Dan Antion

Historic Woburn Doors – #ThurdayDoors

First Church Woburn

I’m going to finish my visit to Woburn, Massachusetts by taking you to the historic center of town featuring a church, a church and a bank. Although these either aren’t the original buildings or the original occupants, the buildings are still quintessential New England. Unfortunately, I came up a little short on history for these structures/institutions, partly due to research roadblocks and partly due to a lack of time.

In any case, I like what I found, and I think these buildings (and their doors) fit well with the theme of Thursday Doors. Thursday Doors is the fun weekly blogfest hosted by Norm Frampton. Each week, Norm shares some doors he has found, and he invites door lovers from around the globe to join him in his quest to share the most interesting doors in the world. If you love doors, head on up to Norm’s place in Canada and check out his doors and those of others.

As for my doors, here’s the stories:

The First Church of Woburn

Credit Wikipedia: “…formerly the First Congregational Church in Woburn, is a historic nondenominational Christian church at 322 Main Street in Woburn, Massachusetts. The congregation, established in 1642, is one of the oldest in the United States.”

As we know, the congregation’s formation date is on the plaque, but that’s not always when the current church was built. In this case, there have been six buildings. The current one was built in 1860. Noteworthy item: “196-foot (60 m) steeple is believed to be the tallest wooden steeple in North America.”

SATSANG Center

This religious association is located in the former Unitarian Church along the rotary in downtown Woburn. I wasn’t able find much information on the building. In case you’re interested:

SATSANG means ASSOCIATION WITH TRUTH “in Speech, Thought & Action” to realize the TRUTH. The prime objective of the organization is to organize Satsang & Bhajan Programs and to promote the religious, cultural, charitable & educational activities.

Woburn Five Cents Savings Bank

Credit Massachusetts History Org – The Woburn Five Cents Savings Bank was founded in 1854, opening its doors for business on June 3rd. Sixty-four accounts were opened on that day with deposits totalling $864.64. Woburn was a thriving community at that time with a population that included mechanics, shopkeepers, manufacturers, and professional men, although many of the town’s citizens were employed in its principal industry, leather…

Above the windows are symbolic carvings representing Capital, supported by Prosperity and Wealth; Mechanics, Art and Agriculture, and Industry, supported by figures representing Banking and Recording; and the Beehive of Industry.

I hope you enjoy the photos in the gallery.

First Church Woburn
That’s the date the congregation was organized.
Side door to First Church.
A look at what might be the tallest wooden steeple in North America.
The First church building is being prepared for paint.
Given the angle of the roof and the distance to the ground, you would be wise to heed this warning.
First Church is being repainted – sorry about the dumpster.
Entrance to the Woburn Library.
Woburn Library
Carvings over the windows of the Five Cent Savings Bank building.
Woburn Five Cent Savings Bank
Woburn Town Hall.
I don’t know what this building is but it has a blue door.
SATSANG Center (the former Unitarian Church)
I know, insurance, but it’s a pretty door.
First Church Woburn

85 comments

    • I’m glad you liked this, Judy. I stayed in Woburn often, but I guess I was on the other side of town. I only recently saw the historic downtown area. It’s amazing what is out there if you poke around.

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  3. Wow, if doors could talk! You’ve captured some amazing artifacts, Dan. Thank you for the tour and the awakening to what is right in front of us. :)

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    • The congregation. We have one about 5 miles from us that was formed in 1630 – but, it was formed in England and established here in 1633. The current building was also built in the 1860s. Church dates can be confusing.

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  7. It seems that Woburn has more than its share of interesting old buildings. From its earliest days, it appears to have been a prosperous community.

    I’m impressed by such an old wooden steeple. Churches with their penchant for candles have always been notorious for burning down. This one has amazingly survived!

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    • You’re right about the steeple, Joanne. I have many Thursday Doors posts about churches where the line “destroyed by fire” is found in the history. The other problem came after they started adding heat. They would stop feeding the furnace, but they wouldn’t stick around until it went out.

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  8. Such beautiful doors, Dan. Five Cent Savings Bank…I do love that name. The SATSANG Center building looks like it should be some sort of federal building. For some weird reason, it feels wonderful, to me, to walk through doors that are so massive. I would enjoy these buildings.

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    • He did, indeed. Amazing that he still might have bragging rights on the tallest wooden steeple. I saw a tall steeple going up on a new church last year. It was a steel structure, completely finished on the ground, lifted by crane and bolted into place. I can only imagine the guys that had to shingle this one.

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  15. That Church of Woburn is stunning and I find it amazing the steeple still intact being all wood. So many ways for it to be damaged throughout the years. And geez, Dan, couldn’t ya simply slide that dumpster out of the way for that one picture?

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  16. That’s quite a ramp into the SATSANG building. I’d be worn out before I made it to the door! 🤗

    Beautiful library. I like the entrance. Got a good chuckle from the ‘snow warning sign’, but I wouldn’t be chuckling if I ignored it and 1/2 ton of snow buried my car! 😳

    The church steeple is amazing. I can’t imagine the ingenuity it took to erect it and to maintain it way back then. It’s very gratifying to see a place like Woburn that takes such pride in their history and is committed to maintaining it.

    Really nice tour Dan. So glad that nice lady steered you to the center of town.
    🐾Ginger 🐾

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    • Thanks Ginger. Sometimes I wonder if the ramps aren’t a lot of work for the people thss as t have to use them.

      I think that snow would probably crush most cars today. I wouldn’t be walking there either.

      I can’t imagine working on that steeple. I was having a hard time getting it into the frame of my camera.

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  17. Wow, a church a few centuries old – that says something! My favorite of your gallery is the red striped building – it looks “rich.” By the way, the bank did very well! A Great gallery of the town. Ever thought on contributing to Wikepedia? Since you like history,and detailed info…?

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  18. Some very pretty classic New England architecture here Dan. Obviously I have to make time to stop for a more thorough exploration of Woburn the next time I drive down that way.
    The SATSANG center is my fave of the bunch. It has a bit of an ancient Greek vibe to it.

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  24. The church is beautiful. I thought it was wood from the front and was surprised to find it’s stone. Stone is a much better choice though.

    The red and white building with the bell tower? Is also gorgeous.

    Great wrap up on this series, Dan.

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  27. Beautiful pictures, Dan. So much history up there in Massachusetts. I love photos of building in some stage of disrepair. The church will look nicer when it is repainted, but the photos will be less interesting.

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  28. Great doors, Dan. I always like arched doors, windows, or hallways. I love the stripe brick work on the library — something different. The name of the Five Cents Savings Bank gave me a chuckle. It’s lucky to save even 5 cents these days. Hugs on the wing.

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  35. They’re all great in their own ways – blue door peeking out, pediment on the Woburn town hall, grand scale on the Satsang Center … but let’s face it, they’ve got nothin on that church! Maybe is the tallest steeple! Magnificent.

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