Christ Church
- Architect
- Peter Harrison
- Year
- 1760
- Style
- Georgian
- City
- Boston, MA
- Collection
- colonial & revolutionary
Christ Church in Cambridge was built in 1760-61 by Peter Harrison, the first formally trained architect to practice in Britain's American colonies, in the Georgian style he also used for King's Chapel in Boston. The congregation was founded in 1759 by King's Chapel members living in Cambridge who wanted an Anglican church closer to home, as well as services for Harvard students across the Common; its founding members mostly lived along Brattle Street, then known as Tory Row. Its first rector was East Apthorp.
the building
Founded for Tory Row. The congregation formed in 1759 so that King's Chapel members living in Cambridge, many along the wealthy Brattle Street corridor known as Tory Row, could worship closer to home and offer Church of England services to Harvard students.
the style
Built in the Georgian style, Christ Church shares its architectural language and its architect with King's Chapel in Boston, one of only a small number of buildings that can be attributed to Peter Harrison with certainty.
More on Georgianthe architect
Peter Harrison is considered the first formally trained architect to have worked in the British American colonies. Christ Church is one of only a handful of surviving buildings that can be attributed to him unambiguously, alongside his King's Chapel in Boston.
significance
Christ Church was designated a National Historic Landmark specifically because it is one of the few buildings that can be attributed unambiguously to Peter Harrison, and it is separately listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
nearby
- Massachusetts Hall
- Austin Hall
- University Hall
- Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church
- Smith Campus Center
- Building at 10 Follen Street