{"nrhp_refnum":"79003077","name":"Centenary Church","other_names":["Centenary Methodist-Episcopal Church","Centenary United Method"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"411 E. Grace St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Richmond (Independent City)","county":"Richmond (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.54230441300007,"lon":-77.43888224299997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-12-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick Methodist church at 411 East Grace Street in downtown Richmond, Virginia, built in 1841-43 in Greek Revival style and remodeled in Gothic Revival style in 1874-76, with a Gothic-style parish house added in 1930.","why_significant":"It is the city's oldest Methodist church and one of its chief examples of Gothic Revival architecture. The 1874-76 remodeling was designed by Albert L. West, Richmond's most prominent mid-19th-century architect, and the church is one of his few remaining works. It is also a local product in a city where most Romantic Revival buildings were designed by Northern architects.","narrative":"Centenary Church, at 411 East Grace Street in downtown Richmond, began as a Greek Revival meeting house built in 1841-43 by the Richmond builder-architects John and Samuel Freeman. Funds came from subscriptions collected in 1839, the centennial year of Wesleyan Methodism, which gave the church its name. Between 1874 and 1876 architect Albert L. West remodeled the simple temple-form building in the Gothic Revival style, adding a three-stage battlemented tower, pointed-arch stained-glass windows and a carved oak interior. The remodeling cost about $25,000. A Gothic-style parish house was added in 1930. The congregation is the city's oldest Methodist body, and the building is regarded as one of the city's chief Gothic Revival examples and one of West's few surviving works. Although surrounded by commercial buildings, the church remains an active place of worship in excellent condition, with an organ from 1905 and a pulpit from 1898.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"John/Samuel Freeman; Albert L. West","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival (originally Greek Revival)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Active house of worship; the church and parish house are maintained in excellent condition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.40121-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/25/6831/41683125/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/79003077.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003077/6d42f8bbb4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003077/6d42f8bbb4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Morgan Riley","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Centenary_Church_Richmond_Va.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Morgan Riley</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Centenary_Church_Richmond_Va.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"06000750","name":"Fifth and Main Downtown Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/fifth-and-main-downtown-historic-district-06000750/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683125","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centenary_United_Methodist_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16826100"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/richmond/centenary-church-79003077/"}