Boston Granite

St. Peter’s Episcopal Church // 1833

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The St. Peter’s Episcopal Church of Salem, is a landmark example of a granite, Gothic Revival church of the 19th century. The present church, which is constructed of Cape Ann granite, was the second church on the site built for local Episcopalians, replacing a wood-frame building constructed there 100 years prior. Designed by architect Isaiah Rogers, the Gothic church features a prominent entry tower with a quatrefoil window in each elevation, large lancet-arched windows in the tower and lining the sanctuary, and a crenelated parapet. When completed, St. Peter’s had Salem’s first church bell, an 1740 English bell that supposedly still graces the tower today and is said to be the oldest church bell in the United States! In 1871, the rear chapel was added to the building, from plans by George E. Harney. The chapel was built directly over the old parish cemetery, requiring some of the tombstones to be placed inside the chapel walls, while others were moved to the front of the church, creating a really unique “garden cemetery” in front of the church.

Essex County Old Granite Courthouse // 1841

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Aligned in a row on the north side of Federal Street in Salem, the Essex County Court complex is a tour de force of the evolving architectural tastes of three centuries. At the eastern edge of the complex, the Old Granite Courthouse stands as the oldest of the group. The two-story temple-form building is of rectangular plan with gabled roof oriented towards the street. The facade features a recessed porch with paired columns surmounted by Greek Corinthian capitals which are set between broad, squared Doric corner pilasters. The granite building was designed by architect, Richard Bond (1797-1861) of Boston, and the structure is often referred to as one of the finest Greek Revival-style Civic buildings in New England. The courthouse remained in use until the J Michael Ruane Judicial Center at the end of the block was completed in 2012. The Old Granite Courthouse and adjacent Old Superior Courthouse were both vacated and have been essentially mothballed ever-since under the ownership of the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance as surplus. The fate of the two buildings remains undetermined.

George’s Island – Fort Warren // 1847

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Located seven miles by boat from downtown Boston, Georges Island is a must-visit location for history-buffs and those looking to see the city from a new vantage point! The island in its early days was used for agriculture for 200 years until 1825, when the U.S. government acquired it for coastal defense. Fort Warren was first-dedicated in 1847 and is named for Revolutionary War hero Dr. Joseph Warren, who sent Paul Revere on his famous ride, and was later killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Fort Warren is a pentagonal bastion fort, made of granite, and was constructed from 1833 to 1861, overseen by Col. Sylvanus Thayer, and completed shortly after the beginning of the American Civil War. Fort Warren defended the harbor in Boston, Massachusetts, off-and-on from 1861 through the end of World War II. It’s highest use was during the Civil War, where it served as a training facility and as a prison for Confederate officers and government officials. Unused after WWII, Fort Warren was acquired by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by the Federal government and is today maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation as the centerpiece of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.

Have you been to Georges Island?

Barnstable County Courthouse // 1831

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Perched atop a hill in Barnstable Village, the old town center of the historic Cape Cod town, the Barnstable County Courthouse sits proudly as a well-preserved example of the Greek Revival architectural style in a civic building. The building was constructed in 1831 from plans by renowned architect Alexander Parris, who designed the iconic Quincy Market in Boston just years earlier in the same style. Due to its highly visible location along the Old King’s Highway and public function, the courthouse was likely instrumental in popularizing the Greek Revival style on the Cape. The building was constructed of Quincy granite with a portico and fluted Doric columns made of wood fashioned to look like stone (which fooled me from the street). The building has been expanded five times between 1879 and 1971, with each addition made cognizant of the architectural significance of the building. At the front of the building, two bronze statues of Mercy Otis Warren and James Otis, Jr frame the building. The Barnstable Superior Court is located in the building today.