First Parish Church in Dorchester
Unitarian Universalist

Repairing, restoring and renewing the Dorchester Meetinghouse

Before	After

MEETINGHOUSE RESTORATION PROJECT NEWS

Jan. 20, 2012: Phase II of the Project is coming to a close. Freshly painted and renovated parapets, the reinstalled urns on each corner of the meetinghouse-sanctuary and the newly built chimneys are the most visible repairs. There are just a few more items to complete: installation of the columns at the 10 Parish Street entrance, a few minor punch list items and a good cleanup of the site. Phase II of the project will come in under budget and we were even able to complete a few additional items that were not included in the original scope of work. In addition, the contractor completed a few items for us as an in-kind donation.

Last week, students at North Bennett Street School removed 12 window sashes from the 2nd floor of the meeetinghouse-sanctuary. These sashes will be completely restored and returned to us within 6 to 10 weeks. A church member’s donation of glass will help to minimize the cost of purchasing new glass. Working with NBSS on this project will save the church tens of thousands of dollars. This project marks the beginning of what we hope will be a long relationship with NBSS, we have enough windows to keep them busy for several years!

During the upcoming weeks, we will begin the planning of Phase III and IV of the project. Part of this process will be to come to consensus on the proposed changes to the interior of the building.

For more information and to learn how you can support the project, please contact the church office by email: info@firstparishdorchester.org or by telephone: 617-436-0527.

Jan. 20, 2012: An auction of the historic silver collection from First Parish was held on Friday, January 20 at Sotheby’s in New York. Proceeds of the sale will help fund the Project and the mission the church in Dorchester. Rev. Art Lavoie, minister, and two church leaders were included in a video about the sale.

Jan. 15, 2012: The second floor windows on the Parish Street side of the building were removed for restoration by the North Bennett Street School in Boston. The openings were covered with plywood. Also, all the scaffolding has been removed after this fall's urgent exterior repairs.

Dec. 11, 2011: News about the project is spreading, see sidebar on the right, as work continues on the decorative scrolls at the roof on the front of the building. Download a Meetinghouse Restoration Project update that was presented to the congregation on Nov. 13. (PDF file)

Oct. 18, 2011: We are in the home stretch as the estimated completion date for this phase of work is the end of November!

• The decorative black brick is being installed on the main chimney and the smaller north chimney.
• Most of the repair and reconstruction work has been completed on the four corner parapets.
• The void at the base of the tower has been sealed up and new clapboards have been installed and primed. This protects the tower structure and the organ below from water damage.
• The decorative scroll work at the front of the church at the tower base is being repaired.
• In the next few weeks, the finials will go back up, some slate roofing tiles will be replaced and the scaffolding at the rear of the church will start to come down.

Check out the updated Restoration Project bulletin board outside the Parish Hall.

And take a look at the new pictures on the web album: First Parish Phase 1: During construction.

Sep. 23, 2011: The work continues despite the weather

• Both chimneys have been repaired and re-pointed. The delivery of the decorative black brick which will cap the chimneys is expected next week and will be installed as soon as it is in hand.
• The two back parapets have been rebuilt, re-pointed, wrapped and the installation of copper flashing is in progress.
• The carpenters have taken apart the two front parapets and have started rebuilding them. While the decorative moldings on the corner finial bases were in pretty bad shape the structure underneath is still pretty solid which is excellent news.

Check out the new photos!

Sep. 8, 2011: Significant progress!

• Work on the chimneys continue. The smaller chimney is ready to have the corbel installed now that the color of the brick and mortar has been approved by the Massachusetts Historical Commission. The large chimney requires more work than specified in the scope. The architect and engineer confirmed the need to take down an additional twelve courses of brick and rebuild with the addition of a metal mesh to reinforce the structure.
• All four corners of the church have been staged so work can continue on the parapets. The first of the four brick parapets has been repointed and will be ready for the wood work soon.
• The wood work around the parapets, scroll work and finial bases at the front of the sanctuary will be dismantled this week so we can get a close look at the structure underneath.

Check out the new photos on Facebook.

Aug. 26, 2011: Progress was made on the project this week.

• The installation of staging is underway. More staging will be added over the next week as required to facilitate the work.
• The Parish Hall chimney liner has been replaced and the brick work rebuilt up to the where the black brick corbel would begin.
• The east parapets have been stripped down to expose the brick and the rebuilding and re-pointing is scheduled to begin today.
• The central Meetinghouse chimney has been dismantled to the level originally specified. It is evident that it will have to be taken down even further to address the deteriorated mortar, loose brick and bowing. Based on the inspection, another 12 courses of brick will be dismantled. The architect is reviewing the design of the chimney with our structural engineer to determine if additional bracing is required in the rebuilt area. The chimney was originally constructed without any bracing.
• The project site will be prepared for the severe weather expected this weekend.

