I Seek Newton, Part XI: Newton Corner (Section 2)

From Dave Brigham:

As we learned in the first post about Newton Corner -- see December 11, 2021, "I Seek Newton, Part XI: Newton Corner (Section 1)" -- this village has changed more than most in the city over the past 60 years. In this installment, I will move away from the commercial hub of Newton Corner and into some of its spots for reflection: churches, former churches, graveyards, memorials of all sorts and more.

Welcome to the latest chapter in my survey of the 13 villages of my adopted hometown of Newton, Mass. For links to previous posts, see the bottom of this one.

I'm starting off with a simple memorial to a fallen soldier.

The W. Wallace Richard Bridge, which carries Church Street over the Mass. Pike, was dedicated in 1968 to Newton's first casualty of the Vietnam War. Wallace was born July 12, 1941, and died December 21, 1965. He was a member of the 1st Infantry Division.

Plaques and signs like this are everywhere in Greater Boston. While I'm sure most people walk right past them without looking -- and I'm just as guilty as the next person -- they are important reminders that those who serve and sacrifice aren't just numbers from a battle, but were actual people with families and friends and coworkers. I'm glad to see that somebody is keeping this memorial in mind, with a flag and flowers.

The next memorial doesn't honor a war casualty, but rather a Founding Father of the United States.

Roger Sherman "is the only person to have signed all four great state papers of the United States: the Continental Association, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution, and also signed the 1774 Petition to the King," according to Wikipedia. Located on Waverley Avenue, between Lorna Road and Montrose Street, this stone marker is placed near the spot where Sherman was born on April 19, 1721. It was erected in 1910 by the Lucy Jackson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution to honor a man who was a delegate to the 1787 Philadelphia Convention, which produced the U.S. Constitution, and served in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate before his death in 1793.

Nearby, on Eliot Memorial Road, is a much bigger memorial, tucked away between two private homes and the Newton Commonwealth Golf Course.

This little promontory overlooking a golf-course fairway was erected to memorialize a man whom I'm guessing many Newtonians might not wish to honor. "In the 1646 to 1674 period, the Reverend John Eliot of Roxbury, the so-called Apostle to the Indians, converted some 1100 Massachusetts natives to the Christian religion and played a central role in establishing fourteen 'Praying Indian' communities in the eastern part of Massachusetts," according to William Marchione's blog post. "Though not the first English missionary to attempt the conversion of New England’s natives...the Roxbury clergyman had far more success than earlier missionaries, thanks largely to his unrivalled command of the native language, Algonquian."

After a failure to convert Native Americans in what is now Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, Eliot turned his proselytizing ways toward Nonantum Hill, and a man named Waban, who led a small group. "Accompanying Eliot to Waban’s encampment were three companions, Thomas Shepard, Minister of Cambridge; Daniel Gookin, afterwards Supervisor of Indian towns for the Massachusetts Bay Colony; and either John Wilson, Minister of Boston, or Elder Heath of Roxbury (on this point the record is unclear)," per Marchione's blog post. "The presence of these notables demonstrated the support that Eliot’s missionary effort enjoyed from the Massachusetts Bay magistrates."

Eliot's legacy is complicated. "A fundamental tenet of the Puritan faith held that anyone seeking to know the will of God had to be able to read and interpret the Bible for himself," according to Marchione, a retired history professor. "The natives had no written language into which holy scripture could be translated. Eliot dealt with this problem, first, by devising an Algonquian grammar (thus giving the language written form), and then by translating both the Old and New Testaments into that complex tongue, a herculean task that he did not finally complete until 1663."

That is an impressive and commendable feat. However...."There was also a measure of cultural imperialism in Eliot’s approach to conversion, for the Roxbury minister required his converts to adopt an English style of living — to give up their semi-migratory habits and to settle into English-style villages under the watchful eye and rigid regulations of a Puritan church community." To that end, Eliot entreated the General Court to grant land to Waban and his followers, and provided them with shovels, spades and other tools.

Eliot's first group of Praying Indians moved in 1651 to Natick. Eventually, Eliot formed 14 such communities. "The praying Indian experiment was decisively undermined, however, by King Philip’s War of 1675-76, the most severe Indian conflict in Massachusetts history, which led to the abandonment of most of Eliot’s praying Indian communities," Marchione reports. Eliot died in 1690. His other achievements include founding the Roxbury Latin School in 1645.

