{"nrhp_refnum":"88000955","name":"First Church of Jamaica Plain","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"6 Eliot St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.309812917000045,"lon":-71.11612282099998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-07-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A granite Gothic Revival church at 6 Eliot Street on Monument Square in Jamaica Plain, Boston, built 1853-54 to designs by Nathaniel J. Bradlee. The property includes an 1890 parish house and an 18th-century cemetery.","why_significant":"The site is tied to the late 18th-century creation of a third parish in West Roxbury and to the long history of Jamaica Plain. It holds a significant 18th-century burial ground. The church is an early work of Nathaniel J. Bradlee, an architect whose commissions strongly shaped Boston from 1860 to 1885, and is a fine example of early Gothic Revival church design.","narrative":"Standing on Monument Square in Jamaica Plain, this gray granite church was built in 1853-54 to designs by Nathaniel J. Bradlee, then aged twenty-four. It replaced a timber meeting house of 1769 that served the Third Parish of Roxbury and was used during the Revolution as a hospital and for town meetings. The church has a symmetrical basilican plan, rough-faced granite walls, lancet windows and a central clock tower, which was heightened in 1872 and given a copper roof in 1893. A granite and shingle-style parish house was added at the rear in 1890. Behind it lies a cemetery consecrated in 1785, containing Revolutionary War veterans, two early pastors and many church founders. Bradlee went on to design over 500 Boston buildings, and this was his first church commission and one of only two of his church designs still standing. The property is significant for its long association with the community, its burial ground and its architecture.","period_of_significance":"1790-1890","architect_builder":"Nathaniel J. Bradlee (architect); William C. Poland, contractor; William R. Huston, carpenter; Obadiah F. Adams, stone mason","architectural_style":"Mid-19th Century: Gothic Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Used as a church since construction in 1854; current functions listed as religious structure, social/meeting hall and cemetery.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:00.694277-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/76/7969/63796976/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/88000955.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000955/0d52201e97-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000955/0d52201e97-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Biruitorul","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FirstChurchofJP.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Biruitorul</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FirstChurchofJP.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"90001536","name":"Monument Square Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/monument-square-historic-district-90001536/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796976","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Church_of_Jamaica_Plain","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5452727"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/first-church-of-jamaica-plain-88000955/"}