{"nrhp_refnum":"80001374","name":"First Universalist Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"55 Villa St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Elgin","county":"Kane County","state":"IL","lat":42.03618554900004,"lon":-88.28019472699998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-11-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story masonry church at 55 Villa Street in Elgin, Kane County, Illinois, built in 1892 and laid out in the shape of a watch, with Richardsonian Romanesque exterior styling.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church combines Richardsonian Romanesque architecture with a commemorative design honoring the Elgin National Watch Company, tying the Universalists to the city's development. It was designed and supervised by watch factory superintendent George Hunter. It also houses a rare 1892 tracker pipe organ, one of only three still operating, and was until 1979 the oldest church in continuous use in Elgin.","narrative":"Built in 1892 on a triangular lot atop the Fox River bluff in Elgin, Illinois, the First Universalist Church was planned in the form of a hunting case watch, a tribute to the Elgin National Watch Company. The sixteen-sided brick body has a tent roof, a conical-roofed tower at the southeast corner, and two gabled entranceways. Stone bases, stringcourses and about forty original stained glass windows accent the Richardsonian Romanesque exterior. Inside are brass chandeliers, oak trim, hardwood floors, a glazed tile fireplace and a tracker pipe organ built in 1892 by John W. Steele & Sons, one of only three still working. Watch factory superintendent George Hunter conceived the design and supervised construction. The congregation's leaders helped bring the watch company to Elgin, and the church was the city's oldest in continuous use until 1979. Adjacent Unity Hall, much altered, is attached by a hallway but is not considered significant.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"George Hunter, watch factory superintendent, conceived the design and supervised construction","architectural_style":"Richardsonian Romanesque","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed condition is good and unaltered, on its original site. Present use is storage, with work in progress; the building was sold by the congregation in May 1979.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.927666-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/38/8931/28893138/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/80001374.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80001374/43fc1f61e2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80001374/43fc1f61e2-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"G LeTourneau","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Universalist_Church_(Elgin,_IL)_06.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">G LeTourneau</a>, <a href=\"http://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_Universalist_Church_(Elgin,_IL)_06.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"83000318","name":"Elgin Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/illinois/elgin-historic-district-83000318/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893138","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Universalist_Church_(Elgin,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5454030"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/kane-county/first-universalist-church-80001374/"}