MassachusettsThe First Universalist Church at 236 Commercial Street in Provincetown was begun in 1847 as the second home of a parish founded in 1829, and is said to be the oldest building on the Lower Cape still standing in its original state and used for its original purpose. Built by ship's carpenters under Benjamin Hallet of Barnstable, the white clapboard, Greek Revival structure has a three-stage steeple often (though incorrectly) associated with Sir Christopher Wren. Its most significant feature is the trompe l'oeil interior of the auditorium, painted in egg tempera by young German artist Carl Wendte, whose murals show the influence of his study of Italian churches; the church also retains an 1850 organ, the oldest on Cape Cod, and a Sandwich Glass chandelier.
First Universalist Church
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First Universalist Church is a landmark in Provincetown, Barnstable County. It is one of 6,558 landmarks documented in Barnstable County, among 6,897 historic sites cataloged across the county on MassRoam.
The site sits at 42.0506, -70.1884 near Provincetown. The nearest cataloged historic site is House at 95B Bradford St (landmark), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Commercial Building at 242 Commercial St, House at 101 Bradford St, and Commercial Building at 234R Commercial St.
This record is drawn from public historical records. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
The First Universalist Church at 236 Commercial Street in Provincetown was built in 1847 to a Greek Revival design by Benjamin Hallett for a Universalist parish organized in 1829. Its timber-frame construction was completed in stages, with the telescopic tower and much of the interior finished only in the 1860s; the steeple is the last surviving one in Provincetown and long served as a seamark. The auditorium is decorated with trompe l'oeil frescoes by the German-born artist Carl Wendte. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and later included in the Provincetown Historic District, the building is today the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
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