Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church (New Britain, Connecticut)
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Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church is a historic former
church building A church, church building or church house is a building used for Christian worship services and other Christian religious activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 and 256. From the 11th thro ...
at 69 Main Street in
New Britain New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the Dam ...
,
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
. Built in 1891 to a design by Amos P. Cutting, it is a distinctive local example of
Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanesque ...
architecture. Now a performing arts venue known as Trinity-on-Main, it was listed on 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 2007.


Description and history

The former Trinity Church is located in downtown New Britain, at the southeast corner of Main and Chestnut Streets. It is a large stone structure, built of granite and slate, on an
Akron Plan The Akron Plan was a scheme for the design of churches and other religious buildings that housed Sunday schools. It was characterized by a set of wedge-shaped classrooms that radiated from the direction of a central superintendent's platform. D ...
design, with Richardsonian Romanesque style. It is particularly distinguished for its polychrome uses of both granite and slate to create distinctive effects. The facade facing Main Street presents a rounded apse on the left, and a square tower on the right, with corner turrets and a pyramidal roof. The first Methodist congregation in New Britain was organized in 1816, but did not acquire a permanent home until 1828, apparently due to local hostility. The first sanctuary was replaced due to rising membership in 1855, and by the 1880s the replacement was again judged too small. The present church was completed in 1891, and was a major work late in the career of the notable architect Amos P. Cutting. Membership peaked in the early 1950s, suffering thereafter due in part to the city's urban renewal efforts, which destroyed surrounding residential areas. Unable to maintain the large building, the congregation decided to demolish it in 2000. It was rescued from that fate by local preservationists, and has been converted into a performing arts space.


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Hartford County, Connecticut __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places designations in Hartford County, Connecticut. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Hartford Coun ...


References


External links


Trinity-on-Main website
{{National Register of Historic Places Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Churches in Hartford County, Connecticut Buildings and structures in New Britain, Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in Hartford County, Connecticut