Park Street Church is a historic evangelical Congregational church founded in 1809, standing at the corner of Park and Tremont Streets at the edge of Boston Common. Its soaring 217-foot steeple was once the tallest structure in the United States and remains a defining feature of the downtown skyline. The corner became known as ‘Brimstone Corner,’ a nickname tied both to the church’s fervent preaching and to gunpowder stored on site during the War of 1812.
A stop on Boston’s Freedom Trail, the church carries deep historical weight: it hosted the first American Sunday school in 1818, and in 1829 abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison delivered an early anti-slavery address from its pulpit. The patriotic hymn ‘My Country, ‘Tis of Thee’ was first sung publicly here on July 4, 1831. The Park Street MBTA station, serving the Green and Red Lines, is right outside. Check the official site for service and visiting details.
Good to know
- Founded in 1809; a designated stop on the Freedom Trail
- Its 217-foot steeple was once the tallest structure in the U.S.
- Site of an early William Lloyd Garrison anti-slavery speech (1829)
- ‘My Country, ‘Tis of Thee’ was first sung publicly here on July 4, 1831
Getting there
- Address: 1 Park St, Boston, MA 02108 (corner of Park and Tremont Streets)
- Neighborhood: Downtown Boston (at Boston Common / Beacon Hill edge)
- Nearest T: Park Street (MBTA Green Line and Red Line), directly outside