As previously mentioned, our hotel was near the mother church of Christian Science - THE First Church of Christ, Scientist. (Branch churches never have the THE.) Here's a view of the plaza when the world isn't completely gray. Just mostly.
Before looking around and taking too many pictures, I decided to take the free tour of the church building. I happened to show up at the same time as a younger couple, so we headed in together. We were met in the sanctuary by our guide. Here's the building where we started:
It's a nice little neo-Byzantine number built 1906-ish. Everything is edge-supported, so when you're in the sanctuary you're staring way, way, way up at the domes. Inside there's lots of natural light. In short it's a stunning effect, and very impressive.
Incidentally, it's home to an enormous Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ. One of the biggest in the blah blah blah. It's big.
We sat down in a pew and our guide gave us her opening line: "We are not affiliated with Scientology." Yes, one of the venerable original American faiths, that has been around more than a century, and they let us know right up front that they're not affiliated with Cruise, Travolta, et al. A sad, sad state of affairs.
Turns out the big building is "the extension." The original church building was constructed a scant 12 years prior, in 1894:
Slightly different style, obviously. This small neo-Gothic church is easily dwarfed by the new structure:
Although, if you look at it a certain way (which I spent a long time looking for), they kind of line up:
Or, you can just enjoy the clash of two very different styles:
Inside the original building, I noticed two things. First, it was way, WAY smaller. Way smaller. You can see why they had to expand. Second, it felt a lot like the church I grew up attending. I guess that makes sense, since they were built around the same time.
At the end of the tour, we were offered a free copy of 'Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.' Originally I wasn't going to take one (especially since they hinted that even though it was free, they'd appreciate a $1 donation if you took it), but then I took a look at the back, and the economist part of my brain started doing somersaults. The reason - the retail price. US, $9.95. Canada, $14.95. UK, 5.99 (I don't know where the funky L sign is...). In short, if you take into account recent changes in exchange rates, how could I afford NOT to take the book? I tossed a dollar coin in the till and went on my way.
There's a whole plaza full of Christian Science-related buildings. It's an insane mish-mash of architectural styles. You've got the Mary Baker Eddy Library, a sterotypical 1930s building:
Then there's the Sunday School building, built in the 1960s (go figure):
Also built around this time was the plaza itself, along with a couple of office buildings to hold church administration as well as the Christian Science Monitor:
I tried to get the full scope of the wackiness all in one photo, so let's see what you think:
So if you're in the Back Bay and like church buildings, stop by for the tour.
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