I'm not sure how often folks go to any of the above memorials to reflect on life or meditate or clear their heads. But half a mile away from the Eliot Memorial, at the corner of Cotton and Centre streets, is the East Parish Burying Ground, a spot where I certainly enjoy getting lost in my thoughts, and thinking about Newton's history. Among those buried here is the son of the Apostle to the Indians, Rev. John Eliot, Jr. There are many others buried here, including some of the first settlers of what was known as the East Parish Church (aka First Church in Newton), which was organized in 1664.

The First Settlers Monument was erected September 1, 1852, with inscriptions on each of the four sides. Rev. John Eliot, Jr., is mentioned on one side. Others commemorated include Thomas Wiswall, one of the founders of Cambridge Village, which eventually became Newton; Deacon John Jackson, his son, Abraham Jackson, and Edward Jackson, who each gave land for the burial site and church; and "20 early settlers with the year each settled in Newton as well as the year of death," per Wikipedia.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the burying ground dates from the 1660s. The oldest burial plot I found is below, although I'm pretty sure the stone isn't original to the date of death.

(HERE LIES THE BOdy of WILLIAM HIdES (SP?) AGEd 37 dYed THe 8 OF dECEMBER 1699)

I love exploring old graveyards. I never know what I'll find.

Let's switch gears here a little bit. Mount Alvernia High School on Centre Street, not far from the East Parish Burying Ground, was founded in 1935 in Newton's Chestnut Hill neighborhood (Mount Alvernia Academy, which serves pre-schoolers through 6th grade, is still located in Chestnut Hill). In 1972, the all-girls Catholic high school, with grades 7-12, moved to its current location on Centre Street, across from Newton Country Day School.

The building dates to 1910, and, according to the school's web site, was "used as a novitiate (a place housing those studying for a career in religion) and, for a short time, as a college for the Franciscan community." The school is located in one side of the building, while the other side serves as a residence for the Franciscan sisters who teach and work at the school.

I imagine the Sisters spend a fair amount of time contemplating/reflecting/meditating/praying, especially after the students have gone home for the day.

I'm going to stretch my theme even more now, by talking about an old Quonset hut on the campus of Boston College, across Centre Street from Mount Alvernia.

Set at the back of the college's property, bordering the neighborhood of Rochester and Westchester roads, the hut contains a gym with cardio machines and weight equipment; a basketball court; a designated ping pong area; and locker rooms, showers and bathrooms for use by the Boston College community. Perhaps there isn't much meditation or praying going on here, but still, this place is a good one for reflecting on one's physical health.

So why is there an old Quonset hut here?

I put the question out on a Newton-specific Facebook group, and received some answers. "Quonset huts were set up behind the [Boston College] Business school for Returning Soldiers using the GI Bill, i believe," said one respondent. "They were removed when [McGuinn Hall] was built in late 60s if I remember correctly."

Another person remembered that the hut "was there when my family moved to Rochester Road in the mid-50s. I was told it was used during WWII." The U.S. military produced hundreds of thousands of the huts during World War II, for use on bases. The huts take their name from "the site of their first manufacture at Quonset Point at the Davisville Naval Construction Battalion Center in Davisville, Rhode Island," according to Wikipedia. Surplus huts were sold to the public in the post-war years.

I'll wrap up this post with a look at some of Newton Corner's churches, as well as a former house of worship that was converted to condos. Let's start there.

Just south of the Church Street/Centre Street intersection is the former Newton Methodist Episcopal Church. Built in 1897 from a design by Cram, Wentworth and Goodhue (the firm lives on in Cram & Ferguson Architects), the Neoclassical building became the Newton Cerebral Palsy Center before being converted to condos about 20 years ago.

The church's design "influence was thought to have been Byzantine," per MACRIS. "[H]owever, an article...published in Mexico relates Goodhue's design to Hispanic colonial influence which may be a result of an 1891 trip to Mexico and a known intellectual interest in Mexican architecture." MACRIS continues: "Laid out with a Greek cross plan and large central dome over the crossing, the church is faced with cream-colored brick and trimmed with white, matt-glazed terra cotta." I'd love to get inside one of the condos here....

You could throw an offering plate and hit the next house of worship on the list, the Eliot Church of Newton.

Built in 1957, the church is named for the Rev. John Eliot, Sr., the "Apostle to the Indians" discussed above. The structure is the fourth on this site for the congregation, which is "in covenant with the United Church of Christ," according to its web site. The first church rose in 1845 and was replaced by a larger church in 1860. That second building was destroyed by fire in 1887, as was its replacement, in 1956.

A little bit east along Church Street is Grace Episcopal. The church is beautiful, but I was especially struck by the stained-glass window on the chapel/parish hall attached to the main structure.

