854. Henry Hobson Richardson, Trinity Church,

Boston, Massachusetts, 1872-1877 (U.S.A.)

Located on Copley Square in Boston’s Back Bay area, this church introduced a radical new style into American architecture. Burly and larger than life, H.H. Richardson forged a unique architectural manner to match his persona, and Trinity is the first great manifestation of what has come to be called Richardsonian Romanesque: massive and sculptural, it embraces picturesque surface variety through polychromy and texturing. This eclectic approach derives from the Romanesque style of the 11th and 12th centuries, as particularly witnessed in the heavy round arches that Richardson so often deployed. The church is built on a compact Greek cross plan, creating a vast and unified space within. Its walls feature extensive cycles of murals and stained glass. Externally, the church is dominated by a massive square tower, 64 metres tall, with corner turrets. It is entered through a red sandstone porch with three great portals. The church influenced many public buildings across North America: at one time few towns were without a Richardsonian Romanesque building—town hall, railway station, library, courthouse or post office—of some sort. The dynamic and extroverted qualities of the new church are also said to have been well suited to the forceful and innovative preaching of its charismatic rector, Phillips Brooks.