{"nrhp_refnum":"98000139","name":"First English Lutheran Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"501 James St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Syracuse","county":"Onondaga County","state":"NY","lat":43.054032713000026,"lon":-76.14577112499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-03-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A mission-inspired stone church at 501 James Street, at the corner of James and Warren Streets in Syracuse, New York, built in 1911 to designs by Archimedes Russell and Melvin King, with a compatible rear wing added in 1964.","why_significant":"The church is argued to be a distinguished, highly intact example of mission-inspired eclecticism and is unlike Russell's other work, probably reflecting the influence of his partner Melvin King. It is also an intact remnant of James Street's era as Syracuse's premier residential corridor. It is tied to the city's German-American community as the first English Lutheran congregation in Syracuse.","narrative":"Standing on a one-acre corner lot at James and Warren Streets in Syracuse, this church was completed in 1911 to designs by architect Archimedes Russell and his partner Melvin King. Its symmetrical form features a tall central bell tower with battered sides, flanked by two smaller towers, all with pyramidal roofs of orange tile. Brick bearing walls are faced in smooth Ohio sandstone, and fifteen stained glass windows, many by the Haskin Glass Factory of Rochester, light the interior beneath a barrel-vaulted nave. A compatible two-story wing was added at the rear in 1964. The building is considered significant for its Mission-inspired design, which differs from Russell's usual Gothic and Romanesque Revival churches and likely reflects King's influence. It also recalls the congregation's origins in 1879 as the city's first English Lutheran church, founded by children of German immigrants, and survives as one of few reminders of James Street's former residential grandeur.","period_of_significance":"1911","architect_builder":"Architect: Archimedes Russell and Melvin King","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revival/Mission","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Has remained a religious building since its construction in 1911; the sanctuary is largely unaltered and retains its original pews, furnishings, lighting fixtures and memorial windows.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:50.661449-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/98000139.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000139/bbcd375868-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000139/bbcd375868-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Crazyale","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FELC_Syracuse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Crazyale</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FELC_Syracuse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75320345","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_English_Lutheran_Church_(Syracuse,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5452966"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/onondaga-county/first-english-lutheran-church-98000139/"}