New England churches may look like dozens of others from outside, but when you step on the door it’s full of surprises.
According to the Associated Press, the South Solon meetinghouse in Waterville, Maine, is known to locals as the “Main Sistine Chapel.”
Inside the building, the walls and ceilings are covered with murals of 70 years old frescos painted by artists in the 1950s.
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The meeting hall was built in 1842 and held church services until the 1940s, as reported by the Associated Press.
In 1951, the empty building was discovered by former art student Margaret Day Blake.
Veronique Plesch, a professor of art at Colby College, will be giving an art teacher a lecture on frescoes that adorn the walls and ceilings of the South Solon Conference House in Solon on Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP photo/Robert F. Bucati)
Blake contacted students at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and called the young artist to paint the fresco, the AP said.
The artist was told to recreate the biblical scenes and provide a “rich and appropriate” image.
Colby College in Maine has dedicated its church websites describing 13 artists in a variety of scenes and buildings.
Non-Genaryan Sigmund Abel of New York City and Sydney Harwitz of Newton, Massachusetts were two contributing artists.
On April 6, 2025, a fresco depicting community members who have models of the South Solon meeting place can be seen through the windows in the lobby of a building in Solon, Maine. (AP photo/Robert F. Bucati)
“We go out there and paint, then we take our lunch break at the cemetery behind the building. It was a very idyllic time,” Harwitz told the Associated Press.
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He added, “I enjoyed it so much.”
Abeles recalled a scene from Genesis on his part.
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Abeles said he portrayed a scene in which Jacob wrestled with an angel.
He told the Associated Press that it was “a very special place and a unique experience.”
Veronique Plesch, a professor of art at Colby College, will speak to an art teacher on April 6, 2025 in Solon, Maine, about frescoes that adorn the walls and ceilings of the South Solon Rally House. (AP photo/Robert F. Bucati)
Véronique Plesch, a Colby professor of art, told the Associated Press that he hopes the building will encourage more appreciation for the fresco.
“I fell in love with that place because I’ve been studying frescos for the rest of my life,” Presti said.
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The building now operates as a community gathering and performance space.
The Associated Press contributed to the reporting.
