{"nrhp_refnum":"79002730","name":"First United Methodist Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"312 3rd St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Elyria","county":"Lorain County","state":"OH","lat":41.36507971300006,"lon":-82.10773025699996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-08-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick and sandstone-faced church in the 20th Century Gothic Revival style at Third Street and Court Street in Elyria, Lorain County, Ohio, built in 1925 and designed by Thayer and Johnson of Cleveland.","why_significant":"The inventory describes it as a highly elaborate and singular structure that adds greatly to the visual fabric of the city. Its stained glass, stone carvings and position at the end of Court Street make it a focal point. It also houses one of the community's largest and leading congregations.","narrative":"Standing at the end of Court Street in Elyria, this two-story Gothic Revival church was completed in 1925 to designs by the Cleveland firm of Thayer and Johnson. Its walls are brick faced with sandstone, and the slate gable roof, stained glass windows and abundant stone carving give the exterior a strong presence as a focal point. Inside, the sanctuary is richly furnished, and its wide open space comes from steel construction hidden behind ornament. The building replaced an earlier Gothic church on the same site, designed by E. E. Myers and built in 1881. A Sunday school building from 1908, laid out on the Akron plan, adjoins the rear, though it has been affected by recent modernization. Additions made in 1967-69 by Walter Damon echo the Gothic style without detracting from the original. The church has long been a leading congregation in the community and remains in use, with both interior and exterior in excellent condition.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Thayer and Johnson, Cleveland (architects)","architectural_style":"20th Century Gothic Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still in use as a church; interior and exterior condition listed as excellent.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.82229-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/79002730.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002730/1751a3c127-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002730/1751a3c127-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"TnrSmith","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_United_Methodist_Elyria_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:First_United_Methodist_Elyria_OH.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"00001663","name":"Elyria Downtown-West Avenue Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/ohio/elyria-downtown-west-avenue-historic-district-00001663/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71985702","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_United_Methodist_Church_(Elyria,_Ohio)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5453983"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/lorain-county/first-united-methodist-church-79002730/"}