St Johns Historic Commission CBAC Comment
April 1, 2021
Aelan Tierney, Chair
Northampton Central Business Architecture Committee
On behalf of the Northampton Historical Commission, I am writing to underline the historical
significance of the St. John’s Cantius Polish Catholic Church, which the Commission
understands may be demolished at part of an effort to redevelop the Hawley Street area. This
letter reflects a discussion of the commission at its March 29, 2021 meeting, at which several
Northampton residents expressed concern about the building’s fate.
The commission understands that the Central Business Architecture Committee (CBAC) applies
a specific set of guidelines that do not necessarily take historic values into account when
evaluating applications within the district for projects that propose building demolition.
However, as stewards of the city’s historic resources and overseers of community-wide
preservation, the commission has a responsibility to inform the CBAC and the developer of a
property’s historical significance.
This property is both an architectural landmark and century-old social gathering spot for
Northampton’s Polish immigrant community. As part of the Pomeroy Terrace National Register
District, the church is associated with the broad architectural, cultural, and social history of
Northampton, and represents the impact of changes in immigration on its neighborhood and on
the city as a whole. Towards the end of the 19th century, the Polish immigrant population in the
Ward 3 neighborhood increased, and by 1904 had reached a level that warranted a separate
Catholic parish. The construction of the St. John Cantius Polish Catholic Church followed in
1912. Designed by John Donohue, a Massachusetts architect who acted as the Catholic diocese’s
in-house architect, the brick church with limestone trim is in the form of a late-medieval Italian
basilica with a campanile, or bell-tower, at its southwest corner. It is not only significant to
Northampton’s architectural history, but also has served as a symbol of the City’s ethnic
heritage.
The commission urges the CBAC to consider this architectural and historical significance in
ongoing review of proposed development plans.
Sincerely,
Martha H. Lyon
Chair, Northampton Historical Commission