lowlands were filled in during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Second Church's Back Bay location in the Fenway was sold (it is now owned by the Ruggles St. Baptist congregation) just before the merger. After a disastrous fire in 1968, First Church and Second Church merged and built a new building at the 66 Marlborough Street location. Architecture The current building incorporates the ruined street facade and "puddingstone" steeple tower of the previous church on the site (by Ware & van Brunt, 1868), which had burned in 1968. After a call for designs, the congregation voted for the proposal by Paul Rudolph, which was completed in 1972. The light-flooded, soaring interior is finished with Rudolph's characteristic bush hammered "corduroy concrete" surfaces. Decades later, the interiors are immaculately preserved. Great care has been taken not to permanently change the walls, and to reproduce the original textile decorations. However, the congregation has made an inspired non-permanent repurposing of the corrugated concrete interior finish, by pressing copper foil ribbons with names of members into the vertical grooves, in a non-hierarchical fashion. Notable people associated with the church Lowell Mason (organist 1807-1811) John Wilson (pastor 1632–1667; died 1667) John Cotton (pastor 1633–1652) John Winthrop, founder and governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony John Norton (pastor 1656–1663) John Davenport (pastor 1668–1670) James Allen (pastor 1668–1710; died 1710) John Oxenbridge (pastor 1670–1674) Joshua Moodey (pastor 1684–1692; died 1697) John Bailey (pastor 1693–1697; died 1697) Benjamin Wadsworth (pastor 1696–1737) Thomas Bridge (pastor 1705–1715; died 1715) Thomas Foxcroft (pastor 1717–1769) Charles Chauncy (pastor 1727–1787) John Clarke (pastor 1778–1798) William Emerson (pastor 1799–1811) John Lovejoy Abbot (pastor 1813–1814) Nathaniel Langdon Frothingham (minister 1815–1850) Sophia Henrietta Emma Hewitt (music director 1815–17(?), daughter of James Hewitt Charles Zeuner (music director 1839–?) Lucien H Southard (music director 1848–?) Rufus Ellis (pastor 1853–c. 1885; died 1885) Whitney Eugene Thayer (music director 1869–1875) Arthur Foote (music director 1878–1910) Charles Edwards Park (minister 1906–1946, emeritus 1946–1962) Rhys Williams (minister 1960–2000) Stephen Kendrick (minister 2001–present) Paul Cienniwa (music director 2006–2017) Gallery State St. (1632–1639) Washington St. (1639–1808) Chauncy Place (1808–1867) Marlborough St. (1868–present) See also Second Church, Boston Oldest churches in the United States References Further reading Leo W. Collins. This Is Our Church: The Seven Societies of the First Church in Boston 1630–2005. Boston: Society of the First Church in Boston, 2005. Google books Paul Rudolph & his architecture. A page from a website