{"nrhp_refnum":"80002784","name":"Ponckhockie Union Chapel","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"91 Abruyn St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Kingston","county":"Ulster County","state":"NY","lat":41.92613575800004,"lon":-73.97408903599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-04-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A poured-concrete Gothic-style chapel at 91 Abruyn Street in the Ponckhockie neighborhood of Kingston, Ulster County, New York, built in 1870 by the Newark Lime and Cement Company.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it an extremely important early example of American concrete architecture and building technology. It is described as the earliest known example of reinforced concrete construction in New York State, using rudimentary iron rods and plates in its buttresses. It also reflects the industrial paternalism of the natural cement industry in Kingston.","narrative":"Ponckhockie Union Chapel is a Gothic-style church at 91 Abruyn Street in Kingston, New York, built in 1870 from poured concrete. The Newark Lime and Cement Company erected it at company expense as a non-denominational Sunday school for its workers' families. The walls were made from locally mined natural cement mixed with crushed bluestone and were stuccoed and scored to imitate coursed ashlar stone. Iron rods and plates were set into the buttresses, which the nomination identifies as the earliest known reinforced concrete construction in New York State. The chapel has a steep gable roof, buttressed walls and tower, pointed windows with tracery, and a defined chancel. Its concrete spire and four pinnacles were dismantled in 1965 because of deterioration, and the surfaces remain badly weathered. It was listed for its importance in the history of American concrete building and as a reminder of the influence of the cement industry on nineteenth-century Kingston.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Newark Lime and Cement Company","architectural_style":"Gothic-inspired design, resembling a typical English Gothic parish church","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as occupied and religious in use, with severe deterioration of its concrete surfaces; spire and pinnacles were removed in 1965.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:43.301531-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/80002784.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80002784/6105e57807-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80002784/6105e57807-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:KingstonNY_PonckhockieUnionChapel.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:KingstonNY_PonckhockieUnionChapel.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75322709","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponckhockie_Union_Chapel","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7227641"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/ulster-county/ponckhockie-union-chapel-80002784/"}