{"nrhp_refnum":"72000980","name":"Chapel of the Cross","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"304 E. Franklin St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chapel Hill","county":"Orange County","state":"NC","lat":35.91625473300007,"lon":-79.04390058799999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-02-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Gothic Revival parish church of red brick at 304 East Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, Orange County, North Carolina, built between 1843 and 1848 and led by William Mercer Green. The designer is uncertain.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a distinctive example of the mature Gothic parish church revival, with playful Tudor forms and a quiet dignity. It is one of Chapel Hill's most picturesque landmarks. It recalls the earlier Anglican chapel that gave the town its name. Its design attribution (Thomas U. Walter, Richard Upjohn, or a pattern-book plan) remains debated.","narrative":"Built of red brick between 1843 and 1848, the Chapel of the Cross is a Gothic Revival parish church at 304 East Franklin Street in Chapel Hill. A crenellated three-stage entrance tower dominates the gabled building, and lancet windows with trefoil tracery line the facade and sides, separated by stepped buttresses. Inside, a simple center-aisle plan, white plaster walls and a rear gallery on pine columns survive. A chancel and vestry were added in 1890. William Mercer Green, university chaplain and founder of the Episcopal congregation, led the project and supplied some of the brick from his own kiln. The designer is unknown. Attributions include Thomas U. Walter, based on an 1843 letter from university president David Swain, and Richard Upjohn, while church historian Archibald Henderson matched the plan to a published Gothic design. A larger church by Hobart Upjohn was added in 1925 and linked by a cloister. The chapel is described as one of Chapel Hill's most picturesque landmarks.","period_of_significance":"1843-1848","architect_builder":"Architect unknown; attributed variously to Thomas U. Walter, Richard Upjohn, or a design from Bishop Hopkins's Essay on Gothic Architecture. Built under William Mercer Green.","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as excellent and altered; occupied and in religious use. The chancel and vestry were added in 1890, and a larger church by Hobart Upjohn was built in 1925 and joined to the chapel by a cloister.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:56.632341-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/24/7216/47721624/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/72000980.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000980/a4c1ce21a0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000980/a4c1ce21a0-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Ildar Sagdejev (Specious)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2008-07-11_Chapel_of_the_Cross.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Ildar Sagdejev (Specious)</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:2008-07-11_Chapel_of_the_Cross.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47721624","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapel_of_the_Cross_(Chapel_Hill,_North_Carolina)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5073101"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/orange-county/chapel-of-the-cross-72000980/"}