{"nrhp_refnum":"69000358","name":"St. Peter's Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"800 E. Grace St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Richmond (Independent City)","county":"Richmond (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.54066809600005,"lon":-77.43520743999994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1969-06-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"St. Peter's Church is a Roman Catholic church at 800 E. Grace Street, at the northeast corner of 8th and Grace Streets in Richmond, Virginia. It was erected in 1834 and is the oldest Roman Catholic church in the city.","why_significant":"It was the first church built on what is now Grace Street and served as the cathedral church from 1850, when Richmond became a separate diocese, until 1905. It is also described as a fine example of Roman Revival architecture and one of the gems of nineteenth-century ecclesiastical architecture in Richmond. Together with St. Paul's Episcopal Church across the street, it adds to the view at the western end of Capitol Square.","narrative":"Built in 1834, St. Peter's Church at the corner of 8th and Grace Streets in Richmond is the city's oldest Roman Catholic church and was the first church on what is now Grace Street. It served as a cathedral from 1850, when Richmond became a separate diocese, until the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart opened in 1905. The building is a fine example of Roman Revival style, an elongated cruciform of stuccoed brick. Its facade has a slender pedimented portico with coupled Doric columns, a stepped parapet hiding the roof line, and a cupola capped by an octagonal dome. A Doric entablature surrounds the whole building. Inside, Doric pilasters with Ionic capitals divide the bays, and the shallow transepts and semicircular apse survive with few alterations. Notable worshippers included Governor Littleton Tazewell and General Beauregard. Facing St. Paul's Episcopal Church, it contributes to the character of the western end of Capitol Square.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific date 1834)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Roman Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in good condition, unaltered, on its original site, and occupied; the interior has suffered few serious alterations and survives in excellent repair.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:58.09899-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/85/6831/41683185/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/69000358.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/69000358/ab1395dbaf-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/69000358/ab1395dbaf-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Crazyale","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Peter%27s_Church_Richmond.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Crazyale</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Peter%27s_Church_Richmond.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"71000982","name":"James River and Kanawha Canal Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/james-river-and-kanawha-canal-historic-district-71000982/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683185","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter%27s_Pro-Cathedral_(Richmond,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7591341"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/richmond/st-peters-church-69000358/"}