{"nrhp_refnum":"12000008","name":"St. Stephen's Methodist Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"146 W. 228th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Bronx","county":"The Bronx","state":"NY","lat":40.87891818200006,"lon":-73.90862690799997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2012-02-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Shingle Style Methodist church built in 1897 at West 228th Street and Marble Hill Avenue in the Marble Hill neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City, together with its Queen Anne style parsonage built the same year.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is a distinctive and largely unaltered example of Shingle Style ecclesiastical architecture, with Tudor Revival detailing. Its interior is an intact Akron Plan, in which Sunday school classrooms open onto the sanctuary. It was designed by New York architect Alexander McMillan Welch, and Shingle Style churches are rare in New York City.","narrative":"Set at the foot of Marble Hill in the Bronx, St. Stephen's United Methodist Church was built in 1897 to designs by New York architect Alexander McMillan Welch. The cedar-shingled building has a stone base, a rambling massing, asymmetrical rooflines, rose windows and a prominent corner bell tower. Half-timbered porch gables and carved oak interiors reflect Tudor Revival influence. Inside, the sanctuary follows the Akron Plan: a rolling partition opens the worship space to a double-height Sunday school wing with classrooms along a balcony, so that all classes could hear the sermon together. A modest Queen Anne style parsonage built the same year stands beside it, and a wrought iron fence along the light well also contributes. Shingle Style churches are uncommon in New York City, and this one is described as largely unaltered. Restoration funded by a Sacred Sites grant recovered details lost in a 1950s partial restoration. It was listed for its architecture, and it remains an active congregation and community center.","period_of_significance":"1897-1898","architect_builder":"Alexander McMillan Welch","architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Shingle Style, Queen Anne","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a church; the parsonage continues to serve the congregation. The exterior was recently restored with a grant, though a skylight (lay light) in the classroom hall is in danger of collapse.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:48.000746-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/12000008.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000008/ba2b49eb08-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000008/ba2b49eb08-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"MyName (Jim.henderson (talk))","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_Stephens_U_Meth_MH_jeh.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">MyName (Jim.henderson (talk))</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_Stephens_U_Meth_MH_jeh.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75316525","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Stephen%27s_Methodist_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q22329598"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/the-bronx/st-stephens-methodist-church-12000008/"}