SALEM — The First Church in Salem, Unitarian, is about to begin its first major building project in more than 80 years.
Construction will include an addition with offices, new storage rooms for church archives and an elevator that will make the building fully accessible for the first time.
The church also is replacing its heating system, converting an oil-fired furnace to gas.
"We estimate we will reduce our carbon footprint by almost 40 percent," said the Rev. Jeffrey Barz-Snell, the minister and a local environmentalist.
The Essex Street church was established in 1629 and is one of the oldest Protestant churches gathered in America. The current meetinghouse was built in 1836, with a rear addition completed in 1926.
This $1.3 million construction project, which has been in the planning stages for years, began with a bittersweet moment. In 2007, to help raise funds, the church sold some of its silver at Christie's, a New York auction house.
The silver, which included a 1670 cup made by Jeremiah Dummer, America's first native-born silversmith, sold for $787,000 at Christie's annual Early American Silver Sale.
The sale covered most of the construction costs, but not all.
"We are in the process of raising the rest," Barz-Snell said.
This work is taking place at a church with a lot of history. Former members include Nathaniel Hawthorne, witchcraft victims Rebecca Nurse and Giles Corey, and Leverett Saltonstall, the city's first mayor. The church dismissed its third minister, Roger Williams, who later founded Rhode Island.
During construction, the congregation will move out of its Essex Street building and over to Bridge Street.
"Our sister church, the First Universalist Society of Salem, invited us to join them for the fall," the minister said.
The First Church will hold its initial service at the Bridge Street church on Sunday, Aug. 7, its annual Founder's Day.
Construction will begin in the next few weeks. Essex Builders Corp. of Westwood is the construction manager. The Boston architectural firm Menders, Torrey & Spencer designed the historic restoration.
The real work, however, began years ago.
"Our congregation is blessed with many conscientious volunteers who have worked tirelessly to bring this project into the construction phase, and in a manner that reflects our core values of community and sustainability," Barz-Snell said in a statement.
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