Rent the Meetinghouse
To inquire about renting The Belleville Meetinghouse please contact BellevilleMeetinghouse@gmail.com.
The Belleville Meetinghouse, built in 1867, is well-known for its superb acoustics, its William Stevens pipe organ, and its spacious fire marshall certified occupancy capacity of 600 persons. It is home to the well-established Newburyport Choral Society for 34 years and the Belleville Roots Music Series now in its 11th season. In addition, the Meetinghouse hosts numerous musical groups including Skylark, Cantemus and other community groups who want a large capacity, acoustically excellent performance space.
The Belleville Meetinghouse is the only venue in the greater Newburyport area with both large capacity and superb acoustics making it the ideal setting for musical performances that draw large audiences.
The main body of the building is approximately 60 x 80 feet (48,000 square feet). In addition, at the front of the building there is the original clock and bell tower, a smaller tower in the southwest corner and between them the organ loft. There is also an unfinished basement which includes a small masonry enclosed boiler room. Access to the building is by steps under both towers and a handicapped ramping at the side entrance. There are two rear egress doors. The first-floor framing is in excellent condition.
The meetinghouse interior
About the Project
The Belleville Arts Foundation is currently raising money to transform the Belleville Meetinghouse into a financially and administratively self-sufficient, community arts center that, while preserving the historic features of the building’s exterior, offers audiences and performers modern amenities and comfortable interior spaces.
Improvements to staging, lighting, acoustics, and sound systems will expand its attractiveness for all performances, lectures and educational programs, film screenings, and music groups. The Newburyport Choral Society and the Belleville Roots Music Series are committed to using the venue for their performances.
The Meetinghouse is located in Newburyport’s historic district and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is an Italianate style building that remains largely unaltered from its original construction by local shipwrights and the high ceiling uniquely resembles an inverted ship’s hull. A classical New England meeting house with simple and durable finishes inside and out, the overall condition is good considering its age and use. Extensive interior renovations were last made in 1952 including a new heating system, a redesigned organ loft, and painting. Recent exterior projects include extensive roof work, repair and painting of the two towers and front, construction of a connector to the adjacent building (handicapped accessible bathrooms, offices, and meeting spaces) and electrical and wiring updates. The exterior of the building was painted and tined and as part of a grant from the Newburyport Communication Preservation.
The walls and ceilings in the occupied areas are covered with plaster finishes. The plaster is supported by closely spaced wood lathe between the ceiling joints. There has been fire damage and leakage in the bell towers in the past. There are small areas of the ceiling where the plaster has fallen and other places where the plaster on the ceiling has cracks and water stains.
The building is heated with a hot air furnace system and the oil fired burner was installed in 1954. There are more efficient burners that would lower the heating costs.
With significant improvements to its infrastructure, the Belleville Meetinghouse can become an even more inviting venue for musical performances, theater and spoken word performances, lectures, and art exhibitions.