SPRINGFIELD — As part of its Second Saturday Walking Tours, the Springfield Preservation Trust will offer visitors an inside look at the Victorian era churches of Springfield on Aug. 10.
Victorian Era Churches: A Downtown Springfield Walking Tour will lead visitors through and around four significant churches: the former North Congregational Church, St. Michael’s Cathedral, Christ Church Cathedral and South Congregational Church.
“Second Saturday Walking Tours focus on historical, architectural, and cultural resources we are fortunate to have in Springfield,” explained Bob McCarroll, a board member at large for Springfield Preservation Trust and the guide for the Victorian Era Churches Second Saturday Walking Tour. He added that this tour will be special because it will enter at least three of the buildings, barring weddings or church services, because tours generally stay outside the buildings. Visitors will also have the opportunity to hear organ music.
The former North Congregational Church was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson. Richardson was probably best known for building Trinity Church in Boston and, along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, is recognized as the trinity of American architecture. St. Michael’s Cathedral, begun in 1860 and opened on Christmas Day 1861, is the oldest Catholic church in Springfield.
Although it was initially planned as a parish church, in 1870 it became a cathedral for the newly formed diocese. Christ Church Cathedral was designed by the Boston firm of Lord & Fuller in the Romanesque Revival style. The present site on Chestnut Street was purchased in 1874 and opened in May 1876. In 1929, 28 years after the creation of Western Massachusetts as an autonomous diocese, Christ Church became the Cathedral of the Diocese. South Congregational Church has been called one of the finest examples of the High Victorian Gothic Revival style in America. Designed by William Appleton Potter, the building also had prominent donors who funded its construction, including Daniel B. Wesson of Smith & Wesson and Charles and George Merriam of Merriam-Webster.
The Second Saturday Walking Tour series is co-presented by the Springfield Preservation Trust and Springfield Museums and sponsored by the Daboul Family Charitable Trust and runs from April to October. Each tour looks deeply into a specific aspect of Springfield’s history to educate the public on and increase exposure to significant buildings in Springfield. This helps the public understand the importance of protecting and preserving these significant buildings.
The tour begins at Springfield Museums Welcome Center at 10:30 a.m. and will last about 90 minutes. Tickets are $5 for members and $10 for non-members, payable in advance on Eventbrite, or in cash or check at the start of the tour.
