{"nrhp_refnum":"79000720","name":"First Congregational Church","other_names":["First Church","United Church of Christ"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"105 Courtland St., NE","address_restricted":false,"city":"Atlanta","county":"Fulton County","state":"GA","lat":33.75751051300006,"lon":-84.38365028999993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-01-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A church building at 105 Courtland Street NE in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, at the corner of Courtland and Houston streets. The present building dates from 1908; the congregation was founded in 1867.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is significant for its leading role in Atlanta's black community, through spiritual leadership and social and humanitarian programs from about 1890 to 1930. It also treats the building as a fine example of early-twentieth-century eclectic religious architecture, designed by two notable architects and built by a black Atlanta builder who belonged to the congregation.","narrative":"Standing on the northeast corner of Courtland and Houston streets in Atlanta, this buff-brick church was completed in 1908 for a congregation founded in 1867. Its design mixes Italian Renaissance vernacular with Spanish Mission touches, and a square corner tower with a tiled pyramidal roof makes it a neighborhood landmark. Inside, an open auditorium seats 1,000 beneath a cross-vaulted pressed-tin ceiling and a stained-glass dome, with a window honoring Abraham Lincoln. The architects were Alexander Campbell Bruce and Arthur Greene Everett, and the builder, Robert E. Pharrow, was a black Atlantan and church member. The church matters chiefly for its social mission. From the 1890s into the 1930s it ran a gymnasium, a home for young working women, an employment bureau, a day nursery and a prison mission. Groups including the Atlanta Interracial Commission and the city's first black Boy Scout troop were organized here, and Booker T. Washington spoke at the 1909 dedication.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"Architects Alexander Campbell Bruce and Arthur Greene Everett; builder Robert E. Pharrow","architectural_style":"Early-twentieth-century eclectic religious architecture with Italian Renaissance vernacular and Spanish Mission elements (also described as Beaux-Arts Classical Revival)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied, in private ownership by the church, in good condition and unaltered, in religious use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:41.45175-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/79000720.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000720/be1a1d3080-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000720/be1a1d3080-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Ganeshk","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atlanta_First_Congregational_Church_2012_09_15_08_6278.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Ganeshk</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:Atlanta_First_Congregational_Church_2012_09_15_08_6278.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"76000631","name":"Sweet Auburn Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/georgia/sweet-auburn-historic-district-76000631/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93208172","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Congregational_Church_(Atlanta)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5452786"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/fulton-county/first-congregational-church-79000720/"}