First Baptist Church, Gothic Revival church in Central Square, Cambridge, US
First Baptist Church is a Gothic Revival building in Cambridge featuring an L-shaped brick structure with sandstone accents and decorative terra cotta elements throughout its facade. The tower rises prominently from the center, topped by an eight-sided slate steeple that stands out in the Central Square skyline.
The congregation first gathered in 1817 in private homes before commissioning the current Gothic Revival structure in 1881, designed by architects Hartwell and Richardson. This period marked a significant era of church building growth throughout New England.
The church maintains two weekly services, morning traditional and late morning contemporary, along with community groups for different age levels.
The building sits on a trapezoidal lot at the intersection of River Street, Green Street, Magazine Street, and Franklin Street in the heart of Cambridge. The location is easy to reach on foot and surrounded by shops, restaurants, and public spaces of the neighborhood.
The northeast tower features a clock face section that intersects with the eight-sided slate steeple, creating an unusual architectural feature in the skyline. This distinctive detail makes the building stand out when viewed from different angles around Central Square.
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