{"nrhp_refnum":"78002114","name":"Christ Episcopal Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"156 S. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Oberlin","county":"Lorain County","state":"OH","lat":41.28749451200008,"lon":-82.21796083999999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-11-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story brick Early Romanesque Revival church at 156 South Main Street in Oberlin, Lorain County, Ohio, built 1855-59 to plans by New York architect Frank Wills, with a vestibule and chancel added in 1868.","why_significant":"The nomination cites its early construction date, its representation of a rare architectural style, and its designer, a prominent Eastern architect of Episcopal churches. It was also the first offshoot religious body formed in Oberlin, a Congregational colony, and more recently it was the scene of a nationwide Episcopal debate over ordaining women priests.","narrative":"Christ Episcopal Church is a one-story brick building at 156 South Main Street in Oberlin, Ohio, designed in the Early Romanesque Revival style. It has a low sandstone foundation, pilasters, massive corner buttresses, a steep gable roof, a tall open-arched bell tower and a rose window in the front facade. Inside, a single open space is covered by a wooden barrel-vaulted ceiling, and stained glass includes a 1901 window by Kenyon Cox and later windows by Margaret Kennedy. Episcopal services began in Oberlin in 1852 under Rev. Anson Clark, in a town founded as a Congregational religious and educational colony. The parish organized in 1855, and New York architect Frank Wills, who designed many East Coast Episcopal churches, prepared the plans. The church was dedicated in May 1859 at a cost of about $5,000, and a vestibule and chancel were added in 1868. It was valued for its early date, rare style, designer and role as Oberlin's first offshoot religious body, and has been in continuous use.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Frank Wills","architectural_style":"Early Romanesque Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"In continuous use by the congregation since completion; occupied and used for religious purposes.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.407418-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/78002114.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002114/141fe95624-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002114/141fe95624-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"TnrSmith","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christ_Episcopal_Church_Oberlin_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:Christ_Episcopal_Church_Oberlin_OH.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71989767","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_Episcopal_Church_(Oberlin,_Ohio)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5108873"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/lorain-county/christ-episcopal-church-78002114/"}