Brighton Evangelical Congregational Church
- Architect
- Clarence Blackall
- Year
- 1922
- Style
- Colonial Revival
- City
- Boston, MA
This Colonial Revival church at 404 Washington Street in Brighton was built in 1922 by architects Blackall, Clapp & Whittemore, replacing a Gothic Revival predecessor that burned down in 1921. The congregation traced back to an 1827 schism from Brighton's first, Unitarian-leaning church, and the new building rose on the foundation of the one it replaced.
the building
Entry portico. The facade is marked by a pedimented entry portico carried on fluted Roman Doric columns, a Colonial Revival gesture toward civic dignity rather than the Gothic verticality of the churches that stood on the site before it.
the style
Choosing Colonial Revival in 1922 was a deliberate break from the congregation's own building history — the two earlier churches on the site had both been Gothic Revival. The style tied the rebuilt church to New England's meetinghouse tradition instead.
More on Colonial Revivalthe architect
Clarence Blackall practiced as part of Blackall, Clapp & Whittemore and was a historically significant Boston architect; this church is a documented example of the firm's ecclesiastical work in the 1920s.
significance
The building is a contributing property within a National Register of Historic Places listing.
nearby
- Oak Square School
- Timothy Corey House No. 1
- Reginald A. Fessenden House
- Simpson House
- Engine House No. 34
- Metropolitan Waterworks Museum