{"nrhp_refnum":"82002546","name":"First Methodist Church of Batavia","other_names":["McWayne School Annex"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"355 1st St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Batavia","county":"Kane County","state":"IL","lat":41.848378539000066,"lon":-88.31390013799995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-03-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story Greek Revival limestone building at 355 First Street in Batavia, Kane County, Illinois, built in 1852 as the First Methodist Church and later used as a school (McWayne School Annex). The architect and builder are unknown.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a prime example of the Greek Revival vernacular in stone that is important to the Fox River Valley, built from native Batavia limestone. It is one of the few remaining stone buildings of its era not heavily altered, stuccoed over or demolished. It also reflects Batavia's early Methodist congregation and its later use as a school until 1978.","narrative":"Built in 1852 for Batavia's first Methodist congregation, this two-story church at 355 First Street is constructed of native limestone in the Greek Revival style. The 60-by-40-foot building has a gable roof, a continuous entablature beneath the eaves, simple Doric pediments on the north and south ends, and pilasters at the corners and between bays. Inside, an original carved oak newel post and six eight-sided wood columns survive. The congregation sold the building in 1887 after funding a new church, and it became a school, gaining an entrance portico in the 1890s and later serving manual arts classes. A small tower was removed after the conversion. Batavia's school district used it until 1978, when a local insurance agency bought it, saving it from demolition and converting it to offices with community support. It is valued as one of the few surviving, little-altered stone buildings of its era in the Fox River Valley.","period_of_significance":"1852 church; 1887 school","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Saved from destruction in 1978 and adapted for use as offices after the school district sold it; the original tower was removed after 1887.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.880001-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/62/8931/28893162/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/82002546.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002546/a07c50d4ec-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002546/a07c50d4ec-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"G LeTourneau","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Methodist_Church_of_Batavia_(Batavia,_IL)_02.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_Methodist_Church_of_Batavia_(Batavia,_IL)_02.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893162","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Methodist_Church_of_Batavia","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5453284"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/kane-county/first-methodist-church-of-batavia-82002546/"}