November 4, 2022
Croma, Inc.
About Us
Founded in 2016, Croma supports the restoration of Boston’s historic 20 Arlington Street as a dynamic and inclusive center for arts, culture, and community-building. We raise resources for the building’s $20 million restoration campaign; collaborate on programming for leading-edge Latinx performers; and promote the space as a welcoming, inclusive performance hub for under-resourced communities in Greater Boston. Croma is also responsible for preserving the building’s priceless Tiffany windows and curating access to them by the general public. Our Visitor Center is a popular attraction for both Bostonians and visitors from around the world.
Originally founded as Friends of Arlington Street Church, our early focus was on restoring the Tiffany windows. This led to a full-fledged capital campaign to restore the entire building.
Our name-change to Croma in 2022 came with a growing understanding of how the building could serve a wider range of inclusive purposes that reinforce social and civic connections among Greater Bostonians. Croma is a word with musical roots, and also alludes to a constellation of vibrant, engaging hues and colors. Our efforts to raise resources for the restoration project are inspired by a growing and deepening sense of the role 20 Arlington Street can play in celebrating and unifying our 21st century city.
About 20 Arlington Street
In 1861, 20 Arlington Street was the first public building erected in Boston’s newly filled Back Bay. It is home to Arlington Street Church, founded in 1729. The dynamic Unitarian Universalist congregation has been at the forefront of three centuries of social justice movements and has hosted events that have changed the course of American history. For many years, in addition to weekly church services and related activities, the building has hosted a range of programs and events aligned with the church’s mission of social justice, service, and peace.
The congregation’s Prudential Committee and Croma’s Board of Directors continue to envision ways that 20 Arlington Street can be leveraged as a force for public connection and unity in 21st century Boston and are committed to working together to breathe life into new possibilities for strengthening the fabric of our increasingly diverse city.
Croma, Inc. is an IRS 501c3 nonprofit organization. Our Tax-Exempt ID is # 81-1773306.
Accomplishments
Tiffany Windows Restoration
In 2016, we commissioned Serpentino Stained Glass to complete an extensive restoration of Arlington Street Church’s priceless collection of Tiffany windows. Damaged windows were repaired, discolored protective coatings were removed, and new ventilated covers were installed to protect and preserve these treasures. This upgrade allowed sunlight to once again saturate the rich colors of the windows and reveal these long-hidden works of public art.
Urban Landscape
In 2018, we launched an effort to transform Arlington Street Church’s disarrayed landscape into a beautiful and inspiring urban greenspace. In partnership with Wolf Landscape Architecture, we are reimagining the building signage and establishing a sustainable garden of native plants that will create a welcoming exterior for Visitor Center guests and community event participants as well as bees, birds, and other local pollinators. We are grateful to the City of Boston’s Edward Ingersoll Browne Fund, the George B. Henderson Foundation, The Fleetwing Charitable Foundation Trust, and the Fund for Unitarian Universalism for their generous support of this project.
Windows Lighting
Thanks to Lam Partners and the George B. Henderson Foundation, we installed a system to illuminate Arlington Street Church’s Tiffany windows in 2019. By backlighting the windows at night, we can bring the beauty of these extraordinary works of public art to scores of people who will never have occasion to visit the inside of the sanctuary.
Partners
In conjunction with our partners, we are committed to maintaining the Arlington Street Church building as a hub of community activity. The site is home to a thriving Unitarian Universalist congregation that has been meeting continuously since 1729. The other key resident is Àgora, a Latinx cultural center that manages the onsite venues and produces a dynamic lineup of events with celebrated artists and creators.