United First Parish Church

United First Parish Church is a Unitarian Universalist Church located in Quincy MA, established in 1639 and rebuilt in 1828.  Known as the Church of the Presidents, the building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970, due to its associations with the prominent political Adams family.  The two American Presidents, John Adams and John Quincy Adams, attended the church along with their wives and all four are buried beneath the church in a family crypt.  The granite for the church was supplied by the Adams family local quarry and the construction of the church was financed by John Adams.

Commonwealth Building was selected to renovate the existing building to provide handicapped access from the exterior of the building down to the Crypt located on the lower level floor.  The accessibility to the Adams family Crypt had been restricted by physical limitations posed by the building.  We restructured the stairwell and created a new structural shaft for a 3 stop Lula Elevator that provides accessibility to all 3 levels of the building.  The existing toilet rooms were also renovated to provide ADA compliance and new finishes.  A new stairwell was provided from the 1^st level to the basement finished to match the historically detailed woodwork.  The gallery corridor to the Crypt and the elevator lobby were finished with custom flamed finished granite tile, wall and ceiling refinishing, and new LED track lighting to provide lighting for the casework and wall displays.