{"nrhp_refnum":"84002365","name":"First Baptist Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"253 Lawrence St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Methuen","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.72808536400004,"lon":-71.18440747199998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-01-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Gothic Revival church at 253 Lawrence Street in Methuen, Massachusetts, built in 1869. It is a clapboard-clad, rectangular-plan building with a bell tower, and it remains in use as a church.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is among the best remaining examples of Gothic Revival architecture in Methuen and meets criterion C. It retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials and workmanship. Its construction also coincided with the growth of a residential and commercial center near Lawrence Street and Broadway.","narrative":"Built in 1869 at 253 Lawrence Street, this Gothic Revival church in Methuen continues to serve as a house of worship. It is a rectangular, clapboard-clad building with paired lancet windows topped by label or lancet moldings, and a bell tower with an open belfry. Its roofs are covered in slate. The belfry's spire was removed before 1903, but the main features of the design survive. The congregation was organized in 1815, when Baptists in Methuen, who had previously attended church in Haverhill, held their first services in the Daniel Frye house. The present building replaced an earlier church constructed in 1816. Its construction coincided with the growth of a notable residential and commercial center around Lawrence Street and Broadway. It is regarded as one of the best remaining examples of Gothic Revival architecture in the town, and it retains its location, design, setting, materials and workmanship. The architect is not known.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Gothic Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a church; original use was also a church. The spire on the belfry was removed before 1903.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.317369-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/84/7900/63790084/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/84002365.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002365/8b5ce91a0a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002365/8b5ce91a0a-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"EraserGirl","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Baptist_Church_Methuen_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">EraserGirl</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Baptist_Church_Methuen_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790084","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Baptist_Church_(Methuen,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5452409"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/first-baptist-church-84002365/"}