First Parish Church, 1975

Full exterior view of First Parish Church, 425 Congress Street, from southeast.The parish dates back to 1674, and the parish at its location on Congress Street dates back to 1740. As stated by the Parish's historians:"Construction of the current granite building began in 1825 and was completed in 1826. The 1802 Simon Willard clock tower and the internal gallery clock were transferred to the new building along with the 1810 steeple bell. The Simon Willard clock tower is the last remaining and functioning of its kind. The steeple was built in 1825 and was beautifully restored in 2012. All are still in use after more than 190 years. Because of its granite structure, First Parish was one of few structures to survive Portland’s Great Fire of 1866."Photo published in the Portland Press Herald, on 28 June 1975.