Christian Science Church
Rising over the city’s roofs and spires is the great white dome of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, affectionately known as the “Mother Church.” In Boston, the Christian Science movement was founded, and its administrative center is there. The branch churches of Christ, Scientist, are to be found in almost every part of the civilized world.
The original edifice, completed and dedicated in 1895 with a seating capacity of 1,000 persons, soon became inadequate to accommodate those desiring to attend its services. Accordingly, in 1905 there was erected the extension, crowned by the majestic dome reaching to a height of two hundred and twenty-four feet above the street, having a diameter of eighty-two feet. The auditorium seats approximately five thousand. It required two years to build and cost nearly two million dollars. It was dedicated in June, 1906, and like all Christian Science ventures, it was free of debt. No funerals, marriages or social entertainments add to its income. The church is built of Indiana limestone and New Hampshire granite, New Hampshire being the native state of Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer and founder of Christian Science. The great organ is a notable instrument, its gilded pipes rising behind the quiet and dignified rostrum whereon stand the two desks for the readers who conduct the services. The general effect is one of breadth, spaciousness, and all pervading light. Within and without, the church demands attention and admiration as one of the largest and most impressive churches in the world.
Leaving the Christian Science Church, we go directly to Massachusetts Avenue, and turning left come to