Old South, First Presbyterian Church
December 21st, 2007I came across this print of Old South, First Presbyterian Church on the Library of Congress online archives. I’d never seen this print before and I thought it was pretty amazing.
Courtesy of Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-10021 (b&w film copy neg.)
N.W. view of the First Presbyterian Church, Newburyport, Mass
This is the entire page, and here is more of a detailed image without the writing.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress
Prints and Photographs Division
Detail, First Presbyterian Church, Newburyport, Mass
I also love the drawing of the original steeple, which was severely damaged by the hurricane of 1938, and in 1949 it was removed and capped with a 105-foot-tall cupola. (The New York Times, May 13, 2006)
Courtesy of the Library of Congress
Prints and Photographs Division
Detail, steeple
First Presbyterian Church, Newburyport, Mass
The church hopes eventually to fully restore the steeple to its original shape. Please press here to read an earlier entry about Old South Church, and to see the comparison of what the steeple of Old South Church looks like today.
And I also love the street scene to the right of the church. The two houses in the picture, I believe still exist. As I remember it, the first house was where the famous preacher, George Whitefield lived (I have not confirmed this) when he was pastor of Old South, First Presbyterian Church in Newburyport, Massachusetts.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress
Prints and Photographs Division
Detail, street scene
First Presbyterian Church, Newburyport, Mass
Mary Eaton
Newburyport
Editors Note: This is a correction and clarification from an astute reader of the Newburyport Blog:
“Mary, I don’t believe George Whitefield was ever the pastor of Old South. I don’t think he ever stayed in one place long enough to become a pastor. He was a real roving evangelist.
The first house behind the church was the birthplace of William Lloyd Garrison. There is a plaque denoting that on the house.
George Whitefield was staying with the pastor in the parsonage when he died, because he was to be the guest preacher in the church the next day. The story goes that his fans surrounded the house the night before and demanded that he talk to them, so he preached from the house steps for something like six hours. He was already sick, and he didn’t survive the night.”