Charles W. Bolton & Son is another of those family enterprises that flourished in early twentieth-century Philadelphia. And, like the Durang and Dagit dynasties, this firm specialized in ecclesiastical design. However, whereas the Durangs and Dagits made a specialty of Catholic churches, Charles W. Bolton and his son Charles L. took on Protestant churches, especially Presbyterian, Methodist Episcopal, Lutheran and Baptist. In fact, their commissions were not limited to the Philadelphia area; and the firm provided designs for churches all across the country. Included in the work completed after Charles L. Bolton's admission to the firm are: Central Park M. E. Church, Buffalo; St. Paul's M. E. Church, Oneonta, NY; the Hamline M. E. Church, Washington, DC; St. Andrew's P. E. Church, Washington, DC; Grafton Avenue Reformed Church, Dayton, OH; Trinity Reformed Church, Detroit; and Second Presbyterian Church, Cedar Rapids, IO.

In style, most of the churches produced by the firm were a revised form of the Gothic.

Written by Sandra L. Tatman.