{"nrhp_refnum":"04001339","name":"First Presbyterian Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"300 E. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Batavia","county":"Genesee County","state":"NY","lat":42.99861038000006,"lon":-78.17915063699996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-12-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A stone church complex at 300 East Main Street, Batavia, Genesee County, New York, begun in 1854-55 and expanded in 1882, 1908-09 and 1919. Its original designer is unknown.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is a largely intact mid-nineteenth-century example of Gothic Revival church architecture. It also shows four distinct periods in Protestant church design: the 1850s, 1880s, 1910s and early 1950s. The Sunday School wing is a well-preserved Akron Plan space, and the 1919 service building reflects regional Arts and Crafts design.","narrative":"Located at the corner of East Main and Liberty streets at the eastern edge of downtown Batavia, this church complex is built in three connected sections. The original sanctuary, finished in 1855, is gray rock-faced limestone with buttresses, lancet windows and a square bell tower. A Sunday School wing was added in 1882 and enlarged in 1908-09 into an Akron Plan space, with classrooms opening onto a central two-story room lit by a stained-glass skylight. A shingled Arts and Crafts service building followed in 1919. The congregation dates to 1809 and became Presbyterian in 1818. Inside, a serpentine balcony was added in 1888, and the front of the sanctuary was reworked in the 1920s and again in 1954 into a chancel arrangement. The designer of the original building is unknown. The property was listed for its architecture, as a largely intact Gothic Revival church whose additions record changing Protestant approaches to worship and Sunday School design between 1854 and 1954. It remains an active church.","period_of_significance":"1854-1954","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Mid-19th Century Gothic Revival; Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements/Craftsman","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Continues to house a large and active congregation and remains in religious use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:53.827676-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/04001339.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04001339/ca183d7a30-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04001339/ca183d7a30-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pubdog (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Presbyterian_Church_Batavia_NY_Oct_09.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Pubdog (talk)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Presbyterian_Church_Batavia_NY_Oct_09.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317891","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Presbyterian_Church_(Batavia,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5453538"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/genesee-county/first-presbyterian-church-04001339/"}