A 'second life': Former Yarmouth New Church starts its journey as community's Thacher Hall

YARMOUTH PORT — A former church described as "an architectural gem" has a new name which supporters of its renovations hope will make the building more welcoming as a community and performance center.

The historic Yarmouth New Church was renamed Thacher Hall at a dedication ceremony on June 26. Community members, board members of the Yarmouth New Church Preservation Foundation and descendants of the Thacher family were present.

The building's new name honors one of Yarmouth’s founding families and better establishes that the building is open for everyone as a venue for community events and the arts.

“We were finally able to officially make that name change, which means that we no longer have to specify that this is not a church,” said Mary-Ann Agresti, an architect and a long-serving member of the foundation board. “This is a community art space and changing the name breaks down a lot of the barriers and misconceptions around the building.”

“The building is now going forward with this new name, and I hope it will be very successful, where concerts, theatrical productions, lectures and recitals will be hosted,” said Ron Perera, great-grandson of Henry C. Thacher. "The building is beginning its second life, really."

How the building came to be

Henry C. Thacher, his family and members of the Simpkins and Hallett families followed the teachings of 18th-century theologian Emanuel Swedenborg, a Swedish scientist and philosopher who combined his studies of the natural and rational world with his Christian faith. His theology reflected the struggle to understand the world of spirit by investigating the physical world, according to the Swedenborg Foundation website.

The longtime Cape Cod families led efforts to build the Swedenborgian church, known as the New Church since its establishment. Boston architect Samuel Thayer designed the building and it was constructed in 1870 by local builder John Hinckley of Barnstable.

By the late 1990s, the church building was badly deteriorated, it lacked heat and water, and the ancient electrical system was in shambles, according to reports at the time. By then, the church was only hosting one or two summer services.

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In 1998, Walter Chapin gathered a group of residents to save the building and founded the Yarmouth New Church Preservation Foundation (YNCPF). The organization purchased the building for $1, to preserve and restore the architecture and  turn it into a community center.

“My family was by no means the only ones who contributed to this building. A tremendous amount of community effort, several organizations, and individuals, over the years contributed to its welfare and preservation,” said Perera, a former professor of music at Smith College and a former foundation board member.

Fundraising events and other efforts to preserve the building faced many obstacles over the years because of the name. For the members of the foundation, it was hard to explain — even to locals — why the building’s name had the word "church" in it, even though it no longer served as a church.

“In terms of donation and raising funds, many people were reluctant to contribute because they thought it was a church,” Perera said.

“A couple of years ago, the board confronted this issue and then the whole process got delayed because of the pandemic,” said longtime foundation board member Susan Moeller.

'It's a knockout'

During the day, sunlight enters the hall through the stained-glass windows, creating a rainbow hue effect inside.

“I think anyone who goes into that building is just struck by how beautiful it is and how unusual it is,” Perera said. “Inside, there are the most amazing details of painted wood, plaster and stained glass coming together in something that is a real architectural gem. As a beautiful piece of art and architecture, it's a knockout and the design of the building makes music sound so beautiful in there. It’s a natural place for musical performances.”

Other foundational churches in the area were not designed with stained glass, Moeller said.

“The sense of color, the use of stained glass, all this was very popular in the 1800s,” she said.

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Several weddings, as well as memorial concerts and theatrical performances, have been hosted in the building over the years. On the lower level of the building, there is a gallery space.

“The gallery is a place for local artists to showcase their work; artists love this unique space because it is much larger and open than other exhibition spaces around,” said Victoria Krukowski, foundation event manager.

The building's interior with Gothic-style arches, frescoes, and dark wood makes the beauty of the stained-glass windows stand out. In a corner, there is a massive tracker pipe organ, which was built in Indianapolis by the William H. Clarke company and purchased for the church by Henry C. Thacher and installed in 1872.

Since 1998, more than $1.3 million has been invested in the restoration and preservation efforts by the foundation, supported by several funds and private donors. Although the building is restored and in use, there is much more yet to be done. The foundation's future plan includes rebuilding the west entrance, protecting the stained glass at the west end of the building and furnishing the main hall.

“Over the years, we have restored and preserved the building’s key features successfully," Moeller said. "We’re still working on other issues such as handicapped access to the building along with multiple other restorations."

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Yarmouth New Church is Thacher Hall after renaming and restoration