{"nrhp_refnum":"86002097","name":"Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2226 Ventura St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Fresno","county":"Fresno County","state":"CA","lat":36.731694108000056,"lon":-119.78261555399996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-07-31","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Asian","Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick Armenian Apostolic church built in 1914 at 2226 Ventura Street, at the southwest corner of Ventura and M Streets in downtown Fresno, California. It was designed by Armenian architect L. K. Condrajian (L. K. Cone).","why_significant":"The nomination argues it was the first church built in the United States in the tradition of Armenian church architecture, and the first designed by an Armenian architect. It has been a focal point for Fresno's Armenian community since 1914. It is also one of the last major buildings tied to the old \"Armenian Town.\"","narrative":"Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church, completed in 1914 at 2226 Ventura Street in downtown Fresno, is a red brick church with a cross-shaped plan, a central dome and a bell tower with an octagonal roof. Architect L. K. Condrajian, also known as L. K. Cone, drew on Armenian churches of the fourth to seventeenth centuries. He added a Beaux-Arts styled entrance with columns and an arched broken pediment. The building was dedicated on November 13, 1914, after the congregation's earlier church burned in 1913, and it cost $22,594.84 to build. The nomination describes it as the first church in the United States built in the tradition of Armenian church architecture and the first designed by an Armenian architect. It stood at the center of Fresno's \"Armenian Town,\" much of which was later cleared for a convention complex, freeways and a hotel. Locally it is known as the \"Red Brick Church.\" The exterior is little changed, while the interior was altered after a 1956 fire.","period_of_significance":"1914","architect_builder":"L. K. Condrajian (L. K. Cone)","architectural_style":"Armenian church architecture with a Beaux-Arts styled entrance","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in religious use; the form rates its condition as excellent, with minor exterior alterations and more interior change. A newer social hall and classroom building behind it is excluded from the nomination.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.947496-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/86002097.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86002097/b177aadd44-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86002097/b177aadd44-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"Matthew E. Cohen","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Holy_Trinity_Armenian_Apostolic_Church_in_Fresno,_California.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Matthew E. Cohen</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Holy_Trinity_Armenian_Apostolic_Church_in_Fresno,_California.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858658","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Trinity_Church,_Fresno","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5886493"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/fresno-county/holy-trinity-armenian-apostolic-church-86002097/"}