Fellowship Hall, Trinity Church–Presbyterian

Natick, MA, 1953, the Architects’ Collaborative (TAC)

Built in 1956, the Fellowship hall for Natick’s Trinity Church – now known as Hartford Street Presbyterian Church –  was designed as the first of a four building complex designed to reflect the four pillars of Church life: fellowship, education, meditation, and worship. The original plan would have included a more intimate round chapel with only a skylight, a larger chapel for services and an education center in the rear all connected by covered walkways. The fellowship hall, which was the only building actually realized, was designed with a series of 17ft bays that could be expanded horizontally if need be. The bays are divided by the structural wood beams which jut out of the facade to create a covered front and back.

The site now includes one of the town’s community garden spaces as well as an ‘emergency food pantry’ named A Place to Turn located in what was labeled as the Parish House in the original Master Plan documents. A Place to Turn provides food, diapers and personal care to families in the Metrowest area. 

Sources:

Architectural Record December 1953 & May 1956.