Category: Architecture
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Set in Stone: The Making of a Memorial
On October 20, 1878, North Enders awoke to a neighborhood full of familiar, unchanging edifices in an ever-changing neighborhood. One such structure was the Old North Church, its tall brick tower and white steeple only altered by the Great Gale of 1804. Shem Drowne’s golden weathervane still swung in the harbor breeze, and the ranks…
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Common Boston Recap
This past weekend, on Saturday, June 4, Lead Educator Bernard Trubowitz led an Experience Art & Architecture Tour for fifteen enthusiasts! This tour was free and open to the public as a part of the Common Boston Festival. This tour is designed to have visitors learn more about the aesthetic elements of Old North Church. This hour-long interactive…
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Change Ringing Bells: What, How and Why
As a newbie here at Old North, I saw the church bells before I understood them. They are beautiful and impressive—and between two fairly precarious flights of “stairs” that we can’t let visitors climb (that should give you a sense of what I mean by precarious. And “stairs.”) It wasn’t a good time to wonder…
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The Real Story Behind Thomas Gruchy and His Angels – Part 4
The final article in a four-part series detailing the fascinating story behind the Belgian angels on display inside Old North Church. Read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 After the successful endeavor of Queen of Hungary, what began to plague Gruchy were unsettled accounts surrounding the privateer. Even the fellow vestrymen of Christ Church filed suits in court against…
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The People in the Pews: The Sounding Board
Many visitors chuckle upon seeing the contents of pew 49, pointing to the large 1980s soundboard and mixer that runs the church’s “modern” audio system and proclaiming “Look! The original colonial speakers!” Ironically, these visitors need only look up to find that they are nearly directly below the church’s real audio system: the sounding board. Appearing to…
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The Real Story Behind Thomas Gruchy and His Angels – Part 3
The third article in a four-part series detailing the fascinating story behind the Belgian angels on display inside Old North Church. Read Part 1 and Part 2 Christ Church (Old North’s official name) was the largest and grandest house of worship. It was funded mostly by the wealthier Anglicans who were required to purchase their membership into the congregation.…
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The Real Story Behind Thomas Gruchy and His Stolen Angels – Part 2
The second article in a four-part series detailing the fascinating story behind the Belgian angels on display inside Old North Church. Read Part 1 The concept of the local population supporting the military is not alien to the American people today. The image of the minuteman, the citizen-soldier always at the ready, is romanticized and…
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The Real Story Behind Thomas Gruchy and His Stolen Angels – Part 1
Perched upon the gallery railing in front of the oldest American-built pipe organ, high above the floor of Old North Church, there are four hand-carved angelic figures. They each stand about two feet tall and in a triumphant pose. Two of the angels blow trumpets, while the other two greet onlookers with open arms. These…
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A Photo from 1905 Reveals a Very Different Old North
Have you ever had the chance to examine your familiar surroundings in a new light? Several Old North educators recently had this opportunity. Parish Administrator Priscilla Burns received an envelope containing two faded, worn photographs and a note indicating the photos were taken at Old North Church in August 1905. The church in the photograph,…
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A Tale of Three Steeples
On this day (August 31) in 1954, the steeple of the Old North Church blew down—for the SECOND time! In 1954, the culprit was Hurricane Carol. On this day in 1954, the steeple of the Old North Church blew down — for the SECOND time! In 1954, the culprit was Hurricane Carol. During that storm,…