{"nrhp_refnum":"96000930","name":"First United Methodist Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"52 N. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"London","county":"Madison County","state":"OH","lat":39.88725364800007,"lon":-83.44978004499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1996-08-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Gothic/High Victorian Gothic church at 52 North Main Street in London, Ohio, built in 1893-1894 with a 1962 educational wing and a 1915 Jacobethan Revival parsonage on the same parcel.","why_significant":"It is nominated under Criterion C as an excellent local example of High Victorian Gothic architecture, with red sandstone walls, a steep gabled roofline, tower and steeple. It was designed by the Cincinnati firm of Crapsey & Brown and is one of two late nineteenth century structures in London still used for its original purpose. Its interior retains an Akron Plan layout, original oak beams, a moving partition wall and stained glass.","narrative":"On the northeast corner of North Main and Fourth Streets in London, Ohio, this church was built in 1893-1894 to designs by Charles Crapsey of the Cincinnati firm Crapsey & Brown, with A.A. Fletcher & Company as builder. Its walls are Lake Superior red sandstone with Amherst stone trimmed windows, under a steep gabled roof with a tower and steeple. The building follows the Akron Plan, and inside are high vaulted ceilings on solid oak beams, oak wainscoting, a moving partition between sanctuary and chapel, and stained glass windows and skylights by Cincinnati's Artistic Glass Company. A Johnson & Son pipe organ holds 2,467 pipes. A 1962 brick educational wing and a 1915 Jacobethan Revival parsonage share the site. The church was consecrated in November 1894 and is one of two late nineteenth century structures in town still serving their original purpose. It was listed as a local example of High Victorian Gothic design, with alterations from 1957 to 1962 not considered to harm its integrity.","period_of_significance":"1893-1946","architect_builder":"Crapsey & Brown, Architect; A.A. Fletcher & Co., Builder; parsonage architect unknown","architectural_style":"Gothic/High Victorian Gothic; Jacobethan Revival (parsonage)","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still used as a church; the congregation planned a 1996 restoration of the sanctuary to its original 1893-1894 design.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:07.784156-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/96000930.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000930/35c7fbf4bf-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000930/35c7fbf4bf-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_United_Methodist_Church_of_London,_Ohio.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_United_Methodist_Church_of_London,_Ohio.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71990059","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_United_Methodist_Church_(London,_Ohio)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5453999"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/madison-county/first-united-methodist-church-96000930/"}