Saint Paul's Church, Chapel, and Parish House
Why it's listed
St. Paul's Church, Chapel and Parish House form an Episcopal complex at Aspinwall Avenue and St. Paul Street in Brookline. The congregation was founded in 1849, and Augustus Aspinwall donated the land. Richard Upjohn, architect of Trinity Church in New York, designed the Gothic church, completed in 1852, and the chapel of 1858, now the parish hall. Both are built of Roxbury puddingstone, with tripartite arches, trefoil windows, stone tracery and a tower topped by a broached spire. Peabody and Stearns enlarged the chapel in 1880, and Julius Schweinfurth designed the 1895 parish house, linked to the church by an enclosed walkway. A fire in 1976 destroyed the church interior and most of its stained glass, but the exterior changed little apart from solar panels. It is Brookline's oldest religious building and Upjohn's only church there, and it reflects the ecclesiological movement in the Episcopal church.
Significance in brief: The church, designed by Richard Upjohn, is described as a fine example of a picturesque village church and as one of the earliest and most important of its kind in the Boston area. The parish house was designed by Julius Schweinfurth. It also reflects the mid-19th-century ecclesiological movement in the Episcopal church. It is the oldest religious structure in Brookline and Upjohn's only ecclesiastical work there.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 85003312, listed October 17, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 15 and 27 Saint Paul St. and 104 Aspinwall Ave., Brookline |
|---|---|
| County | Norfolk County |
| Listed | October 17, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85003312 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Richard Upjohn (church and chapel/parish hall); Peabody and Stearns (1880 chapel enlargement); Julius A. Schweinfurth (parish house) |
| Architectural style | Gothic |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Architecture, Religion, Social History |
| Level of significance | National, State, Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in use as a church, parish hall and parish house. The church interior was gutted by fire in 1976 and rebuilt in 1979-80, with solar panels added to the south roof. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.34633, -71.11844 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
Religious properties are listed for their architectural or historical significance, not their religious use. Listing is honorary and does not restrict the congregation's use of the building. The federal rehabilitation credit is generally unavailable unless part of the building is income-producing; some state programmes and preservation grants do cover religious buildings. Federal funding or permits trigger Section 106 review.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 85003312.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7402006
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.