Don's PhotoJaunt 2003
Unitarian Universalist Association

I have been a Unitarian all of my adult life, and wanted to visit Unitarian headquarters while I was in Boston. I knew the address was 25 Beacon Street, so while I was in the area I looked for 25 Beacon Street. I found Beacon Street okay, and looked for 25. Ah, here's 18. Must be near here. I crossed the street, thinking the numbers would be even on one side and odd on the other. Here's 17, 21, getting close, then 24. Hey. That's an even number. Well, 24, 25 must be next. Nope. 24½. That was the last building on the block. Across the street was Boston Common one one side and the Massachusetts State House on the other. I thought well maybe 25 is just past Boston Common. So I walked the length of Boston Common, a few blocks, but the next building was in the 30s. I walked back, looking carefully at the buildings across the street, but their numbers were all above 25.

So I walked across the street, looking carefully at all the doors for 25, until I came to the State House again. Where is 25???. I went back to the first building south of the State House; there was a man sitting on the steps. "Where is the UUA?" I asked him. "Right here." he said.

That large black rectangle on the door was the sign, and the small rectangle with the doorbell has 25 on it.

So if you are looking for the UUA, don't look for a sign, look for a white door with a horizontal rectangle and a smaller vertical rectangle with a doorbell on it, and a doorknob in between. When you get up close, you might be able to see the words.

And here's the building. I went in and told the receptionist I was a UU, and would like to look around. "Sure. Go ahead."

The reception room has some items of UU history. . .

. . . including this placque honoring three UU ministers who were killed on the civil rights march in Selma, Alabama, in 1965.

The Dana McLean Greeley Library.

Back outside, I crossed the street and got a photo of the whole building. Just to the right is land which was once John Hancock's. And to the right of that is the State House.

A few blocks away, on the Freedom Trail, stands King's Chapel, dating from 1754. Begun as an Anglican church, by the 1780s it was more Unitarian; today the church uses Anglican liturgy and Unitarian theology. The congregation is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

The church's bell, which was recast by Paul Revere, is rung before each service.

Next to King's Chapel is the old burying ground, with the graves of Paul Revere and many other old Bostonians. (This might be the burying ground next to the Park Street Church, rather than King's Chapel. Not sure.)

Comments.

You may buy one of Don's Photo CDs, which have on them photos which are on Don's Web Site, plus many more of the same places, in a larger size, suitable for viewing full screen or printing your own enlargements. Sample photo from CD.

PhotoJaunt 2003 Intro | Beacon Hill Area of Boston | Boston Common | Unitarian Universalist Association | Massachusetts State House | Adams Historic Park | Boston Temple | John F. Kennedy National Historic Site | John F. Kennedy Library and Museum | Acadia National Park | Maine State Capitol | New England in the Fall | Town and Country Inn | Vermont State House | Chester Alan Arthur Birthplace | President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site | Franklin Pierce Homes and Gravesite | New Hampshire State House | Rhode Island State Capitol | New York State Capitol | Hyde Park | William J. Clinton Home | New York City | The Met | Grant's Tomb | George Washington Inauguration Site | Unitarian Church of All Souls | Theodore Roosevelt birthplace | Sagamore Hill | Woodrow Wilson Homes | Grover Cleveland Home | Amish Country | James Buchanan Sites | Eisenhower Home | Gettysburg | Lincoln Highway | Washington DC Temple | Mary Washington Home | Washington Birthplace | Ferry Farm | Mount Vernon | Appomattox Court House | James Madison Home | Highland, James Monroe's Home | Monticello | Poplar Forest | FDR's Little White House in Georgia | Jacksonville | Back to Don's Web Site Home Page |

©D.L. Mark 1997-2004