The Mapparium

Architect, Chester Lindsey Churchill, suggested the Mapparium be housed in the Christian Science Publishing Society building to symbolize the international character and “world-consciousness” of its publishing activity. The Mapparium was intended as a symbol of common humanity and the need for world friendship. The construction on the Mapparium began in 1932 and ended in 1935. The Mapparium took one year longer than the building surrounding it to complete, and depicts the world of 1934. Originally called “the Glass Room,” or “the Globe Room,” the term “Mapparium” was coined in 1935. “Mapparium” comes from the Latin words “mappa” (map) and “arium” (a place for). The Mapparium is a sphere, 30 feet in diameter (3 stories high), with a bronze framework constructed to form 10-degree latitude and longitude divisions. Within this framework are 608 panels of glass, stained on the concave side to represent exactly the whole surface of the earth. Built by Old World craftsmen, the stained glass of the Mapparium utilizes a technique thought to be the secret of the Old Masters who constructed stained glass in Medieval Gothic cathedrals of Europe. A renovation of the Mapparium was initiated in 1998 and took 4 years and the skills of many people. Krent/Paffett Associates of Boston used the “Color Kinetics” lighting system in the exhibit, creating a way to tell stories in the globular space though light. Kevin Brown of Brown Innovations designed the sound system, solving the problem presented by the Mapparium’s unique acoustics.