Erected in 1873, the building was the first stone church in Newton, per the history page at the congregation's web site. The first Grace chapel was located at the corner of Washington and Hovey streets, current site of a Walgreens pharmacy. Take a close look at this photo, if you don't mind.

Just up Eldredge Street from Grace Episcopal is Newton Presbyterian Church, on the corner of Vernon Street.

Built in 1881, this Gothic Revival building was originally home to a Unitarian congregation known as the Channing Religious Society, per MACRIS. The church "was named after William Ellery Channing, a leader of the Unitarian movement," according to MACRIS. "Like other Newton Corner congregations, the society first occupied a church on Washington Street and then moved southward to Farlow Park as the focus of the village's population shifted."

I love the castle-like details at the side entrance, below.

To wrap up this post, I want to discuss the building known historically as the Immanuel Baptist Church, on Church Street. Erected in 1885, this building is well beyond its glory days. I hope the current owners can find a preservation partner.

Even in its dirty, boarded-up condition, this place is beautiful. It's unlike any church in the village, and perhaps the whole city of Newton. Designed by architectural legend H.H. Richardson (Boston's Trinity Church, Chicago's Marshall Field store, etc.) and Charles A. Coolidge (the latter doing a large part of the work, per MACRIS), this Richardsonian Romanesque (what else could it be?!) pile is made of Longmeadow brownstone, which a friend of mine who knows her shit tells me is a color that isn't available anymore. "Imagine how it would pop if it was clean!" she commented when I posted a photo of the church on Instagram.

"Both the massing and detail are simple in design," the MACRIS write-up indicates. "[T]he church is laid out in a cruciform plan with short transepts and an apsidal baptistry at the rear. Emphasis is concentrated on the large square tower at the crossing and the front wing, which features compound arches at the entry and massive foot tables extending from the cornice." Some folks call that type of steeple a witch's hat.

Now known simply as The Worship Center, it is home to several congregations, including the Hellenic Gospel Church, the Philippine International Church, Beth Yeshua Messianic Congregation and the Arabic Baptist Church.

It is the Arabic Baptist Church that owns the building. "In 2005, Rev. Sinote [Ibrahim] planted the second church when he started the current Ministry of the Arabic Baptist Church Boston at the Newton Corner Worship Center...with the help of faithful brothers and sisters," according to the congregation's web site. "In the summer of 2012 and through the dedicated support and work of Rev. Sinote with the owners of the current Newton Corner Worship Center, the owners of the facility gifted the facility to the Arabic Baptist Church Boston."

Rev. Ibrahim has a master's degree in mechanical engineering, and has also studied theology, of course. I stumbled across a comment at the Flickr photo-sharing web site where someone indicated they have talked to the pastor about the building. I'm guessing those discussions have covered the possibility of restoring this building, one of the last to rise before H.H. Richardson's death in 1886. It's a shame to have a Richardson building in use, but in rough shape. There are other of his buildings in Newton - train stations in Newton Centre, Newton Highlands and Auburndale (hidden on the grounds of the Woodlands Golf Club). And while some of his train stations were torn down long ago, I'm hoping that the Immanuel church won't join them.

That's it for the second part of Newton Corner. Make sure to check back for the final installment, in which I will feature some cool old homes, former estates, public parks, a yacht club and more.

Here are links to previous posts in the series:

April 10, 2021, "I Seek Newton, Part X: Newton Centre (Section 3)"

April 3, 2021, "I Seek Newton, Part X: Newton Centre (Section 2)"

March 27, 2021, "I Seek Newton, Part X: Newton Centre (Section 1)"

November 15, 2020, "I Seek Newton, Part IX: Nonantum (Section 3)"

October 29, 2020, "I Seek Newton, Part IX: Nonantum (Section 2)"

September 24, 2020, "I Seek Newton, Part IX: Nonantum (Section 1)"

March 14, 2018, "I Seek Newton, Part VIII: Upper Falls (Section 3)"

March 8, 2018, "I Seek Newton, Part VIII: Upper Falls (Section 2)"

March 1, 2018, "I Seek Newton, Part VIII: Upper Falls (Section 1)"

March 7, 2017, "I Seek Newton, Part VII: Thompsonville"

December 5, 2016, "I Seek Newton, Part VI: Chestnut Hill"

September 26, 2016, "I Seek Newton, Part V: Oak Hill"

June 3, 2016, "I Seek Newton, Part IV: Waban"

March 23, 2016, "I Seek Newton, Part III: Newton Highlands"

September 20, 2015, "I Seek Newton, Part II: Auburndale"

May 21, 2015, "I Seek Newton, Part I: Lower Falls"