Old Ship Meeting House Built in Hingham, Massachusetts, in 1681, this meeting house is one of the oldest surviving buildings used for church services in English North America. The unadorned walls and windows reflect the austere religious aesthetic of New England Puritanism. The family pews mark boundaries of kinship and piety visible to all. The elevated pulpit signals the superiority of God’s word as preached by the minister. Photo © Steve Dunwell.