{"nrhp_refnum":"94001456","name":"First Baptist Church","other_names":["Lincoln Cultural Center"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"403 E. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lincolnton","county":"Lincoln County","state":"NC","lat":35.47341047800006,"lon":-81.25221299199995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1994-12-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Classical Revival brick church building at East Main and Cedar Streets in Lincolnton, Lincoln County, North Carolina, erected in 1920-1922 with a three-story educational building added in 1950-1951. It was renovated in 1990-1991 as the Lincoln Cultural Center.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is an intact example of Classical Revival church architecture in Lincoln County and one of several churches of related design by Charlotte architect James M. McMichael. It also documents the congregation's history, from its 1859 organization to its occupation of the building until 1979.","narrative":"Built in two stages in Lincolnton, the brick church at East Main and Cedar Streets was designed by Charlotte architect James M. McMichael in 1919 and erected in 1920-1922. Its cruciform plan is crowned by a spherical dome over the sanctuary, and a two-story tetrastyle portico with Ionic terra cotta capitals faces East Main Street. The Baptist congregation, organized in 1859, occupied the building until 1979. A three-story educational block was added to the rear in 1950-1951. The congregation moved to a suburban church in 1979, and Lincoln County later converted the building into a cultural center. The renovation, completed in 1991, kept the sanctuary's classical interior and exterior largely intact while turning it into a performing arts auditorium. The building is regarded as an important local example of Classical Revival religious architecture and a representative work of McMichael's church designs.","period_of_significance":"1920-1922","architect_builder":"McMichael, James M., architect","architectural_style":"Classical Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Renovated in 1990-1991 as the Lincoln Cultural Center and opened to the public in September 1991; the sanctuary serves as a performing arts auditorium.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:42.414697-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/77/7181/47718177/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/94001456.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94001456/8e05a33feb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94001456/8e05a33feb-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Upstateherd","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Baptist_Church_Lincolnton.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Upstateherd</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:First_Baptist_Church_Lincolnton.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47718177","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Baptist_Church_(Lincolnton,_North_Carolina)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5452404"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/lincoln-county/first-baptist-church-94001456/"}