Exhibition: Boston’s Hidden Sacred Spaces

On Display at the School of Theology through December 2019

In addition to the historic churches, temples and mosques that dot the Boston skyline, sacred spaces are hidden around the edges of the city, just out of view. These chapels, meditation spaces and prayer rooms serve a spiritual mission within otherwise secular institutions. Some were designed by well-known architects while others were created informally by people desiring a small retreat. They may be familiar and accessible or truly hidden from public view, but they all invite passers-by to pause, sit for a moment, and reflect.

Sociologist Wendy Cadge, architectural historian Alice Friedman, and photographer Randall Armor have documented more than 60 sacred spaces in and around greater Boston. Sites include municipal buildings, shopping malls, military installations, schools and universities, health care organizations, prisons, mental health centers, cemeteries, senior living communities and rehabilitation centers. We are currently touring multiple exhibitions of these photographs and anticipate a book in the coming years.