St. Luke’s Chapel wins Tsongas Preservation Award

14 May 2026 St. Luke’s Chapel wins Tsongas Preservation Award

Posted at 11:15h in Blog by Historic Boston Inc.

West of the Dillaway-Thomas House in Roxbury, the campus of St. John St. James quietly rejoices in the recent restoration of one of the two historic buildings that complete the site. Designed by renowned architect Ralph Adams Cram, the 1901 Gothic Revival St. Luke’s Chapel has finally taken its place in the sun as a winner of the Tsongas Award, Preservation Massachusetts’ highest honor for recognizing outstanding projects in historic preservation!

The restoration and rehabilitation of the chapel was led by the Spencer Preservation Group, in partnership with the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts and Historic Boston Inc.

Principals of Spencer Preservation, Lynne Spencer and Doug Manley have carefully shepherded the quaint little chapel into its next chapter, with the expertise of General Contractor Gerard O’Doherty. They oversaw the careful restoration of key features of the chapel, among which are the intricate reredos by Johannes Kirchmayer, the singularly unique collection of stained glass windows restored by Serpentino Stained Glass, and the Gothic Revival exterior. The basement of the chapel now holds a fully-accessible kitchenette and bathroom to support services and community events held by the Diocese.

Principal of architecture for Spencer Preservation, Doug Manley said: “We are so pleased that the efforts of the dedicated team of restoration crafters assembled for this project are being recognized with the Tsongas Award. Their skills demonstrated on this project are outstanding.”