Charles Street & Meeting House: The Village Spine

Why is it significant?

Finish your walking journey at the lively corner of Charles and Mt. Vernon Streets, right beneath the prominent white belfry of the Charles Street Meeting House.

Key Facts

Open the walk

Finish your walking journey at the lively corner of Charles and Mt. Vernon Streets, right beneath the prominent white belfry of the Charles Street Meeting House. Look around you at the bustling gas-lit shopfronts, artisan bakeries, and antique dealers lining Charles Street, the beloved commercial artery that connects the historic hill to the flat of Beacon Hill.

This majestic brick meeting house was constructed in eighteen zero seven as the Third Baptist Church. Architect Asher Benjamin designed its graceful cupola, and the congregation practiced outdoor baptisms directly in the Charles River waters, which back then lapped against the street right behind this wall before extensive land reclamation created the Back Bay neighborhood.

In eighteen thirty-six, pioneering Black activist and author David Walker attended services here, while abolitionist Timothy Gilbert was expelled for inviting African-American friends to sit in his family pew. The defiant congregation subsequently sold the sanctuary to the African Methodist Episcopal Church in eighteen seventy-six, where giant civil rights figures like Sojourner Truth and Booker T. Washington delivered stirring addresses.

Today, Charles Street remains an enchanting slice of old-world charm. Grab a warm cup of coffee and savor the enduring spirit of freedom and literary brilliance that built Boston.