Follow this link to look at the pictures of the work.

For more information and to learn how you can support the project, please contact the church office by email: info@firstparishdorchester.org or by telephone: 617-436-0527.

Groundbreaking Ceremony!

Aug. 2, 2011: First Parish held a public groundbreaking event for Phase I of the Meetinghouse Restoration Project. We were honored to have Mayor Thomas M. Menino as our keynote speaker, in the center of the photo above standing next to the Reverend Art Lavoie, minister. Also attending and pictured above, left to right, are State Senator Jack Hart, Tina Chery from the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, Jeff Gonyeau from Historic Boston, and Carol Johnson from the Henderson Foundation. The groundbreaking was well attended by church and community members. Look for coverage in the Dorchester Reporter and on Neighborhood Network News. Restoration of the parapets and chimney will begin soon. Many thanks to all who participated.

The Meetinghouse Restoration Project —Partners in Preservation with the Massachusetts Historical Commission and the Henderson Foundation

Recent news

The Meetinghouse Restoration is making great progress. In addition to the Henderson Challenge Grant for $100,000 that we learned about in June, we have two new benefactors!

On Saturday April 30 the Parish St. side entrance will get new stairs and banisters and fresh paint. Inside, the foyer and hallway will be properly prepped and repainted. All thanks to Rebuilding Together: Boston (RTB) an organization that works in partnership with skilled trades people and volunteers to repair and restore homes and non-profit facilities in Boston, at no cost to the recipients. The workday day, April 30, is part of National Rebuilding Day. Come join the fun. You'll even get a free t-shirt. To volunteer, email fpcdot@gmail.com with the subject: Volunteer. For more info on RTB, check out http://www.rebuildingtogetherboston.org.

The Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) has awarded us a $50,000 emergency grant to help finance Phase 1 of the restoration: stabilizing the north chimney, rebuilding the main chimney and four corner parapets, and installing siding and flashing on the east tower. On Thursday March 31, we met with MHC project manager Meghan Hanrahan. We hope to start work in late spring/early summer.

About the project

First Parish Church in Dorchester is a thriving church community of 80 members. We are located on top of Meeting House Hill, where a church of this congregation has stood since 1670. Our large historic building, called the Meetinghouse is a neighborhood resource—a safe and convenient place for meetings, cultural events, and other community services. The Meetinghouse is located at the intersection of two neighborhoods, Bowdoin/Geneva and Fields Corner, which feature a diverse ethnic mix, including Vietnamese, African-American, Caribbean, Irish, Latino, Haitian and Cape Verdean. As part of our mission of service, we have collaborative partnerships with a number of public and private organizations that serve Dorchester.

Designed by the respected Boston architects Cabot, Everett and Mead in 1896, our church building is one of the few and finest churches built in the Christopher Wren style during the Colonial-Revival period. First Parish has recently embarked on a multi-phased building reconstruction and fundraising campaign that spans five years and will cost an estimated $5 million.  

For more information and to learn how you can support the project, please contact the church office by email: info@firstparishdorchester.org or by telephone: 617-436-0527.

First Parish serves the community by hosting the following groups on an ongoing basis:

Meeting House Hill Civic Association
Patriots Trail Girl Scouts Troup
Alcoholics Anonymous
Sunday at Three Concert Series
Dien Hong

Community and Civic Organizations that have used our building during the past two years include:

Dorchester Day Celebration Committee
Dorchester Artists’ Collaborative Open Studios
Dorchester/Roxbury/Mattapan Community Seder, organized by a group of Jewish residents
Boston Police Department
Project Hope/Homes for Families
The Mather School
City of Boston Department of Neighborhood Development Affordable Housing Fair
Dorchester People for Peace
Citywide Dialogues on Race and Ethnicity
Four Chaplains
Friends of Ronan Park
HT3 Peace Network
Louis D. Brown Peace Institute

Scan of an undated, uncredited photograph from an old calendar issued by Gilmour, Rothery & Co. Insurance (Established 1873, 40 Broad Street, Boston, Massachusetts).

$5 million, 5-year campaign to repair, restore and renew historic gathering place and vital neighborhood resource

View of the Meetinghouse from corner of Adams and Winter Sts.

November 2009

March 1956

Photos below of work on Meetinghouse exterior, Fall 2011