A Visitor to The Mother Church was recently asked, "What new undertaking is designed to register in material terms the spiritual activity of spreading the gospel to the nations of the world?" The answer was correctly given, "The new Christian Science Publishing House;" and it is in this light that we should think of the building project we have before us.
It will be recalled that in the report read at the last Annual Meeting of The Mother Church we stated that the proposed new Publishing House was "born of necessity, not human ambition." This necessity has not come upon us unexpectedly, nor is it due to a policy of sudden expansion, but rather to the gradual and substantial growth of our movement and its activities over a period of years. From time to time the immediate and pressing requirements have been met by remodeling old dwelling houses adjacent to the present Publishing House. This method has been at best expensive and unsatisfactory. Moreover, the capital invested in alterations of this character adds nothing to the permanent value and usefulness of the property. Therefore, when it became apparent this past year that further alterations of this kind would soon have to be made because of imperative need for more room, this Board appointed a special committee to study the needs of The Christian Science Publishing Society, and also those of The Mother Church and its executive offices. In due course the committee submitted its report, unanimously recommending the building of a new home for our publications.
The findings of the committee were in part as follows:
