NORWOOD’S NEW CHURCH.
The Universalist Society Open Their New Edifice for Worship.
Norwood, December 19. — Today the members of the Universalist church worshipped in their new edifice for the first time. The old church was destroyed by fire a little over two years ago and since that time the congregation have been worshipping in Village Hall. The services were conducted by Rev. C. J. Kern, the pastor, who announced that the dedication of the church would take place next Wednesday afternoon at 3 o’clock, with services in the evening. Rev. George L. Perrin of Boston will make the principal address on “The Place of the Church in the World Today.”
The edifice is a handsome structure, built of Milford stone, and stands on the site of the old church. It has a frontage of eighty-seven feet on Washington street and occupies eighty-five feet on Nahatan Street. The architecture is of the wooden gothic style, with a square tower sixteen feet high. The entrance to the church is from Washington street, through the tower, into the vestibule, which extends across the front of the church. The main auditorium is fifty-five feet wide by fifty-four feet long, in the rear of which is a chancel ten by nineteen feet. There is also an entrance to the church on Nahatan street, at which is a vestibule eleven feet by five. The pastor’s study opens into this vestibule.
A handsome Hooper & Hastings organ occupies a small room in the rear of the church. It has twenty-two stops and was presented by the ladies of the society. Mr. Bernard F. Colburn of this town, a well-known teacher of music in Boston, is the organist, and his efforts are ably supported by a quartet consisting of Frank D. Colburn, basso; W. J. Wheeden,. tenor; Miss Ada Craigen, soprano, and Miss Fanny Craigen, alto.
A series of folding doors connect the main auditorium with the Sunday school rooms. The ladies parlor fronts on Washington street, and is very tastily fitted up with a fireplace and mantels and is handsomely furnished with carpets, easy chairs, and tables. Its dimensions are l6x20 feet and will be used by the ladies for their committee meetings and socials. From the Washington street vestibule, a stairway leads to the supper room in the basement. Off this room, there are two spacious dressing rooms, kitchens, pantries, and closets. The pews, the furniture in the ladies’ parlor, and the pastor’s study are finished in antique oak, the rest of the church being finished in Whitewood. The whole building is handsomely carpeted throughout and is heated by steam.
The handsome edifice contains several memorial windows in honor of prominent members of the society who have passed away. One of them, a representation of faith in God. was erected in memory of Jane Bigelow: another was erected by the children of Willard and Emily Gay, and another in memory of Moses Erastus Webb, which is a representation of Hope and Charity. In the tower hangs a rich-toned bell, cast in Baltimore, and weighing 2068 pounds. Facing Washington street is a handsome Howard clock.
Mr. J. Williams Beal was the architect, and the woodwork, furniture, and other furnishings were done by Milton H. Howard of Norwood. Mack & Lucas of Boston did the stonework.
Mon, Dec 20, 1886 – 5 · The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts)