By 1890, Gate of Heaven Parish in South Boston, Massachusetts was well established. Even though the City Point area was growing more slowly than the westerly parish of the peninsula, by 1890 the congregation at Gate of Heaven numbered about 10,000 with about 600 girls registered in the academy and parochial school. The existing church was insufficient for the needs of so large a parish. In order to get ample room for a new church, it was necessary for the parish to buy several lots adjoining the church's land holdings at that time. A hill that stood on this land was removed, and the grounds were graded. The cornerstone of today's church was laid in the fall of 1896 by His Grace, Archbishop Williams, with about one hundred clergymen assisting at the ceremony.
The designs furnished by P.W. Ford, the Boston Architect provided a building worthy of a cathedral. During construction, it was necessary to build St. Eulalia’s Chapel (today's St. Brigid Church), which was opened for services on May 6th, 1900 for the people of the City Point, The following month the new lower Gate of Heaven church was finished, and the first services were held there June 17th, 1900.
With the lower church occupied, the work of completing the upper church was begun. The stained glass windows were designed by N.H.J. Weslake, Esq. of London, whose work, “The History of Design in Painted Glass” is recognized as an authority on the subject. The work of completing the church progressed steadily, and the upper church was ready for services and dedicated by His Eminence, Cardinal O’Connell, on May 12th, 1912.
The church was constructed in the Gothic style of architecture, of buff Roman brick, with brownstone trimmings. It has a frontage on East Fourth Street of 106 feet and depth of 184 feet. The interior itself is magnificent in its arrangement of fittings – the woodwork of oak, alters of sandstone and marble, the blue and gold tinted walls, the beautiful organ and magnificent stations, made it one of the most elaborate houses of worship in or about Boston. The Gate of Heaven Church is recognized by leading authorities as one of the most beautiful churches in the Archdiocese of Boston.
The designs furnished by P.W. Ford, the Boston Architect provided a building worthy of a cathedral. During construction, it was necessary to build St. Eulalia’s Chapel (today's St. Brigid Church), which was opened for services on May 6th, 1900 for the people of the City Point, The following month the new lower Gate of Heaven church was finished, and the first services were held there June 17th, 1900.
With the lower church occupied, the work of completing the upper church was begun. The stained glass windows were designed by N.H.J. Weslake, Esq. of London, whose work, “The History of Design in Painted Glass” is recognized as an authority on the subject. The work of completing the church progressed steadily, and the upper church was ready for services and dedicated by His Eminence, Cardinal O’Connell, on May 12th, 1912.
The church was constructed in the Gothic style of architecture, of buff Roman brick, with brownstone trimmings. It has a frontage on East Fourth Street of 106 feet and depth of 184 feet. The interior itself is magnificent in its arrangement of fittings – the woodwork of oak, alters of sandstone and marble, the blue and gold tinted walls, the beautiful organ and magnificent stations, made it one of the most elaborate houses of worship in or about Boston. The Gate of Heaven Church is recognized by leading authorities as one of the most beautiful churches in the Archdiocese of Boston.
There really is no better way to become familiar with all the beauty and intricacies of such a majestic example of architecture than to paint it. Seeing my childhood church as an adult - an adult with an artist's eye - resulted in a strong desire to capture how striking it is. As an adult, typically upon returning to those familiar places frequented as a child, the reaction is, "I remember it being so much bigger!" Gate of Heaven Church is one of the few places that seems just as enormous and impressive today as it did all those years ago. I remember feeling so small as my eight year old eyes looked up to see the chandelier lights that made my mother's diamond ring sparkle as in no other place.
This week, the Gate of Heaven convent which stands on the same block, not 10 feet away from the church, is being torn down. The Gate of Heaven rectory has already been torn down. Being 30 miles removed, I'm not sure what the whole plan is for these properties, but it startled me into creating this painting, one I've been thinking about starting for a while. This is not complete so comments are welcome. Also, look for a religious symbol somewhere on the canvas...
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