{"nrhp_refnum":"02001049","name":"Chapin Memorial Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"12 Ford Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Oneonta","county":"Otsego County","state":"NY","lat":42.706829920000075,"lon":-74.97633996199994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2002-09-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Social History","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-and-one-half story brick church at 12 Ford Avenue in downtown Oneonta, Otsego County, New York, completed in 1894 for the Universalist Society of Oneonta and designed by local architect Lyman H. Blend.","why_significant":"It is presented as a distinctive, intact example of a late Victorian ecclesiastical building in Oneonta, with an eclectic design combining Romanesque, Gothic Revival and Queen Anne features and notable stained-glass windows. It is also tied to the Universalist church in central New York and the congregation's growth after the railroad arrived. It is one of Blend's few surviving public buildings.","narrative":"Chapin Memorial Church, at 12 Ford Avenue in downtown Oneonta, is a small brick church completed in 1894 as the second building of the Universalist Society of Oneonta, founded in 1877. Lyman H. Blend, a self-taught local architect, designed it, and F.K. Taylor was the contractor. The design mixes Romanesque, Gothic Revival and Queen Anne elements, with an asymmetrical plan, rusticated stone enframements, corbeled brickwork, crenellation and an engaged entrance tower. Inside, an open auditorium has applied oak framing, a decorative scroll-sawn screen at the chancel and sliding paneled doors that once allowed Sunday school rooms to be opened to the main space. Bold, colorful stained-glass windows are a defining feature. The church reflects the growth of the denomination during the rapid expansion that followed the arrival of the railroad. A fire in 1941 destroyed the belfry and spire, and the rear rooms have been altered, yet the building retains a high level of design integrity and still houses an active congregation.","period_of_significance":"1894","architect_builder":"L.H. Blend, architect; F.K. Taylor, builder","architectural_style":"Late Victorian (eclectic: Romanesque, Gothic Revival and Queen Anne features)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Continues to serve an active congregation; the original spire was lost in a 1941 fire and some interior spaces were altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:54.025597-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/02001049.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02001049/e0e4941701-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02001049/e0e4941701-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Doug Kerr from Albany, New York, United States","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chapin_Memorial_Chapel_Apr_10.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Doug Kerr from Albany, New York, United States</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chapin_Memorial_Chapel_Apr_10.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75320913","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapin_Memorial_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5073165"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/otsego-county/chapin-memorial-church-02001049/"}