{"nrhp_refnum":"73001219","name":"John Street Methodist Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"44 John St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.70914529700008,"lon":-74.00826342299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-06-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story brick Methodist church with a basement at 44 John Street in Manhattan, New York City, built in its present form in 1841 on the site of the city's earliest Methodist church.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a good example of the classical style applied to a small ecclesiastical building. It is also notable for its roots in colonial times, standing on the site of the first Methodist church in New York, with fabric surviving from earlier buildings and a history linked to the Underground Railroad.","narrative":"Tucked into a Lower Manhattan block at 44 John Street, this small brick church occupies the site of the earliest Methodist church in New York. The present building dates from 1841 and was the third rebuilding on the site. The first chapel, in the colonial style, was dedicated in 1768 by a Methodist Society founded by two disciples of John Wesley. A rebuilding of 1817-18 supplied hand-hewn beams, curved stairways to the sanctuary, floorboards and pews that were kept in the current church. The north facade is brown stuccoed brick, topped by a wide, low pediment with a lunette window and dominated by a large Palladian window above the entrance. Two tall round-arched windows with keystones flank the central bay. Inside, a basement gallery displays prints, paintings and a large clock sent to the first congregation by John Wesley. Before the Civil War, a balcony in the nave served as a way station on the Underground Railroad.","period_of_significance":"1841","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Classical style applied to a small ecclesiastical building","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as excellent and unaltered, on its original site; occupied and in religious use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:38.832803-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/73001219.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001219/b5f9ff9a69-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001219/b5f9ff9a69-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Chris06","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Street_Methodist_Church2.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Chris06</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Street_Methodist_Church2.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319660","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Street_Methodist_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3916663"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/john-street-methodist-church-73001219/"}