{"nrhp_refnum":"83000805","name":"Greek Orthodox Church","other_names":["First Universalist Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"735 Massachusetts Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Arlington","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.41657786300004,"lon":-71.15690174299993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-06-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A wood-frame church at 735 Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington, Massachusetts, built in 1841 as the First Universalist Church and remodeled in the Romanesque Revival style in 1860. It is now a Greek Orthodox church.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church has integrity of location, materials, workmanship, association and design since 1860. It is described as an unusual and outstanding local example of Romanesque Revival design, attributed to architect Thomas W. Silloway. It also reflects Arlington's long religious history.","narrative":"Standing on Massachusetts Avenue in the center of Arlington, this wood-frame church was built in 1841 as a modest Greek Revival meetinghouse for the First Universalist congregation. In 1860, to designs by Boston-area architect Thomas W. Silloway, it was moved back from the street on its lot, raised on a six-foot basement, and given a projecting frontispiece with monumental composite columns and an ornate three-stage tower. The 1938 hurricane damaged the 90-foot spire, which was replaced by a seven-foot dome. A brick parish house was added in 1926. The building was recognized as an outstanding local example of Romanesque Revival design and one of the finer mid-to-late nineteenth-century churches of that style in the Boston area. It also records the town's religious history, from Calvinist parish to Universalist, and since 1964 a Greek Orthodox congregation, St. Athanasius the Great.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Thomas W. Silloway (1860 alterations)","architectural_style":"Romanesque Revival (originally Greek Revival)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Occupied and in religious use by a Greek Orthodox congregation since 1964; a major stabilization funded by a Community Development Block Grant and private donations was planned.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.797042-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/33/7960/63796033/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83000805.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000805/5c5466dfc4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000805/5c5466dfc4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ArlingtonMA_GreekOrthodoxChurch.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User: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:ArlingtonMA_GreekOrthodoxChurch.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"85002691","name":"Arlington Center Historic District (Boundary Increase)","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/arlington-center-historic-district-boundary-increase-85002691/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796033","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highrock_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5759620"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/greek-orthodox-church-83000805/"}