The Pawtucket Congregational Church (now known as The Temple of Restoration Pentecostal Church) is an historic church building at 40 and 56 Walcott Street, at the junction of Broadway and Walcott St., in the
Quality Hill neighborhood of
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence and East Providence to the south, Central Falls ...
.
History
Early in the town's history, the Baptists lived mainly on the west side of the river, and attended church services in Providence. The Congregationalists on the east side of the river attended services at the
Newman Congregational Church
Newman Congregational Church is an historic church at 100 Newman Avenue in East Providence, Rhode Island. It is a two-story wood-frame structure on a high brick basement. It was built in 1810 for a congregation that was established in 1643, wh ...
three miles away in Rehoboth (now
East Providence). The Congregationalists established their own Pawtucket Congregational Church on April 17, 1829, with nine members: eight women and one man.
The first pastor was the Rev. Asa T. Hopkins. The congregation's first church was destroyed by fire in 1864.
The
Italianate
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...
/
Romanesque style church building was designed by
Boston, Massachusetts architect
John Stevens (not to be confused with
John Calvin Stevens
John Calvin Stevens (October 8, 1855 – January 25, 1940) was an American architect who worked in the Shingle Style, in which he was a major innovator, and the Colonial Revival style. He designed more than 1,000 buildings in the state of Maine ...
) and constructed in 1867–1868; it is the only known work of Stevens in Rhode Island.
The cost of construction was $64,000.
By 1886 the congregation numbered 300 members.
Members of the church included wealthy mill owners from Pawtucket and neighboring Central Falls, such as
Darius Goff
Darius Goff (10 May 1809 – 14 April 1891) was one of the foremost textile manufacturers in the United States and a leading citizen of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He is known for introducing the manufacture of worsted braids and mohair plush ...
and
Daniel Littlefield.
In 1936 a Colonial Revival parish house was built behind the church, to designs by local architects
Monahan & Meikle
Robert Charles Nicholson Monahan (December 1, 1873 – January 29, 1963) was a Canadian-American architect from Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
Life and career
Monahan was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, in 1873. His father, Robert Monahan, was a car ...
.
[''Historic Resources of Pawtucket, Rhode Island: Partial Inventory, Historic and Architectural Properties''. 1984.]
The church has been active in the community and leased a building to the first
Rhode Island Children's Museum from the 1970s to 1990s. The church's main building was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1978.
Since 2012, the church has been known as The Temple of Restoration Pentecostal Church, hosting a bilingual congregation.
File:Temple of the Restoration, formerly Pawtucket Congregational Church-2.jpg, Temple of Restoration, formerly Pawtucket Congregational Church, in 2012
File:Pawt church.jpg, Another view
See also
*
References
External links
NRHP Inventory Nomination Form (PDF)The Temple of Restoration Pentecostal Church (all locations)Temple of Restoration Church Facebook Page
United Church of Christ churches in Rhode Island
Churches completed in 1867
19th-century United Church of Christ church buildings
Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island
Buildings and structures in Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Churches in Providence County, Rhode Island
National Register of Historic Places in Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Historic district contributing properties in Rhode Island
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