{"nrhp_refnum":"72001111","name":"First Presbyterian Church of West Chester","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"130 W. Miner St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"West Chester","county":"Chester County","state":"PA","lat":39.95728268900007,"lon":-75.60598492999998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-11-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A stuccoed Greek Revival church at 130 West Miner Street in West Chester, Chester County, Pennsylvania, built in 1832 as the First Presbyterian Church. The document names Thomas U. Walter as the architect of the first building designed for the borough, though attribution is not fully settled.","why_significant":"The document argues that the church's recessed porch with two Ionic columns in antis, placed between enclosed side areas, may have been an early model for a five-part church facade that became standard in Greek Revival church design. It cites a 1955 thesis suggesting the plan appeared at nearly the same time as the West Presbyterian Church on Carmine Street in New York, and it notes that the building may be Walter's first commission and helped spur Greek Revival building in West Chester.","narrative":"Built in 1832 in West Chester, the First Presbyterian Church is a stuccoed Greek Revival church set among brick townhouses and row houses. Its main feature is a recessed porch of roughly half the facade width, flanked by projecting bays with pilasters and fronted by two unfluted Ionic columns in antis, beneath a low pediment. The building committee planned a 75-by-45-foot structure seating 500, with a cupola that was never added. The design is attributed to Thomas U. Walter, and the church may have been his first commission in the borough. A 1955 master's thesis cited in the nomination argues that its porch plan was an early version of a five-part church facade later widely copied, and compares it with the Carmine Street church in New York, built at nearly the same time. The stucco finish, the Georgian-leaning chancel and the interior ceiling rosettes are also documented. The nomination treats it as a leading early example of Greek Revival church architecture in Pennsylvania.","period_of_significance":"1832","architect_builder":"Thomas U. Walter (architect), as attributed in the document; builder not named","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Document describes the church as in use with 1960s pews and additions from 1860 and 1955; the form marks condition as Excellent and the site as original.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.585729-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/72001111.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001111/0d2316a367-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001111/0d2316a367-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1st_Presbyterian_Church_West_Chester_PA.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1st_Presbyterian_Church_West_Chester_PA.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"05000096","name":"West Chester Historic District (Boundary Increase)","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/west-chester-historic-district-boundary-increase-05000096/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998660","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Presbyterian_Church_of_West_Chester","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5453714"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/chester-county/first-presbyterian-church-of-west-chester-72001111/"}