{"nrhp_refnum":"80002753","name":"First Reformed Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"153 Jamaica Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Queens","state":"NY","lat":40.70250231400007,"lon":-73.80168790099998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-04-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick church with brownstone trim at 153-10 Jamaica Avenue in Jamaica, Queens, New York City, built in 1858-59 and designed and built by master carpenter Sidney J. Young with master mason Anders Peterson.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it among the finest examples of the Early Romanesque Revival style in New York City. It follows the precedent set by Richard Upjohn's Church of the Pilgrims in Brooklyn, with asymmetrical towers and round arches. A 1902 program added a choir loft and stained-glass windows by Emil Zundel and Frederick Stymetz Lamb. It is the third church on a site used by the Dutch Reformed congregation since 1715.","narrative":"First Reformed Church sits back on a sloping lawn behind a wrought-iron fence on Jamaica Avenue in Queens, a quiet spot beside a busy shopping district. Built in 1858-59 after fire destroyed the congregation's earlier church, it was designed and constructed by local master carpenter Sidney J. Young, with Danish-born mason Anders Peterson handling the masonry. Its broad gabled front is flanked by two asymmetrical towers, with round-arched openings, brownstone courses and corbel tables, in the Early Romanesque Revival style popularized in Brooklyn by Richard Upjohn. A 1902 building program added a south extension with a choir loft and sixteen stained-glass windows, most by Emil Zundel and one by Frederick Stymetz Lamb. The congregation traces its first church on the site to 1715, making this the third building there. The city acquired the property in 1973, yet regular Sunday services have continued.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Sidney J. Young, Anders Peterson","architectural_style":"Early Romanesque Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Taken over by the city in 1973 as part of the Central Jamaica Urban Redevelopment Project, but the congregation still holds regular Sunday services in the building. Condition is marked good and altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:43.463879-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/80002753.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80002753/c6aa2cea0e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80002753/c6aa2cea0e-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Jim.henderson","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Ref_Church_of_Jamaica_jeh.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jim.henderson</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Ref_Church_of_Jamaica_jeh.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75321080","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Reformed_Church_(Queens)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5453744"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/queens/first-reformed-church-80002753/"}