{"nrhp_refnum":"01000774","name":"First Baptist Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"260 Mill St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Poughkeepsie","county":"Dutchess County","state":"NY","lat":41.70531778700007,"lon":-73.92808740399994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2001-07-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"First Baptist Church is a brick church at 260 Mill Street in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York, built 1875-1877 to designs by James S. Post of Poughkeepsie.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the best example of High Victorian Gothic architecture in the City of Poughkeepsie and one of the most outstanding ecclesiastical buildings in the city and surrounding area. It was among the largest and best-built churches in the city when Mill Street was its most fashionable residential street. Its intact Gothic interior woodwork reflects 19th-century Gothic decoration.","narrative":"Built between 1875 and 1877, First Baptist Church at 260 Mill Street in Poughkeepsie is a brick Gothic Revival church designed by local architect James S. Post. Its composition combines three masses: the main rectangular body, a front entry pavilion, and a tall bell tower. Gothic arched windows and doors, buttresses, belt courses and scalloped slate roof tiles give it a richly detailed exterior, with alternating dark and light stone around the window arches. The Vassar Brothers gave strong financial support to construction. After the financial panic of 1876 the plans were altered and the spire was omitted and never built. The church was dedicated on October 16, 1877. At the time it was considered one of the largest and best-built churches in the city, on what was then the most fashionable residential street. It is regarded as the city's best example of High Victorian Gothic architecture, and its intact wooden interior, including an elaborate screen behind the altar, pews and balconies, adds to that standing.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"James S. Post of Poughkeepsie (architect)","architectural_style":"High Victorian Gothic","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still in use as a church; recorded in 1980 as in good condition, with a modern wing added at the southeast (rear) in 1956.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:50.470176-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/01000774.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01000774/de52080894-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01000774/de52080894-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Dtobias","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First-baptist-poughkeepsie.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Dtobias</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First-baptist-poughkeepsie.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75312502","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Baptist_Church_(Poughkeepsie,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5452426"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/dutchess-county/first-baptist-church-01000774/"}