{"nrhp_refnum":"93001587","name":"Eliot Congregational Church","other_names":["Walnut Avenue Congregational Church","Eliot United Church of C"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"56 Dale St., corner 118--120 Walnut St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.31954503700007,"lon":-71.08137952499999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1994-02-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Community Planning and Development"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A High Victorian Gothic church of Roxbury puddingstone at 56 Dale Street, corner of Walnut Avenue, in the Roxbury section of Boston. It was built in stages: the first chapel in 1873, a second chapel in 1889, and a rear addition between 1899 and 1915.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is associated with the broad patterns of Roxbury's suburban growth and the merging of three Congregational parishes. It also embodies a Victorian Gothic church type and period of construction, and includes the 1889 work of architect J. Williams Beal. Its Tiffany and other stained glass windows add to its interest.","narrative":"Eliot Congregational Church is a Gothic-style church at the corner of Dale Street and Walnut Avenue in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood. Built of Roxbury puddingstone with sandstone trim, it grew in three stages. The first chapel was finished in 1873 for the Walnut Avenue Congregational Church, and its architect is unknown. A second chapel followed in 1889, designed by J. Williams Beal and built by L. E. Giddings of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. A two-story rear addition was added between 1899 and 1915. A fire in 1929 gutted the 1889 sanctuary, which was later rebuilt as a gymnasium, and the 1873 chapel became the main worship space. The church reflects the merger of three Roxbury Congregational parishes, culminating in the Eliot name. The 1873 interior holds a Tiffany-produced window installed in 1905, and the roof keeps its original striped polychromatic slate. The nomination cites architecture and community development as areas of significance for the years 1873 to 1943.","period_of_significance":"1873-1943","architect_builder":"Beal, J. Williams; Giddings, L.E.","architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Gothic","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a church; the 1873 chapel serves as the sanctuary and the rear addition houses meeting rooms and a kitchen.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.892186-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/43/7968/63796843/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/93001587.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/93001587/a5d4553707-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/93001587/a5d4553707-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Tim Pierce","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eliot_Congregational_Church_of_Roxbury.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Tim Pierce</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eliot_Congregational_Church_of_Roxbury.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796843","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliot_Congregational_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5361222"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/eliot-congregational-church-93001587/"}