{"nrhp_refnum":"76001469","name":"Immaculate Conception Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"708 Erie St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Grafton","county":"Lorain County","state":"OH","lat":41.276989994000076,"lon":-82.05990905299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-03-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Immaculate Conception Church is a sandstone Roman Catholic church at 708 Erie Street in Grafton, Lorain County, Ohio, begun in 1864 and dedicated in 1871. A sandstone rectory was added to its east in 1909-1910.","why_significant":"The nomination calls the church an unusually fine example of Romanesque Revival architecture for its date and place. It is also the second building of the oldest Catholic parish between Cleveland and Sandusky. Its domed tower and design may reflect a regional French Romanesque style, an eclectic approach normally found only after about 1880.","narrative":"Immaculate Conception Church, at 708 Erie Street in Grafton, Ohio, is a sandstone church built between 1864 and 1871. It measures 45 by 80 feet and has a centrally placed three-stage tower with an open belfry and a domed roof. Round-arched windows alternate with buttresses along the side walls, and the interior sanctuary is a large open hall seating about 250, ending in a semicircular apse. The original nineteenth-century stained glass remains. A sandstone rectory, linked to the church by an arcaded ambulatory, was added in 1909-1910. The parish traces its roots to a mission founded in 1840 at LaPorte, and it was established at Grafton in 1862 after quarries and a railroad brought Catholic families to the area. It is described as the oldest Catholic parish between Cleveland and Sandusky. The design is considered an unusually fine Romanesque Revival work, possibly influenced by the domed churches of southwestern France.","period_of_significance":"1864-1871","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Romanesque Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as in excellent condition, occupied, and used as a church; the original stained glass survives.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:09.099273-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/76001469.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001469/812634f2c4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001469/812634f2c4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"TnrSmith","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Immaculate_Conception_Church_Grafton_OH.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">TnrSmith</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:Immaculate_Conception_Church_Grafton_OH.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71989847","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immaculate_Conception_Church_(Grafton,_Ohio)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14716483"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/lorain-county/immaculate-conception-church-76001469/"}