{"nrhp_refnum":"11000551","name":"Belmont Methodist-Episcopal Church","other_names":["Metropolitan Community Church of the Blue Ridge","DHR File No. 128-6271"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"806 Jamison Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Roanoke (Independent City)","county":"Roanoke (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.26911662800006,"lon":-79.93016352599994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2011-08-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brick Late Gothic Revival church at 806 Jamison Avenue SE in Roanoke, Virginia, built between 1917 and 1921 and designed principally by architect Herbert L. Cain.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is one of Roanoke's most significant Protestant churches of the early 20th century. It combines Gothic Revival design elements, superior workmanship and durable materials, and it survives in excellent condition with few changes. It is a highly visible architectural landmark in the Belmont neighborhood.","narrative":"Rising at the corner of Jamison Avenue and Eighth Street in southeast Roanoke, this brick church was built between 1917 and 1921 to replace a predecessor destroyed by fire in January 1917. Herbert L. Cain, a Richmond architect known for church work, was the principal designer, with Homer M. Miller also credited. The building is in the Late Gothic Revival style, with steep gables, parapets, crenellated corner towers, buttresses, cast-concrete quatrefoils and a limestone foundation. The sanctuary seats about 600 and is lit by German-made stained glass installed in 1921. A school wing with classrooms and a fellowship hall adjoins it. The congregation grew rapidly alongside railroad and rayon plant employment, reaching a peak membership of 1,840 in the 1930s. Exterior changes have been minimal, and the sanctuary's original glass survives. It is listed for its architecture at the local level. Since 2003 it has housed the Metropolitan Community Church of the Blue Ridge.","period_of_significance":"1917-1921","architect_builder":"Cain, Herbert L., principal architect; Miller, Homer M., architect; Clemmer, John L., building contractor","architectural_style":"20th Century Revivals: Late Gothic Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Now used by the Metropolitan Community Church of the Blue Ridge, which acquired it in 2003; the form lists current function as religious facility with work in progress, and describes plans for sensitive rehabilitation.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.695623-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/83/6832/41683283/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/11000551.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000551/001b52a0fc-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000551/001b52a0fc-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Jerrye &amp; Roy Klotz, MD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BELMONT_METHODIST-EPISCOPAL_CHURCH,_ROANOKE_CITY.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jerrye &amp;amp; Roy Klotz, MD</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:BELMONT_METHODIST-EPISCOPAL_CHURCH,_ROANOKE_CITY.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100003618","name":"Belmont Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/belmont-historic-district-100003618/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683283","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belmont_Methodist-Episcopal_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16822987"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/roanoke/belmont-methodist-episcopal-church-11000551/"}