{"nrhp_refnum":"86001796","name":"Evangelical Baptist Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"23 Chapel St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newton","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.36429199100007,"lon":-71.20234844299995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-09-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Gothic Revival stone and brick church at 23 Chapel Street in the Nonantum village of Newton, Massachusetts, built in 1873 to designs by Charles Edward Parker.","why_significant":"The church is presented as an important example of Victorian Gothic church architecture in Newton, designed by a known Newton architect. It is also tied to the development of the village of Nonantum, where a congregation grew out of a mission Sunday school for factory workers.","narrative":"Built in 1873 at a cost of $18,000, this Gothic Revival church at 23 Chapel Street in Nonantum replaced a chapel destroyed by fire in 1872. Its walls combine randomly laid Newton Centre stone with red and asphalt-dipped brick. The most distinctive feature is an offset entrance tower banded with brick, topped by a heavy corbelled cornice and a steep pyramidal roof. The front-gabled nave has shed-roofed side aisles, a round window, and a pointed brick arch enclosing three lancet windows. Architect Charles Edward Parker of Auburndale donated his services. The congregation grew from a Sunday school begun by Samuel Lowry, who later served as pastor from 1867 until his death in 1884. Thomas Dalby, a local mill owner, gave the site near his knitting mill. The congregation later became Baptist. Additions made between 1900 and 1910 blend with the original design, and the exterior has changed little.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Charles Edward Parker (architect, who donated his services)","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival (Victorian Gothic)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Condition listed as good; still in use as a church.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.52524-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/38/7908/63790838/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86001796.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001796/a9bc386b8b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001796/a9bc386b8b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NewtonMA_EvangelicalBaptistChurch.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:NewtonMA_EvangelicalBaptistChurch.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790838","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelical_Baptist_Church_(Newton,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5415636"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/evangelical-baptist-church-86001796/"}