About the Ambulatory

Ambulatory Luminaries

Did you ever notice that the numerous rooms off the Ambulatory of our church are named after (you might have guessed) various Unitarian or Universalist luminaries? Find out how the rooms got their names About the Ambulatory by Toni Gold.

Watch this space in upcoming weeks for a series of articles by Toni Gold that will shine a light on who these Ambulatory Luminaries were and why they merit the honor of being named to these locations.

Theodore Parker, 1810 – 1860 (Room 12) by Toni Gold

Margaret Fuller, 1810-1850 (Room 11) by Toni Gold

William Ellery Channing, 1780-1842 (Room 8) by Toni Gold

Joseph Priestly 1733 – 1805 (Ambulatory Room 5) by Toni Gold 4/13/22

Faustus Socinus 1539-1604, (Ambulatory Room 3) Toni Gold 02/23/22

Michael Servetus, 1511-1553 (Ambulatory Room 13) by Toni Gold 01/12/22

Francis David, 1520-1579 (Ambulatory Room 14) Toni Gold 01/26/22

 

The strikingly modern concrete and wooden structure at 50 Bloomfield Avenue that has housed the Unitarian Society of Hartford since 1964 is the fourth meeting house built and occupied by the church in its more than 150 years. Variously described as a “spider’s web” or a “space ship,” the building’s twelve reinforced-concrete piers “grow out of the ground and leap up to become cantilever supports for the sanctuary roof,” according to its architect, Victor Lundy.

For many years, the organ provided the aural framework of the service, playing the Musical Call to Worship and Postlude, the hymns, and frequently accompanying the Choir. In 2004 the 1964 two-manual, twenty-one rank Austin organ was replaced with a three-manual Austin console and augmented with thirty-three ranks of Walker digital stops. This upgrade greatly enhanced the versatility and tonal spectrum of the instrument.

USH building

 

Meeting House Roof History and Repairs August 2018