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St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church

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1873–1875 lower church, 1884 upper church, 1891 tower, Patrick C. Keely; 1934, Maginnis and Walsh; 1980 upper levels of tower removed. 309 Bowdoin St.
  • St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church (Keith Morgan)

While finishing the Cathedral of the Holy Cross (SE12), Patrick C. Keely designed St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church, a broad and soaring Gothic church built from puddingstone quarried on its site. Dramatic trefoil arches supporting a hammer beam ceiling create a magnificent unobstructed interior. The ribs and moldings are banded throughout in ebony and gold; paintings by Lamprecht and Kingley decorate the spaces between each transverse arch. The trefoil pattern culminates in the sanctuary arch, dramatically backlit through the polygonal apse. Maginnis and Walsh enhanced the interior with refined ecclesiastical furnishings crafted by their most skillful artisans: the high altar and reredos by Ernest Pelligrini, Stations of the Cross by Angelo Lualdi, and stained glass windows by Vaughn O'Neil and Arthur Dallin.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Keith N. Morgan
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Data

What's Nearby

Meeting House Hill
M. Harriet McCormick Performing Arts Center (Strand Theater)
St. Mary's Episcopal Church
Dorchester North Burying Ground
Holy Family/St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church

Citation

Keith N. Morgan, "St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church", [Boston, Massachusetts], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/MA-01-DR14.

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, 260-260.

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