{"nrhp_refnum":"91002021","name":"Polk Street Methodist Church","other_names":["Polk Street United Methodist Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1401 S. Polk St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Amarillo","county":"Potter County","state":"TX","lat":35.19901813800004,"lon":-101.83840359399994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1992-01-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 4-story brick Gothic Revival church with Tudor details at 1401 South Polk Street, Amarillo, Texas, built 1926-1928 to designs by the R.H. Hunt Company. It has a rectangular sanctuary and a U-plan education wing around a courtyard, joined by a bell tower.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is one of the best examples of Gothic Revival architecture in Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle. Its landmark design contrasted with its residential surroundings and reflected the city's 1920s oil-and-gas boom. It also represents the city's first organized congregation, founded in 1888.","narrative":"Rising four stories near downtown Amarillo, this brick church at 1401 South Polk Street was built between 1926 and 1928 in the Gothic Revival style with Tudor details. It consists of a rectangular sanctuary and a U-plan education wing wrapped around a courtyard, joined by a square brick and limestone bell tower. Pointed arches, limestone-capped gables, lancet pinnacles, buttresses and large art glass windows emphasize its height. The R.H. Hunt Company of Dallas and Chattanooga designed it, and the Christy-Dolph Company built it for $496,620. It was listed for its architecture, as one of the best Gothic Revival examples in Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle. Its towering design was meant to stand out as a landmark during the city's oil-fueled boom, much like the downtown skyscrapers of the period. The congregation traces to Amarillo's first organized church in 1888. The nearby parsonage and the 1952 Activities Building are not part of the listing.","period_of_significance":"December 20, 1926 to February 26, 1928","architect_builder":"Hunt, Reuben H. (R.H. Hunt Company of Dallas and Chattanooga); J. Roy Smith, supervising architect; Christy-Dolph Company of Dallas, contractor","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals/Late Gothic Revival/Tudor Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still used as a religious facility; a 1984-85 stairwell addition is judged not to detract from its integrity. The parsonage and 1952 Activities Building are excluded.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:21.614712-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/88/9731/40973188/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/91002021.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91002021/2a8fb4f93c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/91002021/2a8fb4f93c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"BriceWi999","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Polk_Street_Methodist_Church_1401_S._Polk_St._Amarillo_20140916.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">BriceWi999</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:Polk_Street_Methodist_Church_1401_S._Polk_St._Amarillo_20140916.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973188","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107330109"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/potter-county/polk-street-methodist-church-91002021/"}