{"nrhp_refnum":"83003433","name":"Calvary Methodist Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"300 Massachusetts Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Arlington","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.40892391300008,"lon":-71.14728221899998,"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 Colonial Revival wood-frame Methodist church at 300 Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington, Massachusetts, completed in 1923 and designed by architects James H. MacNaughton and William J. Perry.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church represents continuing freedom of religious expression in Arlington and is tied to the town's early-to-mid 20th century development. Architecturally, it closely follows Boston's King's Chapel and incorporates an original 1809 Charles Bulfinch cupola from Boylston Market, which sets it apart from most Colonial Revival churches of its era.","narrative":"Calvary Methodist Church, at 300 Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington, is a wood-frame Colonial Revival building completed in 1923. Architects James H. MacNaughton and William J. Perry modelled it closely on King's Chapel in Boston, with a rectangular hipped-roof body, a projecting tetrastyle Ionic portico and a two-stage tower. Its crowning feature is an octagonal cupola designed by Charles Bulfinch in 1809 for Boylston Market in Boston. After that market was demolished, the cupola was donated to the church in 1921. The congregation began in 1916 with a small group meeting at Grand Army Hall. Construction stalled when costs outran funds, but a townwide campaign across faiths saved the building from sale as a movie theater. A one-story parish house by Arland Duran was added in 1953. The church is valued for its place in Arlington's religious life and for its faithful, uncommon use of a genuine 18th-century element.","period_of_significance":"1923, 1953","architect_builder":"James H. MacNaughton and William J. Perry; Charles Bulfinch (cupola); Arland Duran (parish house)","architectural_style":"Colonial Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Occupied and in religious use; vinyl siding was applied in 1976 and the congregation continues to grow.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.641068-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/25/7960/63796025/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83003433.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83003433/f3625a8fb7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83003433/f3625a8fb7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ArlingtonMA_CalvaryMethodistChurch.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_CalvaryMethodistChurch.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796025","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvary_Methodist_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5024197"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/calvary-methodist-church-83003433/"}