You are here

Metropolitan Boston » Cambridge » Central Square/Cambridgeport/Mid Cambridge » Prospect Congregational Church

Prospect Congregational Church

-A A +A
1851, Alexander R. Esty; 1879–1880, Thomas W. Silloway. 99 Prospect St.

Prospect Congregational church remains one of the earliest and most intact Boston-area examples of Romanesque Revival, or Rundbogenstil, characterized here by the round arches and refined use of corbeling. Sanded paint in imitation of sandstone originally covered the exterior. Beyond the distinctive style choice, popular among Congregational churches at this time, Esty provided the congregation with a traditional New England church plan consisting of a nave and symmetrical entrance tower with belfry. Inside, he designed a great ribbed barrel vault ceiling supported above the galleries by massive brackets with carved pendants. In 1879–1880 Silloway extended the nave, duplicating the original design, and added a vestry at the rear.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Keith N. Morgan
×

Data

What's Nearby

Central Station
Central Square
Cambridge City Hall District
First Baptist Church
Dudley-Richardson House

Citation

Keith N. Morgan, "Prospect Congregational Church", [Cambridge, Massachusetts], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/MA-01-CS18.

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of Massachusetts

Buildings of Massachusetts: Metropolitan Boston, Keith N. Morgan, with Richard M. Candee, Naomi Miller, Roger G. Reed, and contributors. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2009, 299-299.

If SAH Archipedia has been useful to you, please consider supporting it.

SAH Archipedia tells the story of the United States through its buildings, landscapes, and cities. This freely available resource empowers the public with authoritative knowledge that deepens their understanding and appreciation of the built environment. But the Society of Architectural Historians, which created SAH Archipedia with University of Virginia Press, needs your support to maintain the high-caliber research, writing, photography, cartography, editing, design, and programming that make SAH Archipedia a trusted online resource available to all who value the history of place, heritage tourism, and learning.

,