{"nrhp_refnum":"98000128","name":"First United Methodist Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"7 Elm St. at Bleecker Sq.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Gloversville","county":"Fulton County","state":"NY","lat":43.05196973000005,"lon":-74.34614689699998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-02-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A red brick Romanesque Revival church at 7 Elm Street at Bleecker Square in downtown Gloversville, Fulton County, New York. The original church was built 1868-1870, with a two-story addition made in 1909.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is a large, substantially intact example of post-Civil War Romanesque Revival church architecture in Gloversville. It was designed by Syracuse architect Horatio Nelson White and reflects his hallmark features from the most prolific period of his career. It also remains a prominent landmark of downtown Gloversville.","narrative":"Standing at Bleecker Square on the west edge of downtown Gloversville, this two-story red brick church was built between 1868 and 1870 for a large Methodist congregation. Syracuse architect Horatio Nelson White designed it, and it shows his preferred Romanesque Revival vocabulary: round-arched windows, corbeled brick panels, contrasting stone bands marking each story, and a staged entrance and bell tower topped by a pyramidal slate roof. The sanctuary seated 800 and was noted for its acoustics; it cost $65,000 to build. Inside are a gallery on turned columns, a barrel-vaulted plaster ceiling and a large pipe organ installed in 1909, when a polygonal addition with a chapel, Sunday school rooms and parish hall was added. The building is significant for its architecture and for its close resemblance to White's courthouse designs. Its period of significance ends in 1921, when the Phelps memorial stained glass window was installed. The church remains in religious use.","period_of_significance":"1868-1921","architect_builder":"Horatio Nelson White","architectural_style":"Late Victorian/Romanesque Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still used as a church, serving a declining urban congregation; described as retaining a high level 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 02:51:50.35079-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/98000128.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000128/cc8b9d417a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000128/cc8b9d417a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Doug Kerr from Upstate New York","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_United_Methodist_Church_Gloversville_NY_Jun_10.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Doug Kerr from Upstate New York</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_United_Methodist_Church_Gloversville_NY_Jun_10.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317852","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_United_Methodist_Church_(Gloversville,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5453986"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/fulton-county/first-united-methodist-church-98000128/"}