by The congregation of the Old South Church in Boston, Massachusetts dates all the way back to 1669, which is really old by American standards. Its Gothic Revival church, however, “only” dates to 1873.
The overall history isn’t terribly exciting, but one fun fact is that the congregation engaged Louis Comfort Tiffany to redecorate the sanctuary in 1905. In the 1950s it was concluded that Tiffany’s work ignored the architectural history of the church, so his paint and stenciling were painted over and his glass installations were removed! A 1984 restoration undid the 1950s work, too, returning everything to as close to the 1875 appearance as possible.
Another fun fact is that the campanile (tall tower) was modeled on the Basilica of Saint Mark in Venice, Italy. It rises 246 feet and houses the church’s 2,000-pound bell. However, it is not original to the building, as the first tower (completed in 1875) began to list in the 1920s!
Like Trinity Church across the way, the church was built on the old mud flats, and was originally not properly supported. As a result, the tower had to be dismantled and a new one built that was similar to the original.
