Emerson’s Grand Sanctuary, or Great Meeting Hall, was designed by renowned architect Karl Kamrath. Completed in 1975, the Sanctuary has the clean, modern style of his mentor, Unitarian Frank Lloyd Wright.

The Grand Sanctuary is a two-story auditorium with very large windows to the north and south. The atmosphere is light and airy with gorgeous views of our cool, shaded garden and its abundance of mature trees.

A large raised performance area occupies the East end of the Hall, backed by the built-in pipe organ. The Great Meeting Hall comfortably seats 450 people in contoured wooden pews.

The Great Meeting Hall opens out directly into a two-story atrium known as The Clara Barton Gathering Place, which provides a perfect indoor setting for receptions and post-event socializing. The Gathering Place can hold 150 people and easily handles catered foods and drinks, which can be readied in the nearby Westwood Hall warming kitchen. Click here to learn more.

The Grand Sanctuary and its Gathering Place are entered from the outdoors via a large porte-cochere. Our free, on-site parking accommodates 200 cars. Both spaces are fully wheelchair accessible.