The Mother Church and The Pru

by Juergen Roth

Title

The Mother Church and The Pru

Artist

Juergen Roth

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Boston cityscape and skyline night photography showing landmarks such as the Prudential Center and The First Church of Christ on Memorial Day weekend in 2013. The magical twilight and building reflection is captured in the pool of the Christian Science Plaza in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston.
From Wikipedia: Boston is the capital of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and its largest city, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. It was named Boston by early settlers from Boston, Lincolnshire in England. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper, covering 48.43 square miles (125.43 square km), had an estimated population of 625,087 in 2011 according to the U.S. Census, making it the 21st largest in the country. Boston is also the anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area called Greater Boston, home to 4.5 million people and the tenth-largest metropolitan area in the country. Greater Boston as a commuting region is home to 7.6 million people, making it the fifth-largest Combined Statistical Area in the United States.
In 1630, Puritan colonists from England founded the city on the Shawmut Peninsula.[16] During the late 18th century, Boston was the location of several major events during the American Revolution, including the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party. Several early battles of the American Revolution, such as the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Siege of Boston, occurred within the city and surrounding areas. Through land reclamation and municipal annexation, Boston has expanded beyond the peninsula. After American independence was attained Boston became a major shipping port and manufacturing center, and its rich history helps attract many tourists, with Faneuil Hall alone attracting over 20 million every year. The city was the site of several firsts, including the United States' first public school, Boston Latin School (1635), and the first subway system in the United States (1897). With many colleges and universities within the city and surrounding area, Boston is an international center of higher education and a center for medicine. The city's economic base includes research, manufacturing, finance, and biotechnology. As a result, the city is a leading finance center, ranking 12th in the Z/Yen top 20 Global Financial Centers. The city was also ranked number one for innovation, both globally and in North America, for a variety of reasons. Boston has one of the highest costs of living in the United States, though it remains high on world livability rankings, ranking third in the US and 36th globally.
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts in the United States is the Mother Church and administrative headquarters of the Christian Science Church, and is located in the Christian Science Plaza in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston. Surrounding a plaza and built over many years beginning in 1894, it consists of seven structures: the Original Mother Church, Mother Church Extension, Christian Science Publishing House, Mary Baker Eddy Library, 177 Huntington Avenue (former Administration Building), 101 Belvidere (former Church Colonnade Building), and Reflection Hall, formerly the Sunday School Building.
The Original Mother Church edifice, designed by Franklin I. Welch, was built in 1894, eight years after the first Christian Science Church in the world was built in Oconto, Wisconsin. Although fairly large for the time, this Romanesque Revival stone structure is often overlooked by casual visitors as it is dwarfed by the much larger domed Mother Church Extension. Designed to fit on an odd kite-shaped lot, it features an octagonal auditorium that seats 1100 people and a massive 126-foot (38 m) steeple. It is built of granite from New Hampshire, Mary Baker Eddy's home state.
Added in 1904-1906, the Mother Church Extension was originally designed by architect Charles Brigham, but substantially modified by S.S. Beman when he took over construction in 1905 as a result of Brigham's illness. In particular, Beman minimized the Ottoman and Byzantine elements, bringing the domed structure into line with the Classical architectural style that Beman favored as most appropriate for Christian Science churches. It boasts one of the world's largest pipe organs, built in 1952 by the Aeolian-Skinner Company of Boston.
The Mary Baker Eddy Library is housed on the Plaza in an 11-story structure originally built for The Christian Science Publishing Society. Constructed between 1932 and 1934, the neoclassical style building with its Mapparium has become an historic landmark in Boston Back Bay. Restoration of the Library 81,000-square foot portion of the building began in 1998, and the final renovation and additional construction were completed in 2002.
Designed in the 1960s by the firm of noted architect I.M. Pei, the 14-acre (57,000 m2) Christian Science Plaza along Huntington Avenue includes a large administration building, a colonnade, a reflecting pool, Reflection Hall, and fountain that together make it one of Boston's most visually recognizable sites and a popular tourist attraction.
In accord with the Manual of The Mother Church, the title of the Mother Church is "The First Church of Christ, Scientist," and while its branch churches may call themselves, "First Church of Christ, Scientist," or "Second Church of Christ, Scientist," and so on, they are prohibited from using "The" in front of their names. Only The Mother Church can do so.

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June 1st, 2013

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