{"nrhp_refnum":"75001613","name":"Shadyside Presbyterian Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Amberson Ave. and Westminster Pl.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pittsburgh","county":"Allegheny County","state":"PA","lat":40.44921922700007,"lon":-79.93881713799993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-04-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Shadyside Presbyterian Church is a church building in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, erected in 1889-90 on the site of an earlier church built in 1874-75. Its chapel on Westminster Place was completed in 1892, and a parish hall was added in 1952-53.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is one of the finest Richardsonian Romanesque structures in the country, designed by the Boston firm of Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, successors to H.H. Richardson's practice. Its central dome-and-lantern plan is said to give architectural form to the Protestant emphasis on preaching the Word, and it is described as an influential architectural monument in Pittsburgh and nationally. The area's history as the Ekin or Aiken farm and the church's role as a geographic center of the Shadyside suburb are also cited.","narrative":"Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh was erected in 1889-90 on the site of an earlier church of 1874-75, and its chapel on Westminster Place followed in 1892. The building is a central-plan church with a large square dome and lantern, short nave and transepts, and a chancel at the rear. It is built of rock-face cut masonry laid in random courses, with round-arched windows set on colonettes and deep reveals. Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, successors to H.H. Richardson's Boston practice, designed it, and the plan extends the scheme Richardson used at Trinity Church in Boston. The interior was remodeled in 1937-38 by Wilson Eyre and McIlvaine of Philadelphia. The church is regarded as one of the finest Richardsonian Romanesque buildings in the country and an influential monument in Pittsburgh. Its dome-as-church form is seen as giving architectural expression to the Presbyterian emphasis on preaching the Word.","period_of_significance":"1889-1937","architect_builder":"Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge (architects); Hoffman and Crumpton (parish hall, 1952-53)","architectural_style":"Richardsonian Romanesque","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"The form describes the church as in excellent condition and well maintained.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:29.815346-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/75001613.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001613/a0f9b7ab1c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001613/a0f9b7ab1c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Tim Engleman from Saxonburg, PA","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ShadysidePresbyterianChurchPHLF.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Tim Engleman from Saxonburg, PA</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ShadysidePresbyterianChurchPHLF.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997766","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadyside_Presbyterian_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7460967"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/allegheny-county/shadyside-presbyterian-church-75001613/"}