{"nrhp_refnum":"79000335","name":"St. Stephen's Memorial Church","other_names":["St. Stephen's Episcopal Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"74 S. Common St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lynn","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.46286721800004,"lon":-70.95622906599993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-09-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Romanesque and Gothic Revival Episcopal church with attached parish house at 74 South Common Street, facing the Lynn Common in Lynn, Massachusetts, completed in 1881 and designed by the Boston firm of Ware & Van Brunt.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it one of Lynn's most distinguished Victorian buildings, noting its unsurpassed carved stonework, its 130-foot tower as a local landmark, and its largely unaltered state. It was built by merchant Enoch Reddington Mudge as a memorial to his children, and its interior features work by major artists of the period, including Tiffany-associated stained glass. Supporting documents say it is the one building firmly attributed to architect Henry Van Brunt himself.","narrative":"Facing the Lynn Common at South Common and Blossom Streets, this church combines Romanesque and Gothic Revival elements in reddish granite quarried on the Swampscott estate of merchant Enoch Reddington Mudge, with red brick trim, brown sandstone tracery and a red slate roof. A 130-foot tower holds the main entrance, and a Latin-cross church hall connects to a parish house around a small courtyard holding the Mudge family graves. Mudge funded the church in 1881 as a memorial to his children, one of whom was killed at Gettysburg. The Boston firm Ware & Van Brunt designed it, and evidence points to Henry Van Brunt as the principal designer. The carved stonework is considered unsurpassed in the city. The interior keeps hammer-beam trusses, mosaic floors, stencilled walls and stained glass from the Louis C. Tiffany group. The building remains largely unaltered since its dedication in November 1881.","period_of_significance":"1881","architect_builder":"Ware & VanBrunt (Ware & Van Brunt); built by Enoch Reddington Mudge; parish house 1920 addition by Harold Field Kellogg","architectural_style":"Romanesque and Gothic Revival (Victorian)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in excellent condition and virtually unaltered from its 1881 completion; occupied and in religious use. The parish house received additions in 1920 and 1956.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.560899-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/90/7946/63794690/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/79000335.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000335/45c75dc8e7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000335/45c75dc8e7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jameslwoodward","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_Stephens_Church_Lynn,_MA_03.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jameslwoodward</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:St_Stephens_Church_Lynn,_MA_03.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"92000247","name":"Lynn Common Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/lynn-common-historic-district-92000247/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794690","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Stephen%27s_Memorial_Episcopal_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7591779"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/st-stephens-memorial-church-79000335/"}