John Stevens

John Stevens (1824–1881) was an American architect who practiced in Boston, Massachusetts. He was known for ecclesiastical design, and designed churches and other buildings across New England.

Life and career John Stevens was born in 1824. His early life is unknown, and he established himself as an architect in Boston in 1850. After several years primarily designing schools and private residences, he began receiving commissions for churches by the end of the 1850s. He built these churches, generally in the Romanesque Revival style, in Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, and Rhode Island. From 1860 to 1862 he employed Archimedes Russell, who would later become a prominent architect in Syracuse, New York. In 1869 he was briefly associated with S. F. Pratt, at which time he was working on buildings at Oak Bluffs. He remained in Massachusetts until 1879, when he established a partnership with his son, J. Walter Stevens, and moved west to St. Paul, Minnesota. John Stevens & Son operated until April 14, 1881, when Stevens died while on a visit to Worcester, Massachusetts.

Legacy Stevens designed a great many churches. His Baptist church in Saint John, New Brunswick, completed in 1878, was said to have been his 113th. Many of his churches were built on only three basic models, which he relied on throughout his career. His contemporaries criticized him for this repetitiveness. In 1878, an anonymous writer going by "Verax" wrote in regard to his St. John church: "and as the 'outline and general features are after the Byzantine period' we may expect something similar to Mr. Stevens's previous works, which may be seen in almost every city from Calais to Lynn."

At least six of his works have been listed individually on the National Register of Historic Places, and several more contribute to listed historic districts.

Architectural works Year Building Address City State Notes Image Reference 1852 Nathaniel Dearborn House 21 Chestnut St Wakefield Massachusetts On the National Register of Historic Places. 100px 1855 Punchard Free School 36 Bartlett St Andover Massachusetts Demolished. 1859 First Congregational Church 322 Main St Woburn Massachusetts On the National Register of Historic Places. 100px 1859 North Church 240 Main St Haverhill Massachusetts 1860 First Congregational Church 1 S Main St Randolph Massachusetts Burned in 1936. 1860 South Church 41 Central St Andover Massachusetts 100px 1861 Haverhill City Hall Main St Haverhill Massachusetts Demolished. 100px 1861 Cyrus Wakefield House 467 Main St Wakefield Massachusetts Demolished. 100px 1863 First Parish Congregational Church 12 Beach St Saco Maine Burned in 2000. Previously on the National Register of Historic Places. 1863 Third (Pavilion) Congregational Church 270 Main St Biddeford Maine Converted into the McArthur Public Library. 126x126px 1865 Trinitarian Congregational Church 72 Elm St North Andover Massachusetts 1866 Oren B. Cheney House 262 College St Lewiston Maine Now Cheney House of Bates College. 100px 1866 Masonic Temple 326 Main St Melrose Massachusetts Heavily altered. 1866 Pine Street Congregational Church 60 Pine St Lewiston Maine Demolished. 1867 First Congregational Church 1 Washburn Sq Leicester Massachusetts Burned in 1900. 1868 Memorial Hall 22 South St Foxborough Massachusetts On the National Register of Historic Places. 100px 1868 Wakefield Town Hall Main and Water Sts Wakefield Massachusetts Demolished in 1958. 100px 1871 First Congregational Church 171 Main St Franklin Massachusetts Demolished or burned. 1871 First Congregational Church 150 S Common St Lynn Massachusetts 1873 First Congregational Church 21 Calais Ave Calais Maine Burned in 1992. 1874 Melrose Town Hall 562 Main St Melrose Massachusetts Substantially burned in 1937, and rebuilt from designs by Mowll & Rand. 100px 1876 First Universalist Church 169 Pleasant St Auburn Maine On the National Register of Historic Places. 100px 1877 Weldon (King Edward) School 210 Wentworth St St. John New Brunswick Demolished. 1878 Central Baptist Church 42 Leinster St St. John New Brunswick Said to be his 113th church.