{"nrhp_refnum":"89002125","name":"Roxbury Presbyterian Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"328 Warren St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.31954503700007,"lon":-71.08137952499999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1991-03-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A stone Victorian Gothic church at 328 Warren Street, at Woodbine Street, in the Roxbury section of Boston, built in 1891 to designs by John C. Spofford and constructed by William Swanson.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is one of the oldest churches in the area with a single continuous congregational history, and notes the financial backing of the Gilchrist brothers, owners of Gilchrist's Department Store. It is also significant architecturally as a late Victorian Gothic design with Queen Anne Revival touches, built of locally quarried Roxbury Puddingstone by architect John C. Spofford.","narrative":"Roxbury Presbyterian Church is a rough-hewn Roxbury Puddingstone building at Warren and Woodbine Streets in Boston's Roxbury section. Completed in 1891 to designs by John C. Spofford, with William Swanson as builder, it has an asymmetrical, sprawling form, steep roofs, conical polygonal bays and a landmark bell tower that moves from a square base to a round drum and an octagonal wooden top. Lancet windows and decorative wooden porch details reflect Victorian Gothic and Queen Anne Revival influences. Inside, late 19th-century pews, an altar, an organ and a small collection of stained-glass windows survive. The congregation grew out of the Fourth Presbyterian Church of South Boston, and Robert and John Gilchrist, owners of a downtown Boston department store, paid for about half of the construction. The church was recognized locally for its architecture, its Puddingstone construction, and its long record of social and humanitarian involvement, including aid during the Great Depression.","period_of_significance":"1891","architect_builder":"Spofford, John C.; Swanson, William","architectural_style":"Queen Anne; High Victorian Gothic","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a church and meeting hall; the interior is described as well preserved, though the wooden bell tower shows weather damage and the tower vestibule shows water damage.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.498213-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/99/7966/63796699/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89002125.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89002125/bc8d2abe72-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89002125/bc8d2abe72-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roxbury_Presbyterian_Church,_Roxbury_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</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:Roxbury_Presbyterian_Church,_Roxbury_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796699","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roxbury_Presbyterian_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7372421"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/roxbury-presbyterian-church-89002125/"}