

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