About the Venue

First Unitarian Church in New Bedford

First Unitarian Church in New Bedford is built in the “Norman Gothic in style, was designed by the distinguished architects Alexander Jackson Davis and Russell Warren. Constructed in 1838 at a cost of about $40,000, it required 7,000 tons of granite, some blocks weighing as much as eight tons. The style of the interior details are Gothic, yet the spaciousness of the well-lighted interior and the simplicity and precision of the decorative elements have much in common with the Greek revival designs of same period. In 1868 a chapel was added behind the church. In 1896 the Parish House was constructed with a style of architecture matching the original church building. In 1955 office space and meeting rooms were constructed in the basement.

 

Front Entrance: First Unitarian Church in New Bedford

The meeting room, or sanctuary, itself has gone through several renovations and stylistic changes. The original stained glass was replaced in the mid- to late-19th C. The organ was first in the front of the church, to right of the pulpit; it was moved to the organ loft in the late 19th C. The original paint scheme used bright borders and decorations; the elaborate plaster ceiling mouldings were added in the late 19th C. The original chancel featured a lower, more open, pulpit; and there was a raised platform in front of the pulpit for the altar table. The original stained glass window behind the pulpit was replaced with a Tiffany glass mosaic. For many years, the pews were covered in bright red brocade; this was replaced in 1967, with the current soft gold fabric.

 

The mosaic behind the pulpit was given in 1911 as a memorial to Judge and Mrs. Oliver Prescott by their three children, Oliver Prescott, Jr., Mrs. Frederick Stetson and Miss Mary R. Prescott. Frederick Wilson was the artist who made the design for the Tiffany Studios. A Pilgrim ascending a dangerous mountain pass is guided on his way by a Guardian Angel. It is the largest and most intricate work of its kind in America, covering over 300 square feet of wall space, and containing many thousands of pieces of Favrile glass set in cement. Read more about our mosaic.

The Sanctuary. Photo by Robert Baldwin.

The three portrait busts at the front of the sanctuary are of William J. Potter (niche front left), Ralph Waldo Emerson (niche front right) and Orville Dewey (pedestal front left). None is a remarkable work of art, but each is of historical significance.”

READ MORE ABOUT THIS AMAZING BUILDING

PARKING is available on the streets around the building.