The Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation is a non-profit whose mission is to preserve and restore the 1806 landmark, Gloucester’s last-surviving Meetinghouse and built in 1806 for the first Universalist Society in America, as a civic hub, entertainment venue, and community action center.
The building is located on tree-lined green, used for summer benefit concerts, at the corner of Middle and Church Streets.
The grand Federal Style Meetinghouse is an architectural treasure in the heart of Gloucester’s Historic District whose history is steeped in the separation of church and state and the promise of equality for all persons. The Foundation was created in 2015 as a 501 (c) 3, separate from the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, modeled after the Old North Foundation in relation to Boston’s famous Old North Church. It manages large-scale preservation projects for the landmark building now entering its third century of service to residents and visitors to Cape Ann and presents an annual selection of concerts, events, and symposia designed to engage and inspire.
Seeking to combine the best of preservation and “green” building practices, the Meetinghouse is proud to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places and, in collaboration with its clean-energy initiative TownGreen2025 and Reforest the Tropics, is one of the first large buildings of its type in New England to become carbon-neutral. The elegant interior retains most of its period architectura ... view more »
The Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation is a non-profit whose mission is to preserve and restore the 1806 landmark, Gloucester’s last-surviving Meetinghouse and built in 1806 for the first Universalist Society in America, as a civic hub, entertainment venue, and community action center.
The building is located on tree-lined green, used for summer benefit concerts, at the corner of Middle and Church Streets.
The grand Federal Style Meetinghouse is an architectural treasure in the heart of Gloucester’s Historic District whose history is steeped in the separation of church and state and the promise of equality for all persons. The Foundation was created in 2015 as a 501 (c) 3, separate from the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, modeled after the Old North Foundation in relation to Boston’s famous Old North Church. It manages large-scale preservation projects for the landmark building now entering its third century of service to residents and visitors to Cape Ann and presents an annual selection of concerts, events, and symposia designed to engage and inspire.
Seeking to combine the best of preservation and “green” building practices, the Meetinghouse is proud to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places and, in collaboration with its clean-energy initiative TownGreen2025 and Reforest the Tropics, is one of the first large buildings of its type in New England to become carbon-neutral. The elegant interior retains most of its period architectural features, including a hand blown glass chandelier originally illuminated with whale oil. Thick, horsehair plaster walls and a classical shoe-box shape result in near perfect acoustics for the spoken word and music. The seating capacity is currently 350 but will return to over 550 when the horse-shoe gallery is restored. The 125′ tall tower, complete with a Paul Revere bell and an octagonal lantern, is topped by a gold-leafed banner weather vane and is a safe guide to mariners entering Gloucester’s inner harbor.
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