{"nrhp_refnum":"79000371","name":"Calvinistic Congregational Church","other_names":["Faith United Parish"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"820 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Fitchburg","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.585071268000036,"lon":-71.80478627499997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-06-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Romanesque Revival church at 820 Main Street, at the corner of Main and Rollstone Streets in downtown Fitchburg, Massachusetts, designed in 1897 by Henry M. Francis and dedicated on February 10, 1897.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it a prominent local landmark and one of the finest examples of Romanesque Revival design in Fitchburg. It is also considered one of the more important works of architect H.M. Francis. Its congregation grew alongside the city and included many of Fitchburg's most prominent industrial and civic leaders.","narrative":"Dominating a corner of downtown Fitchburg, this Romanesque Revival church was designed by architect Henry M. Francis and dedicated in February 1897. It is built of rough-faced reddish sandstone with lighter sandstone trim, a slate roof with copper cresting, and a triple-arched entrance portico beneath a large rose window. A square tower rises about 158 feet, with a smaller companion tower, and a red brick chapel extends to the rear. The Calvinistic Congregational society, incorporated in 1805, built its first church on this site in 1806 and a Greek Revival one in 1845, which was demolished in 1896 to make way for the present building. The congregation included figures such as Amasa Norcross, Fitchburg's first mayor, and industrialists Alvah Crocker and Rodney Wallace. The church is regarded as a local landmark and among the finest examples of Romanesque Revival design in the city, as well as one of Francis's more important works.","period_of_significance":"1896","architect_builder":"Henry M. Francis","architectural_style":"Romanesque Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as good, original site; occupied and in religious use by Faith United Parish.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.765955-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/70/7974/63797470/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/79000371.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000371/5e15f83a3e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000371/5e15f83a3e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FitchburgMA_FaithUnitedParishChurch.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FitchburgMA_FaithUnitedParishChurch.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63797470","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvinistic_Congregational_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5024545"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/calvinistic-congregational-church-79000371/"}