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| Congregational Library & Archives | |
|---|---|
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| 42°21′28.96″N71°3′44.76″W / 42.3580444°N 71.0624333°W /42.3580444; -71.0624333 | |
| Location | Boston, MA,United States |
| Type | Private |
| Scope | Congregational History |
| Established | 1853 |
| Branches | 1 |
| Collection | |
| Size | 250,000+ |
| Access and use | |
| Access requirements | Open to the Public |
| Other information | |
| Director | Dr. Kyle Roberts |
| Employees | 8 |
| Website | congregationallibrary.org |
Congregational House | |
_(7183315650).jpg) The Congregational House, home to the Congregational Library & Archives, designed byShepley, Rutan and Coolidge with bas-relief carvings byDomingo Mora. | |
| Location | 14 Beacon Street,Boston, Massachusetts |
| Built | 1898 |
| Architect | Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge |
| Architectural style | Georgian-FederalRevival |
| Part of | Park Street Historic District (ID74000390) |
| Added to NRHP | May 1, 1974[1] |
TheCongregational Library & Archives is anindependentspecial collections library andarchives. It is located on the second floor of the Congregational House at 14Beacon Street in theBeacon Hill neighborhood ofBoston, Massachusetts. The Library was founded in 1853 by a gathering of Congregational ministers[2] and has since evolved into a professional library and archives that holds more than 250,000 items, predominantly focused on 18th to 21st centuryAmerican Congregational history. The Library's reading room is free and open to the public for research but the Library'sstacks are closed and book borrowing privileges are extended exclusively to members.[3]
The Library was organized on May 25, 1853 by a gathering of Congregational ministers who donated a total of 56 books and pamphlets from their own personal collections. The Congregational Library Association was formally established in 1854 in Boston, Massachusetts "...for the purpose of establishing and perpetuating a library of religious history and literature of New England."[4] The Association occupied a room inTremont Temple until 1857, when the growing collection was moved to Chauncy Street.[5]
In 1864, the Congregational Library Association was authorized by theGovernor of Massachusetts to change its name to the American Congregational Association as well as "do such acts as may promote the interests of Congregational Churches by publishing works, by furnishing libraries and pecuniary aid to parishes, churches, and cooperation among Congregational ministers and churches with other denominations by collecting and disbursing funds for the above objects."[4]
By 1866, the Library contained 3,638 bound volumes and approximately 20,000 pamphlets and found their current location was too small to accommodate the Library. The Association sold said property toJordan, Marsh, & Co. By this point, the Library's collection grew significantly, up to 15,000 bound volumes and 50,000 pamphlets The Library was then temporarily housed at 40 Winter Street until, in 1873, the Old Congregational House, at the corner of Beacon and Somerset Streets, was dedicated.
After 20 years of occupying the old Congregational House, the Association posed the question if a more permanent location should be found. In 1898, it was decided that the old Congregational House would be sold and the lots of 12 and 14 Beacon Street would be purchased and built upon. Ground was broken for the Congregational House July 28, 1897 and the corner stone was laid on November 29, 1897.
The Library was to occupy the second floor of the Congregational House, with the reading room two stories high, with 1,000 reference books available, and with the ceiling decorated by theTiffany Glass and Decorating Company, and the stacks holding a capacity of 125,00 bound volumes.[5]
The Congregational House, located at 14 Beacon Street, is an eight-story brick building completed in 1898. The building was constructed, according to its explanatory plaque to house the Library and "...provide housing for Congregational societies and other religious charitable organizations."[6]
"The object of this Association shall be to secure the erection (and maintenance) in the city of Boston, of a Congregational House for the meetings of the body, the accommodation of its library, and for the furtherance of its general purposes; to found and perpetuate a library of books, pamphlets, and manuscripts, and a collection of portraits and relics of the past; and to do whatever else -- within limits of its charter -- shall serve to illustrated Congregational History, and promote the general interest of the Congregational Churches."
