Shrine of Our Lady of Good Voyage included in List of 58 Gems of Boston /  by Ethan Anthony

June 3 and 4, 2017 The Boston Architecture Foundation event dubbed CB17 Common Boston highlighted a diverse range of sites that shed:

"light on the great and hidden architecture of Boston. The goals of Common Boston are to promote a greater appreciation of the built environment, inspire discussion about excellence in design, planning, and preservation, and broaden awareness of the rich architectural and cultural traditions present in diverse communities throughout Greater Boston."

Among the 58 site featured in this year's event was our Shrine of Our Lady of Good Voyage, the continuation of the waterfront seafarer's chapel in the Seaport District.

The Festival program praised the Chapel design as a "beautiful house of prayer, intimate in size but majestic in its elements."

"Built in the 1950s to serve fishermen, longshoremen, and their families, the Chapel moved to a new site this year to better serve local workers. The new chapel retains much of its nautical heritage with a ceiling patterned after the hull of a ship and walls inscribed with the prayer “They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters…” It is a beautiful house of prayer, intimate in size, but majestic in its elements."

The festival booklet with the other 58 sites can be viewed and downloaded here. For the booklets from other years and more information about Common Boston and its annual program look here.

Masonry underway on Boston Waterfront Chapel /  by Ethan Anthony

The shell is sheathed and the brick workers are laying brick. Soon we will see the slate roof underway and windows will arrive. Boston's first new church in more than 50 years is under construction. This new church which will replace the beloved old Seaman's Chapel is under construction and moving smoothly.

Less apparent from our construction web cam photos the work on the interior proceeds as well. Sprinklers are underway, electrical and mechanical rough-in as well. Visit the web cam by clicking here. See the drawings for the interior here.

Cram and Ferguson's St Edward's Chapel chosen for AIA Honor Award for Design /  by Ethan Anthony

St. Edward's Chapel, at the Casady School in Oklahoma City designed by Cram and Ferguson and completed in 2010 has been selected for an Honor Award for Design Excellence in the 2015 AIA Central Massachusetts Chapter Awards Program. The Award will be presented at the AIA Annual Awards Dinner November 21, 2015 at the Higgins House at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester.

Visit the AIA CM Awards Page

Cathedral of the Holy Cross Bell Blessing /  by Ethan Anthony

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Cram & Ferguson has been working with the Archdiocese of Boston on renovations to the Belfry of The Cathedral of the Holy Cross to for the installation of 5 bells.  These bells used to housed in Holy Trinity German Catholic Church.

On Sunday evening, a blessing of the bells ceremony took place at The Cathedral of the Holy Cross with Cardinal Sean O'Malley.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/10/18/historic-bells-soon-ring-out-from-boston-cathedral/DU8jLID1uPCV81NuUvTXcK/story.html

 

 

New Seaport Chapel Under Construction /  by Ethan Anthony

Rendering: Stantec

A New replacement for the well known Seamen's Chapel in the Boston Waterfront is under construction as part of Seaport Square a $ 3 Billion development. John Hynes and his development group BGI are constructing the new chapel as a replacement for the old Seamen's Chapel which will be demolished to make way for Seaport Square.

Cram and Ferguson were retained by the Archdiocese as consultants on the exterior design and designers of the interior of the new chapel. The chapel design will be based on Gothic wooden churches of the 15th century and their reliance on ship's carpentry as a knowledge base.

St. Kateri Catholic Church Nearing Completion /  by Ethan Anthony

A new church designed by Cram and Ferguson Architects to replace St. Joseph's Church in Ridgway, Illinois destroyed by a tornado February 29, 2013 is nearing completion. The stone church which will seat more than 400 is expected to be finished for Christmas 2015.

Weather has presented many difficulties throughout the construction period with a wet spring in early 2014 and a cold and snowy winter that brought temperatures too low for masonry work. Last week the Rigalli company was on site to reinstall the altar which was salvaged from the destroyed church virtually unharmed.

Construction underway on new chapel in Boston's Seaport District. /  by Ethan Anthony

Construction began on a new chapel in Boston's Seaport District in early September. The chapel interior has been designed by Ethan Anthony and Matthew Alderman and the Boston firm Cram and Ferguson and the exterior is the result of a collaboration with Seaport Hotel Design firm ADD Inc.

The Chapel which has been named Our Lady of Good Voyage is a chapel of St. Vincent's Church in South Boston. It will seat approximately 400 worshipers and will have regular masses. The interior will feature a design inspired by Gothic churches of the medieval period and will include re-purposed windows from four closed Boston-area parishes which are being restored by Lyn Hovey.

Raising the Bells at St Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Church /  by Ethan Anthony

On May 6, 2015 the bells of the former St. Joseph Church, Ridgway, Illinois were raised into position in the new St. Kateri Church, Ridgway. St. Joseph's was demolished by a tornado in 2012.

A large crowd of parishioners and townspeople gathered to watch the bells hoisted into place in the new church which is expected to be completed by September of this year.

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Building the Foundation of St. Kateri Catholic Church /  by Ethan Anthony

Work continues into a third month in Ridgway, Illinois on the foundation for the Church of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, Ridgway, Illinois. In the foreground is the vault under the tower. Beyond the foundation under the nave is nearing completion. This week the Contractor, Poettker Construction, has been preparing the utilities under the slab with expectation that soon they will be pouring the slab.

Work continues into a third month in Ridgway, Illinois on the foundation for the Church of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, Ridgway, Illinois. In the foreground is the vault under the tower. Beyond the foundation under the nave is nearing completion. This week the Contractor, Poettker Construction, has been preparing the utilities under the slab with expectation that soon they will be pouring the slab.

Messiah Lutheran Church /  by Ethan Anthony

We were recently commissioned to design additions and renovations for the Messiah Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Windsor Connecticut. The church occupies a modern building in a commercial area that is rapidly developing. The congregation wishes to add space in a number of areas throughout their exisiting facility.

Holderness School /  by Ethan Anthony

Cram and Ferguson has been commissioned with designing the restoration/renovation of the Holy Cross Chapel at the Holderness School in Holderness, New Hampshire. The brick Chapel which was designed by Charles Coolidge Haight in 1884 is treasured by the school community.

Construction Starts on New St. Kateri Tekakwitha Church /  by Ethan Anthony

Construction begins next week on St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Church in Ridgway, Illinois. The 12,383 Square Foot church which will seat 400 has a construction cost of $ 5,600,000 or approximately $ 450 per Square Foot. The church will be clad in a local limestone quarried nearby in Missouri. St. Kateri is a replacement for the former St. Joseph's Church that was destroyed by a tornado on February 29, 2012.

125 Years of Cram & Ferguson /  by Ethan Anthony