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Home My Public Portal AboutMainSt_2580, BRE.31Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form.12/12 FORM B  BUILDING MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Photograph Locus Map N Recorded by: Eric Dray, Preservation Consultant, for Organization: Brewster Historical Commission Date (month / year): November, 2017 Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number 78-85 Dennis A,G,I BRE.31 Town/City: BREWSTER Place:(neighborhood or village): East Brewster Address: 2580 Main Street Historic Name: Immaculate Conception Catholic Church Uses:Present: Institutional Original: Institutional Date of Construction: 1907 Source:Diocese of Fall River Style/Form: Stick/ Shingle (altered) Architect/Builder:John H. Rooney / Robert J. Culbert Exterior Material: Foundation: Fieldstone (main block), concrete block (ells) Wall/Trim: Synthetic clapboard Roof: Asphalt shingles Outbuildings/Secondary Structures: None Major Alterations (with dates): Remodeled (1918, see Photo 4) East wing (1931, expanded 1962) West wing (1968) Synthetic siding (date unknown) Condition: Good Moved: no yes Date: Acreage: 2.70 acres Setting: This parcel is located in East Brewster on the south side of Main Street. The surrounding area is developed with a mix of historic and contemporary residential and commercial buildings. The church is set relatively close to the street on its large, level parcel. An asphalt driveway circles behind the church and leads to a large parking area to the east. The parcel is informally landscaped with lawn, mature deciduous trees and shrubbery. The church is partially surrounded by foundation plantings. INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 2580 MAIN STREET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 1 A,G,I BRE.31 Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked, you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form. Use as much space as necessary to complete the following entries, allowing text to flow onto additional continuation sheets. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION: Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the community. This church began as a modest example of a Stick style building that was built in 1907 and opened in 1908 (see Photo 3). The bell tower was added in 1912 with a ship’s bell donated by Thomas Saint (later removed), and the building was remodeled in the Shingle style in 1918 (see Photo 4). The building was originally clad in wood shingles which wrapped the corners. The bell tower was also clad in wood shingles and its elevations had wood louvers. There was a small entrance ell on the west elevation and a fieldstone chimney rose from this side of the church. Fenestration included stained glass windows that appear to be intact. The east wing was added in 1931 and expanded in 1962, and the west wing was added in 1968 which expanded seating to 250. The entire building was clad in synthetic clapboard siding. The left (east) ell also has stained glass windows. The original building rests on a fieldstone foundation, and the two ells rest on concrete block foundations. The interior of the chapel has Gothic Revival influences including, most notably, lancet-shaped arches. HISTORICAL NARRATIVE Discuss the history of the building. Explain its associations with local (or state) history. Include uses of the building, and the role(s) the owners/occupants played within the community. The first Catholic chapel in Brewster was established by Rev. George F. Maguire of the Diocese of Fall River. Maguire (1860- 1923) purchased this land in East Brewster and hired John H. Rooney of Boston, a former resident of Harwichport, to be the architect. Robert J. Culbert of Boston was hired as the contractor. Tully Crosby of Brewster surveyed the new church land, and John Considine, Freeman Ellis and Joseph Doyle, all parishioners, graded the church grounds. The first stone was laid by Rev. Maguire in August 1907. The Immaculate Conception chapel was dedicated on August 16, 1908. Rev. Maguire (1860-1923) was also pastor for churches in Harwich, Wellfleet and Truro. In 1909, Bishop Feehan reassigned Rev. Maguire to a parish in Somerset and confided the Cape Cod territory of Brewster, Chatham, Harwich, Eastham, Wellfleet and Truro to the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts in Fairhaven. Our Lady of Lourdes in Wellfleet was established as the central parish church with “mission” churches in Truro, Brewster and Harwich. In 1910, Rev. H. J. Eikerling began serving the church in Brewster. The missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette were asked in 1961 to establish a parish in Brewster, assumed responsibility for the East Brewster church, and built a much larger church in West Brewster in 1962. This parcel is located within the Old King’s Highway Regional Historic District adopted in 1973, and the church is a contributing resource in the Old King’s Highway National Register District adopted in 1996. BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES 1910 Map, Atlas of Barnstable County, Boston, MA: Walker Litho. & Publishing Co., 1910. Barnstable County Registry of Deeds Boyd, George H. III, Brewster, The Way We Were, George H. Boyd III: Brewster, 2016. www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:0k225s717 (postcard) Diocese of Fall River records INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 2580 MAIN STREET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 2 A,G,I BRE.31 Brewster Assessor sketch. Photo 2. View looking southwest. INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET BREWSTER 2580 MAIN STREET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD,BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation sheet 3 A,G,I BRE.31 Photo 3. View of church pre-1912. Photo 4. Postcard view, [1930-1945].