Occupants at the time of founding include theAmerican Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, theWoman's Board of Missions, the Woman's Home Missionary Association,[7] theMassachusetts Home Missionary Society, theNational Council, theCongregational Educational Society, theAmerican Missionary Association, theSeaman's Friend Society, theBoston City Mission Society, theSunday School and Publishing Society,the Congregationalist, and Thomas Todd's Printing Establishment.[5]
In 1957, theUnited Church of Christ was founded after merging theEvangelical and Reformed Church and theCongregational Christian Churches together.[8] The UCC moved its headquarters from the Congregational House toThe Interchurch Center inNew York City[9] by 1961, and many church groups and Congregational organizations found space outside of 14 Beacon Street. This led the Congregational House to become home to a wide range of advocacy groups and nonprofits.[10]
In the summer of 2017, the American Congregational Association sold the Congregational House to Faros Properties[11] for $25.4 million, citing the need to prioritize the mission of the organization over continuing to steward a large office building. The Library signed a lease for its current space for up to 100 years.[10]
The building was designed by the Boston-based architecture firmShepley, Rutan and Coolidge, nowShepley Bulfinch, in aGeorgian-Federalrevival style and built by theNorcoss Brothers.[12] The building was added to thePark Street Historic District in theNational Register of Historic Places on May 1, 1974,[13] citing the historic significance of the architecture of the area and the importance of the Congregational House and Library as a place "...to protect the original Puritan literature."[14]
During design and construction the Building Committee of the American Congregational Association agreed on a series of fourbas-reliefs should be included in the second story facade of the Congregational house, with each relief depicting a fundamental principle of Congregationalism. The tablets are carved fromKnoxville marble and bear no inscription as it was assumed the subject of each panel would be known on sight to the average citizen. The reliefs were carved byDomingo Mora, a Spanish sculptor who, catalyzed by theSpanish–American War, left the country and reliefs unfinished, citing his inability to stay and work in a country hostile to his own. The reliefs were carefully completed according to Mora's design by aSwiss modeler known only as Mr. Stadler.[5]
_by_Domingo_Mora_-_bas-reliefs%2c_Congregational_House%2c_Boston%2c_MA_-_DSC04682.JPG)
_by_Domingo_Mora_Bas-Reliefs_-_bas-reliefs%2c_Congregational_House%2c_Boston%2c_MA_-_DSC04684.JPG)
_by_Domingo_Mora_-_bas-reliefs%2c_Congregational_House%2c_Boston%2c_MA_-_DSC04686.JPG)
_by_Domingo_Mora_-_bas-reliefs%2c_Congregational_House%2c_Boston%2c_MA_-_DSC04687.JPG)
While the Congregational Library & Archives was founded as a library for Congregational ministers, it has evolved into a research library andrepository for some 250,000 books, pamphlets, and periodicals, documenting the growth and development of the Congregational tradition in the United States, intimately bound up with early American history and the social movements in which Congregationalists actively participated such asabolition,temperance, andwomen's suffrage.
As the designated archive of the Congregational Christian churches, the Library collects material on the history of the denomination from thePuritans to its present incarnation, holding all significant institutional records from theUnited Church of Christ, theNational Association of Congregational Christian Churches, and theConservative Congregational Christian Conference, before and after. The Library also holds some 1,500 different periodicals representing its longstanding interest in social reform,missionary work, and education. The Congregational Library also holds rare newspapers from theChristian Connection denomination.
The Library's rare book room includes an unusually rich and complete representation of English and first-generation Puritan works, including an original copy of theCambridge Platform of 1649. The Library's archival collection ofcolonial-era church records is also extensive, containing many sets of seventeenth-century documents as well as full collections from large and historically significant modern churches like Boston'sOld South Church andPark Street Church. Many of these records have beendigitized and made accessible as part of the New England's Hidden Histories program.
The Congregational Library also has a large sermon collection, some 15,000 individual pieces, covering the period from the late 1600s to the twentieth century, in both manuscript and printed form.
The Congregational Library & Archives is open to the public on Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with some exceptions for after hours events.
There is no admissions fee into the Library and the reading room is free and open to the public to visitors and researchers alike who may request access to any of the items in the collection, including therare books collection. Book borrowing is limited to Library members but scans of specific materials can be made in the reading room or via email for a small fee to non-members.
The Library is located a short walk from theMassachusetts State House,King's Chapel,Park Street Church,Boston Common and the Library's reading room looks out over theGranary Burying Ground.
The facade of the Congregational House is used as the office building of Cage & Fish, the fictional law firm of the legal comedy-dramaAlly McBeal (1997-2002).
The stacks of the Library were used in the 1988 legal drama filmA Civil Action.[15]
42°21′28.34″N71°03′44.76″W / 42.3578722°N 71.0624333°W /42.3578722; -71.0624333
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