Look to your right for a sturdy stone building featuring a prominent square tower topped with a pyramidal roof and arched windows. This is the First Parish Church. Its congregation traces all the way back to sixteen oh seven. When the Pilgrims arrived in sixteen twenty, they held services aboard the Mayflower, and later at the fort up on Burial Hill, which we explored earlier. They constructed their first real church on this square in sixteen forty-eight. Check your screen to see the eighteen thirty-one wooden Gothic structure that stood here before this one. Over the centuries, the community evolved. In eighteen oh one, a schism split the congregation when many adopted Unitarianism, prompting dissenting traditionalists to break away. This Romanesque building was finished in eighteen ninety-nine. If you look at your app, you can view the breathtaking sanctuary. It features brilliant Tiffany stained glass and soaring hammer beam construction, a dramatic architectural method using carved quarter-sawn oak to support the heavy roof. Note that the building is only open to visitors Tuesday through Thursday mornings. Take a moment to soak this in. When you are ready, we can head to the next stop.
