{"nrhp_refnum":"80000599","name":"Union Congregational Church","other_names":["Chestnut Street Congregational Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"5 Chestnut St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Worcester","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.26440437700006,"lon":-71.80469754399996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-03-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Union Congregational Church (now Chestnut Street Congregational Church), a Gothic Revival church with chapel and parish house at 5 Chestnut Street, Worcester, Massachusetts, built 1895-1897 and designed by Earle & Fisher.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it a major local example of Gothic Revival architecture, with twin towers reminiscent of Notre Dame de Paris on a smaller scale. It is described as superbly preserved apart from the loss of its spire in 1954, and it serves as an imposing landmark visible from Main Street.","narrative":"Set on a rise at the head of Pearl Street in Worcester, this Gothic Revival church at 5 Chestnut Street was built between 1895 and 1897 for the Union Congregational Church. Stephen Earle and Clellan Fisher designed it in rock-faced granite with sandstone trim. The main facade has two matching towers with paired pointed arches, crenellated parapets and gargoyles, an entry porch of three trefoil arches, and a large rose window. An ornate copper-clad spire once rose 180 feet over the crossing but was removed in 1954. South of the church are the Moen Chapel, given in memory of Philip Louis Moen, and the parish house, both part of the original design. The congregation formed in 1835 and merged with other churches in 1936 to become the Chestnut Street Congregational Church. Stained glass and carved stone ornament survive in abundance, and the complex remains a prominent landmark visible from Main Street.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Earle & Fisher (Stephen Earle and Clellan Fisher)","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still a church; the form lists the present use as Chestnut Street Congregational Church. The spire was removed in 1954, and the building is described as otherwise superbly preserved.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.91638-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/51/7930/63793051/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/80000599.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000599/37b6800e4a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000599/37b6800e4a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Union_Congregational_Church,_Worcester_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</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:Union_Congregational_Church,_Worcester_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793051","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Congregational_Church_(Worcester,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7885583"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/union-congregational-church-80000599/"}