The First Baptist Church in Newton has requested $2 million in Community Preservation funds from the City to help pay for a $4.45 million restoration of its historic bell tower. The proposal is being reviewed by the Community Preservation Committee and the City Council.
Why does the bell tower need to be restored?
In the Spring of 2021, a stone fell from the tower of the First Baptist Church, surprising the new senior minister and the congregation. The mortar holding the newly repointed stone facade to a structural wall had deteriorated. Because the mortar was behind the stone facade, its deterioration was invisible. The Church hired engineering experts who used masonry testing and 3D laser scanning to assess the tower. By March 2022, roughly 35 more stones fell from the tower. The tower bells were removed, and emergency bracing was installed. The main church, widely used by local community groups, has been closed for the last 2.5 years due to safety concerns. The estimated cost to stabilize and restore the tower is $4.45 million.
The First Baptist Church is a rare example of Richardsonian Romanesque American architecture. It was designed by John Lyman Faxon and constructed in 1888 with local materials: oak, walnut, hard pine wood, and rough granite stone. The Church is on the National and Massachusetts Register of Historic Places. It is under a Preservation Restriction with the Massachusetts Historical Commission, which means the tower cannot be removed without the State’s agreement.
The First Baptist Church is a nonprofit corporation with a congregation of about 70 active members. The Church owns the church building, the school building attached to it, the building next door (1301 Center Street) used by Pathways to Possible, and a parsonage in Worcester. Rental income from the nonprofit tenants in these buildings funds the Church’s routine building and maintenance expenses. According to the Church’s senior minister, Jana Yeaton, the…