{"nrhp_refnum":"82003385","name":"New York Presbyterian Church","other_names":["Metropolitan Baptist Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"151 W. 128th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.81102272600003,"lon":-73.94639976399998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-06-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-one-half-story limestone church at 151 West 128th Street in Harlem, Manhattan, built in two stages (1884-85 and 1889-90). It was built as the New York Presbyterian Church and is now the Metropolitan Baptist Church.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the church as a fine example of the many churches built in Harlem in the late nineteenth century, when local churches stood for wealth and stability. It is distinguished by an unusual blend of Gothic and Romanesque Revival styles and by an interior rich in stained glass and carved oak. As a Presbyterian and later Baptist institution, it has also been an influential force in Harlem life.","narrative":"Standing on a corner in a residential part of Harlem, this limestone church was built in two phases, 1884-85 and 1889-90. It was commissioned by the New York Presbyterian Church when Harlem was growing as a fashionable suburb and congregations were following their members northward. John R. Thomas, a prolific church architect, designed the first section, and Harlem architect Richard R. Davis added the fan-shaped northern auditorium. The building combines Romanesque features such as low, heavy massing, rough-cut stone, a conical slate roof and dwarf columns with Gothic elements including pointed arches, tracery and a flying buttress. Inside, the original chapel keeps its oak paneling, oak ceiling and stained glass, while the auditorium has a vaulted ceiling, three rose windows and a carved oak altar. A Baptist congregation founded in Harlem in 1912 bought the building around 1918, and it remains an important and active Harlem church.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"J.R. Thomas, Richard R. Davis","architectural_style":"Blend of Gothic Revival and Romanesque Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in use as a religious building; described as unaltered and on its original site.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:42.188642-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/82003385.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003385/7bbac2bf1d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003385/7bbac2bf1d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Beyond My Ken","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Metropolitan_Baptist_Church_151_West_128th_Street.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Beyond My Ken</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:Metropolitan_Baptist_Church_151_West_128th_Street.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319772","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Baptist_Church_(New_York_City)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6824998"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/new-york-presbyterian-church-82003385/"}