{"nrhp_refnum":"78001144","name":"First Church of Lombard","other_names":["First Church of Lombard,United Church of Christ","Maple Street"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Maple and Main Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lombard","county":"DuPage County","state":"IL","lat":41.88308133000004,"lon":-88.01872480399999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-08-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A frame Gothic Revival church at the southwest corner of Maple and Main Streets in Lombard, Du Page County, Illinois, dedicated on May 29, 1870. It was built by local artisans whose names are unknown.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is architecturally significant as a visual link to the Gothic Revival era as interpreted in a midwestern suburban town of the 1870s, with much early detail intact inside and out. It is also historically important to Lombard as a congregation home, library site, early kindergarten and school venue, and fire-alarm bell location.","narrative":"Standing at the corner of Maple and Main Streets in Lombard, Illinois, this board-and-batten frame church was dedicated on May 29, 1870, by a congregation that began in 1851 as the Congregational Church of Babcock's Grove. Local artisans built it in the Gothic Revival style, with calico windows, hoodmoulds, an open belfry and spire topped by a Celtic cross, and small flanking spires. Inside, the original pews, wainscoting and wide plank pine flooring survive, and the sanctuary seats about 175. The north entrance was removed and the present entries added when Maple Street was paved in 1915. Beyond its architecture, the church served the town in many ways. A member, Josiah Torrey Reade, housed a free public library in its south room, an early kindergarten met there, and Lincoln School held an eighth grade graduation there. Its bell also called the volunteer bucket brigade to fires. The building remains on its original site.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899 (specific date 1870)","architect_builder":"Local artisans - unknown","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied, in private ownership, in religious use, in good condition and altered; the form describes exterior alterations as minimal.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.283274-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/58/8927/28892758/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/78001144.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001144/76b61693b6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001144/76b61693b6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"G LeTourneau","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Church_of_Lombard_(Lombard,_Illinois)_01.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">G LeTourneau</a>, <a href=\"http://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_Church_of_Lombard_(Lombard,_Illinois)_01.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892758","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple_Street_Chapel","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5452728"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/dupage-county/first-church-of-lombard-78001144/"}