· The Second Parish (this congregation’s first identity) was formed in 1785 and met in the town Court House until a Meeting House was built on Summer Street in 1791.
· In 1798 a bell cast by Paul Revere in his Boston foundry and was installed in the steeple. The bell cracked and was sent back to Boston to be recast by Revere.
· A second “Meeting House” was built in 1828 on our current site.
· The plans were drawn under the direction of member and U. S. Representative Lewis Bigelow.
· The land was purchased from Isaiah Thomas for $4,000, the building erected for $13,000 and an organ purchased for $2,000.
· The building was 68 feet wide and 75 feet deep, with a clock tower 125 feet high with an open belfry. The price of owning a pew ranged from $80 to $337. One had to ‘buy’ a pew and the more one spent the better the location.
· A gallery clock, a gift of Isaiah Thomas, from the first Meeting House was installed in the new building along with the recast Paul Revere bell which weighed 2300 pounds.
· The arrangement of the 104 pews on the floor was much like that of the present building.
· During 1849 repairs, fire destroyed the building. The steeple bell fell, broke and was recast.
· The rebuilt church was based on St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, London in the Roman Corinthian style.
· A new pipe organ built by E. & G. Hook of Boston was installed in 1855. An identical organ was installed in Mechanics Hall two years later.
· In 1852 a vestry was built, a ladies’ parlor, and a chapel, which was eventually named the Bancroft Room. The original room was part of a one-story addition added in 1852. A second story was added in 1882.
· In 1919 Unity Hall built when the Church of the Unity, the South Memorial Church, and this church were joined.
· In 1921 a grand fireplace was added to the Bancroft Room.
· In 1938, the church was struck by a hurricane. The steeple bell tolled for 15 minutes before falling across the sanctuary. In one year, the church was rebuilt on the same design. The steeple bell survived and was reinstalled. A new steeple clock was given by the American Unitarian Association. A crack on the pulpit is where the steeple fell.
· During the 1950’s the kitchen was renovated.
· 1955 major general renovations including Sunday school rooms.
· In 1966 a parking lot and the Memorial Garden were added.
· In 1964 the Aeolian-Skinner organ was dedicated.
· In 1992 ramps built into the raised platform in front of the pulpit leading to the Bancroft Room.
· In 1994 the Robbins Chapel was renovated.
· In 1998 classrooms were added to the stage in Unity Hall.
· In 2000 during replacement of the roof, a fire started leaving extensive damage. The downstairs was renovated, the Sanctuary flooring replaced, pews modified, a lighting system added, the organ console relocated, and the organ pipes rebuilt. In addition, an elevator was installed.
Note: See church annual reports for more recent work on the church.
Sources: Robert M. Shaw Jr. Chair – Building & Grounds Committee, “Chronological Building History”; The Fruits of Our Labor by W. D. Kring
Feb. 2018