{"nrhp_refnum":"89002300","name":"Saint John's Episcopal Church","other_names":["Ecumenical Center,Framingham State College"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Maynard Rd. and Church St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Framingham","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.29745732600003,"lon":-71.43862206899996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-01-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A single-story Gothic Revival church of Framingham granite at Maynard Road and Church Street on Bare Hill, Framingham, Massachusetts, built 1869-1871 to designs by Alexander Rice Esty. It is now the Ecumenical Center of Framingham State College.","why_significant":"The church is tied to Framingham's development as the first Episcopal church in town and the fourth oldest surviving church building there. It is a nearly unaltered example of Gothic Revival design by Alexander Esty, a nationally known Framingham architect. Its banded slate roof and picturesque tower also anticipate High Victorian Gothic.","narrative":"Rising from the western slope of Bare Hill in Framingham Centre, this stone church was built between 1869 and 1871 for the town's first Episcopal congregation. Architect Alexander Rice Esty, a parish founder and longtime Junior Warden, designed it in the manner of an English country church. Walls are coursed Framingham granite in shades of yellow-brown and gray, topped by a steep slate roof in alternating dark and light bands. An asymmetrical plan groups a narthex tower with a pyramidal spire, a transept arm and a vestry around the nave and chancel. Inside are exposed trusses, engaged columns, walnut pews and stained glass windows. The congregation closed the church in 1934, and Framingham State College bought it in 1969 and used it as an interdenominational Ecumenical Center until 1985, when it was closed for deterioration. The building is valued for its link to Framingham's growth and as a little-altered work by a well-known architect.","period_of_significance":"1869-1934","architect_builder":"Esty, Alexander Rice","architectural_style":"Mid-19th Century/Gothic Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Closed for deterioration reasons in 1985; the function section lists it as vacant/not in use.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:00.032198-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/24/7958/63795824/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89002300.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89002300/19880b9109-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89002300/19880b9109-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FraminghamMA_SaintJohnsEpiscopalChurch.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:FraminghamMA_SaintJohnsEpiscopalChurch.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795824","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John%27s_Episcopal_Church_(Framingham,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7588685"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/saint-johns-episcopal-church-89002300/"}