{"nrhp_refnum":"98001361","name":"Cathedral of St. George Historic District","other_names":["Hawes Unitarian Church"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"517-523-525 E. Broadway","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.332580578000034,"lon":-71.16519306699996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-11-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History","Community Planning and Development","European"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small historic district at 517-525 East Broadway in South Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, made up of a High Victorian Gothic brick church (originally Hawes Unitarian Church, now the Cathedral of St. George) flanked by two brick houses. The church was built 1872-1873 to designs by Samuel J.F. Thayer.","why_significant":"The nomination finds the group significant under Criterion C for its architecture, with the church as a picturesque High Victorian Gothic design by a local architect on a narrow, constrained lot. It also relates to the social history, community development and ethnic heritage of South Boston, where a Unitarian congregation later gave way to an Orthodox cathedral. The adjoining houses were tied to the church's founding families and building committee.","narrative":"Three brick buildings on East Broadway in South Boston form this small district: a church flanked by two houses, set on one of the highest points of the neighborhood. The church was built for a Unitarian congregation between 1872 and 1873 and designed by local architect Samuel J.F. Thayer in a High Victorian Gothic style influenced by Venetian Gothic. Its T-shaped plan, lancet arches, sandstone trim and engaged tower solved the problem of a narrow lot hemmed in by neighboring buildings. Inside, the black walnut woodwork, balcony, parlors and Sunday School room survive largely intact, along with a Byzantine-style altar screen added when the building became the Cathedral of St. George. The two houses, at 517 and 525 East Broadway, were linked to prominent church members and builders, and a deed condition required that only brick or stone dwellings be built beside the church. Together they show how a church and its surrounding residences developed in South Boston during the 1870s.","period_of_significance":"1868-1949","architect_builder":"Samuel J.F. Thayer","architectural_style":"Late Victorian/High Victorian Gothic","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Church still used as a cathedral with church-related residence; alterations include spire removal around 1931, painted sandstone trim, a 1982 chapel conversion and a 1995 access ramp.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:03.506191-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/16/7970/63797016/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/98001361.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98001361/b4f3b82b78-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98001361/b4f3b82b78-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jameslwoodward","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cathedral_of_St._George_Historic_District_South_Boston_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jameslwoodward</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:Cathedral_of_St._George_Historic_District_South_Boston_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63797016","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_St._George_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4798109"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/cathedral-of-st-george-historic-district-98001361/"}