{"nrhp_refnum":"89001548","name":"First Congregational Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"730 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Waltham","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.37573037400006,"lon":-71.23942798199994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-09-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A wood-frame church at 730 Main Street in Waltham, Massachusetts, built 1870-71 to a design by Thomas W. Silloway and remodeled in the Georgian Revival style in 1925. It sits on the south side of Main Street in the town center, set back behind a lawn.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church reflects the growth of the town center after the Boston Manufacturing Company opened, since it descends from the Second Religious Society, the town's second religious body. It is also architecturally significant as a blend of Romanesque and Georgian Revival elements, based on an original design by the noted church architect Thomas W. Silloway. It meets criteria A and C, with an exception for religious function.","narrative":"Set back from Main Street behind a lawn, this wood-frame church in central Waltham was begun in 1870 to designs by Boston architect Thomas W. Silloway, who was also an ordained Unitarian minister. Clement & Creay of Lawrence built it at an estimated cost of $50,000. The congregation began in 1820 as the Second Religious Society, formed when the opening of the Boston Manufacturing Company brought rapid population growth to the town center. A split between Unitarian and Trinitarian members followed, and the two groups reunited in 1906 as the First Congregational Church. A fire during renovation in 1925 led to the Georgian Revival remodeling that gives the building its present look, including a Palladian window with balcony over the entry, classical cornices and pilasters on the bell tower, and an octagonal spire. Original features such as the bracketed gable and segmental arched entry remain. Inside, a coffered nave ceiling and paired Ionic columns reflect the same remodeling.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Thomas W. Silloway (architect); Clement & Creay of Lawrence (contractors)","architectural_style":"Romanesque/Georgian Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Listed as a present church in good condition; the form gives its use as church, both present and original.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.528911-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/85/7918/63791885/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89001548.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001548/38677f8994-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001548/38677f8994-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Tim Pierce","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Waltham_MA_First_Congregational_Church.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Tim Pierce</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Waltham_MA_First_Congregational_Church.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791885","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_Church_(Waltham,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5452826"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/first-congregational-church-89001548/"}