{"nrhp_refnum":"98000043","name":"Methodist Episcopal Church of Painesville, The","other_names":["Painesville United Methodist Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"71 N. Park Place","address_restricted":false,"city":"Painesville","county":"Lake County","state":"OH","lat":41.725406227000065,"lon":-81.24436808499996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-01-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Gothic Revival brick church at 71 North Park Place on the north side of downtown Painesville's central square, Lake County, Ohio. Its cornerstone was laid in 1873 and it was completed in 1881 to designs by Akron architect Jacob Snyder.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is a fine, high-style example of Gothic Revival architecture in Lake County. It is also an early and significant example of an Akron Plan church, with Sunday School rooms arranged in a semicircle around a central room. It is described as the earliest known surviving example of the plan, since the first Akron church no longer survives.","narrative":"Facing the central square in downtown Painesville, this red brick church was designed by Akron architect Jacob Snyder. Its cornerstone was laid in 1873, the Sunday School section was dedicated in 1875, and the sanctuary was finished in 1881. The building rests on a sandstone foundation and measures about 161 by 80 feet. Its front is dominated by a large Gothic-arched stained glass window, flanked by two corner towers of unequal height with pinnacles, louvered belfries and stone detailing. Inside, fourteen classrooms rise on two levels in a semicircle around a central room behind the sanctuary, a layout known as the Akron Plan. That arrangement let a superintendent see every class from one platform. The church is considered an early example of the plan and the earliest known surviving one. Later changes include balconies added in 1923-24, an education building from the 1950s, a slate roof replaced with asphalt shingles in 1982, and a new pipe organ in 1992-93.","period_of_significance":"1873-1924","architect_builder":"Snyder, Jacob; architect. Lewis, Ira J.; builder","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still used as a church; the former Sunday School rooms are no longer used for Sunday School classes but are retained with a high degree of integrity.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:07.144352-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/98000043.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000043/8bc52a7b30-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000043/8bc52a7b30-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"LeeG7144","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Methodist_Episcopal_Church_of_Painesville.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">LeeG7144</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:Methodist_Episcopal_Church_of_Painesville.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71989549","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methodist_Episcopal_Church_of_Painesville","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6823812"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/lake-county/methodist-episcopal-church-of-painesville-the-98000043/"}