Boston condo in old Back Bay church is elegant, sparkling
In 1891, members of the Mount Vernon Congregational Church, which was founded in 1844 on Ashburton Street on Beacon Hill, commissioned C. Howard Walker to design a larger place of worship in the Back Bay.
The new building at the corner of Beacon Street and Massachusetts Avenue was impressive, made of stone with tall arches and a square bell tower topped by a steeple.
COURTESY PHOTOS / ANDY MC LAUGHLIN
John LaFarge designed some of its stained glass windows.
The church prospered for many years, before membership declined. In 1970 the remaining members agreed to move into Old South Church and merge with that congregation. Old South Church is on Boylston Street across from the Boston Public Library.
Fortunately, all of Mount Vernon’s records and treasures were moved to the Old South building and the John LaFarge windows were sold because in 1978 the empty Mount Vernon Church building burned.
In 1983, architect Graham Gund designed a condominium complex that encompassed the remaining stonewalls of Mount Vernon Church. Noted landscape architect Carol Johnson was in charge of the landscaping. Together they produced a magnificent complex that continues to be admired.
Brian Back of Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty has just listed a wonderful condominium in Church Court for $1.199 million.
It is on the first level of the complex and can be reached through the main door that opens into an inviting common lobby or through a private entrance that exclusive to the unit.
The home is a duplex that has two bedrooms with walk-in closets, two-and-a-half baths, a chef’s kitchen with top name appliances and a large living room with a fireplace and glass doors that open to a private terrace.
The chef’s kitchen features custom-built cabinetry, white marble counters and high-end stainless steel appliances.
Both the living room and the terrace have views of the Charles River. Abrams Properties LLC just completed renovations of the unit, so it is like new, and evolve | residential provided the interior design. In addition, this home includes a garage parking space.
The still stately original stonewalls are set off by gardens of grass and shrubs between the public sidewalk and the building. A small statue of an angel sits atop the Massachusetts Avenue wall. The square bell tower still stands at the corner but the steeple atop it is gone.
The main entrance to Church Court is at 492 Beacon St., east of the original church entrance. It is a curved oak door paneled with glass. A canopy of curved glass and steel protects those on the front stoop, which is three steps up from the brick condo walkway.
Inside, marble floors add to the quiet elegance. A tall, curved wooden desk is straight ahead, where a concierge greets residents and also monitors security cameras placed around the complex.
To the left, the lobby is three steps up from the entryway. An inviting sitting area is bright from the floor-to-ceiling windows on the west side.
Green indoor plants beside the windows lead the eye to the green shrubbery outside the window.
A fireplace with a marble surround and white wooden mantelpiece projects into the living room, which is adjacent to a fabulous kitchen.
There, surrounded by the remaining stonewalls and where the sanctuary once stood, a beautiful courtyard with grass, shrubs and weeping trees has wooden benches on each side to provide a quite refuge the residents.
Next to the concierge desk another set of three steps lead to a hallway that is the entrance to the complex. In a small alcove a bust of an angel sits atop a marble column. The elevator across from it provides access to the lower level parking garage, other floors of the complex and to the roof deck.
Past the elevator area, the door to Unit 12 is on the right. Inside, a small foyer opens to hardwood steps leading to the large living room.
It is made even larger by floor-to-ceiling glass doors that open to a private terrace.
Opposite the front door, a fireplace with a marble surround and white wooden mantelpiece stands forward of the rest of that wall.
Unit 12 is unique in this complex as it has its own separate entrance and a private terrace with a view of the Esplanade and the Charles River.
The high ceiling is surrounded with deep crown molding. It is all set off by beautiful hardwood flooring.
The kitchen is the first room off the hall that leads from the living room. It has custom white wooden cabinets and white marble counters. Appliances include a Bosch stainless steel dishwasher, convection oven and cooktop, a Broan stainless steel range hood and a Liebherr stainless steel refrigerator with bottom freezer.
Farther down the hall are a powder room and a laundry room before the master bedroom with en suite bath.
The master bedroom is beautiful. A semicircular bay in the exterior wall holds three floor-to-ceiling windows. The windows are high above the ground and provide views of the gardens, the front complex entry and Beacon Street.
The room is circled by crown molding and has hardwood floors. The full master bath has lovely flooring comprising small rectangular pieces of marble in a herringbone pattern.
Tiny marble rectangles laid in a herringbone pattern comprise the floor of the master bath, and the vanity top is marble.
A white vanity with two basins is topped by marble that is the same color as the flooring.
Halfway down the stairwell at the end of the hall a good-sized landing provides a foyer for the second entrance to the home. This is the private entrance with its own sidewalk to Beacon Street.
Downstairs, the second bedroom is also inviting, with three windows in the bay in the exterior wall. The en suite bath has flooring of large white marble squares and a vanity topped by mottled granite. There is a combination tub and shower.
DETAILS
Address: Church Court Condominiums, 492 Beacon St., Unit 12, Back Bay
BR/BA: Two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths
Size: 1,776 +/- square feet plus a 315-square-foot terrace
Age: 1984; 2010
Price: $1.199 million
Taxes: $13,087 (FY 2010)
Condo fee: $1,358 per month (includes garage parking, heat and doorman)
Features of the building: Beautiful 42-unit complex constructed around the original south and west stonewalls of the former Mount Vernon Congregational Church; elevator; lower level parking garage; lovely lobby, roof deck and landscaped courtyard.
Features of the unit: Just renovated floor-though duplex with traditional features: crown molding, hardwood flooring, chef’s kitchen with top stainless steel appliances, marble baths; floor-to-ceiling windows; exterior doors in living room and master bedroom and private entrance off Beacon Street; private terrace, views of the Charles River; central air conditioning; one deeded garage parking space.
Close by: Shops, restaurants and galleries on Newbury and Boylston streets, at Prudential Center and Copley Place; Boston Architectural College; MIT; easy access to MBTA Green Line at Hynes Auditorium Storrow Drive and Route 90.
Contact: Brian Back, Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty, 556 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02118. Phones: 617-426-6900 (office), 857-362-1793 (direct) or 617-620-9700 (cell).
Websites: www.gibsonsotherbys.com
There will be an open house at this listing on Sunday, Aug. 8, from 2:30 to 4 p.m.
