{"nrhp_refnum":"72000146","name":"First Baptist Church","other_names":["Brattle Square Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Commonwealth Ave. and Clarendon St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.35178793100005,"lon":-71.07625210799995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-02-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"First Baptist Church (also called Brattle Square Church) is a cruciform church at Commonwealth Avenue and Clarendon Street in Boston's Back Bay, designed by Henry Hobson Richardson, begun in 1870 and completed in 1872.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as Richardson's first work that was definitely Romanesque rather than Gothic, marking the turning point of his career. Its quality led to his invitation to the Trinity Church competition. Its tower frieze, modelled by Bartholdi, was his first major work in the United States.","narrative":"Standing at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Clarendon Street in Boston's Back Bay, this cruciform church was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson and finished in 1872 for the Brattle Square Unitarian Society. Its 176-foot corner tower, three large rose windows and round-arched entrance arcade define its appearance. The tower frieze, modelled by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, includes four large angels with gilded trumpets, which Bostonians nicknamed the \"Church of the Holy Beanblowers.\" Quoins and cornerstones from the older Brattle Square Meeting House are built into the tower. The Unitarians lost the building to foreclosure, and it stood empty from 1875 to 1881. The First Baptist Society bought it in 1882, added galleries that corrected acoustical problems, and has used it ever since, later adding Tiffany stained glass. The church is described as Richardson's first definitely Romanesque work and as the building that led to his Trinity Church commission.","period_of_significance":"1872","architect_builder":"Henry Hobson Richardson (architect); Frederic Auguste Bartholdi modelled the tower frieze; Charles F. McKim completed the working drawings","architectural_style":"Romanesque","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as excellent and unaltered, on its original site; in active religious use by the First Baptist Society since 1882.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.5126-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/36/7967/63796736/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/72000146.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000146/f0ac88d29d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000146/f0ac88d29d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Original uploaded by Swampyank (Transfered by archinform)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Baptist_Church_Boston_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Original uploaded by Swampyank (Transfered by archinform)</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Baptist_Church_Boston_MA.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"73001948","name":"Back Bay Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/back-bay-historic-district-73001948/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796736","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Baptist_Church_(Boston)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5452368"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/first-baptist-church-72000146/"}