Backbay Tower (2)

This is a print of the First Church in Boston in which the current building incorporates the ruined street facade and "puddingstone" steeple tower of the previous church on the site (by Ware & van Brunt, 1868), which had burned in 1968. After a call for designs, the congregation voted for the proposal by Paul Rudolph, which was completed in 1972.

The light-flooded, soaring interior is finished with Rudolph's characteristic bush hammered "corduroy concrete" surfaces. Decades later, the interiors are immaculately preserved. Great care has been taken not to permanently change the walls, and to reproduce the original textile decorations. However, the congregation has made an inspired non-permanent repurposing of the corrugated concrete interior finish, by pressing copper foil ribbons with names of members into the vertical grooves, in a non-hierarchical fashion.

The artist has done two variations of this print, one with a rainbow roll and one in black and white.