Arlington Street Church is a masterwork of architect Arthur Delavan Gilman who was the driving force behind the creation and layout of Boston’s Back Bay. The Basilica-style interior was inspired by the Church of the Annunciation, widely considered the most beautiful church in Genoa, Italy. Arlington Street Church’s 62-foot ceiling forms a great curved vault over the nave and is ornamented with rich plaster decoration. The grand interior measures 65 by 90 feet and can seat 912 people.
Building
Dedicated in 1861, Arlington Street Church was the first public building in the new Back Bay district. The exterior is modeled on London’s St Martin-in-the-Fields. Gilman designed Arlington Street Church using brownstone ashlar, a building material that was just coming into popular use in the mid-19th century. The building rests on 999 pilings driven into the muddy landfill, and its soaring 190-foot spire makes it one of most visible in the city. Arlington Street Church was the first and most distinguished building Gilman erected in Boston, and its design helped initiate the first American architectural revival.
Bells
The steeple bells were cast by Boston’s Henry N. Hooper & Company. The collection includes sixteen bells, which span an octave and a half. The bells were restored in 1960 and are one of just three sets in Boston still rung by hand.
Organ
In 1955, four generous women commissioned Boston’s leading organ builder, the Aeolian-Skinner Company, to produce Arlington Street Church’s third organ. This magnificent instrument has three manual pedals, 62 stops, and 3,640 pipes. The organ was installed in the original case, which was built by George Hutchings of The E. and G. G. Hook Company and considered the finest in the city in 1861. After a series of repairs, the Aeolian-Skinner organ can now recreate the sound as it was heard from its original 1861 case. With the closure of the Aeolian-Skinner Company in the 1970s, the Arlington Street Church organ is regarded as a historical instrument of the 20th century.
