{"nrhp_refnum":"76001308","name":"First Baptist Church","other_names":["See Also:79001676"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Oak and Woodfin Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Asheville","county":"Buncombe County","state":"NC","lat":35.59914581500004,"lon":-82.54752533199996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-07-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, domed, polygonal brick church at the southeast corner of Oak and Woodfin streets in Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina, built 1925-1927 and designed by Douglas D. Ellington.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as one of Asheville's most prominent landmarks because of its size, its importance to the community's religious life, and its unusual architecture. Ellington applied an individualistic, polychromatic Art Deco treatment to a classical Beaux-Arts form. The steel-ribbed dome was cited at its dedication as a feat of engineering.","narrative":"First Baptist Church in Asheville is a two-story, polygonal, domed building of tan pressed brick at Oak and Woodfin streets. Built between 1925 and 1927 to designs by Douglas D. Ellington, it combines a monumental classical form with Art Deco ornament. A colossal portico of slender brick piers and pink Georgia marble steps fronts a triple entrance, and a ninety-foot-high dome covered in purple, rust, ocher and green terra cotta tile is topped by a copper cupola. Inside, a single large auditorium with curved chestnut seats and cantilevered balconies was built to seat 2,000. It was the congregation's fourth building, replacing a 1892 church that had grown too small as membership reached about 1,500. The dome, built by Miller Engineering Corporation, was praised at dedication as a feat of engineering. A 1955 renovation altered the southern end and fixtures, though much original decoration remains. The church is listed as a prominent local landmark and an unusual work by a distinguished architect.","period_of_significance":"1925-1927/1955","architect_builder":"Douglas D. Ellington (architect); dome built by Miller Engineering Corporation","architectural_style":"Beaux-Arts form with Art Deco detail","criteria":[],"status_note":"Marked occupied and in religious use; remodeled in 1955, with the original auxiliary library and chapel buildings still attached.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:56.833715-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/44/7192/47719244/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/76001308.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001308/9bcea6a852-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001308/9bcea6a852-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Bill Fitzpatrick","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Baptist_Church_Asheville.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Bill Fitzpatrick</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:First_Baptist_Church_Asheville.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"79001676","name":"Downtown Asheville Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/north-carolina/downtown-asheville-historic-district-79001676/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47719244","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Baptist_Church_(Asheville,_North_Carolina)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18150091"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/buncombe-county/first-baptist-church-76001308/"}