Old South United Methodist Church Steeple - Reading, MA - Unique Steeples on Waymarking.com

Old South United Methodist Church building is a copy of the original Federal style building built in 1817 as the second home of the Congregational Church in the third parish of Wakefield, which later became Reading, MA. The building was sold to the Methodist in 1887 and renamed the Old South Methodist Episcopal Church. A fire destroyed the church in 1911 and it was rebuilt to the 1817 plan by Winthrop Parker in 1913.

The two-story church has a gable roof and a two brick chimneys in the rear corners. The façade the church is three bays wide with stairs leading to three entrances, with green doors, at the lower level. A fan window is above each entrance. The second level has a Palladian style window in the center which is flanked by a pair of rectangular windows. Above is a pediment with a single fan window.

Above the pediment is a clock tower with a four-sided clock and a balustrade railing. In the center of the tower rises a two-tiered octagonal tower with arched openings on each side. The second tier is an octagonal belfry with balustrade railing. The belfry has louvered windows with pointed tops and is topped by a green dome with a finial and weather vane. The sides of the main block are six bays wide and tow stories high. Each bay has a window on the upper and lower levels.

In 1957, a shorter to story wing was added to the back of the church and a one story office and two story parish center was built on the west side of the church to complete the complex.

The Old South United Methodist Church is a contributing building to the Common Historic District on the National Register of historic Places.

Location of the Steeple: 6 Salem Street Reading, MA United States 01867 Approximate Date of Construction: 1/1/1913 Website: [Web Link]

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