{"nrhp_refnum":"99001331","name":"St. James Church","other_names":["Church of England in America","Mission Church at Newton","St. James Protestant Episcopal Church","Parish Hall","Community"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"86-02 Broadway","address_restricted":false,"city":"Elmhurst","county":"Queens","state":"NY","lat":40.73848691300003,"lon":-73.87750316399996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1999-11-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"St. James Church is a single-story heavy timber-framed former Church of England mission church at 86-02 Broadway in Elmhurst (formerly Newtown), Queens, New York, built in 1735-36 and now used as a community center.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the oldest remaining Church of England building in New York City and a rare surviving vernacular colonial mission church. It is significant under Criterion A for its ties to colonial life in Newtown and under Criterion C as a distinguished example of vernacular Colonial architecture that retains its heavy timber frame and much interior woodwork.","narrative":"Built in 1735-36 at what is now 86-02 Broadway in Elmhurst, Queens, this small timber-framed building began as the Church of England mission church at Newtown. Joseph Moore, described in town records as a yeoman, built it. The nomination calls it the oldest remaining Church of England building in New York City and the only remaining vernacular one. Over time it gained two bays at the east end around 1771, a rebuilt tower in 1760, a barrel-vaulted ceiling in 1816, and major repairs after the tower collapsed in 1883. Its heavy timber frame, rectangular form and much early paneling and woodwork survive. The congregation, incorporated as St. James in 1761, held its last service here in 1848 after moving to a larger church nearby, and the building then served as a parish hall and Sunday school. It was listed for its association with colonial life and as a rare surviving colonial mission church, with significance running from 1735 to 1883.","period_of_significance":"1735-1883","architect_builder":"Joseph Moore of Newtown","architectural_style":"COLONIAL/Post-medieval English","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Currently used as a church-related community center (religion and social/community center functions); the congregation's services moved to a larger church in 1848 and the building then served as a parish hall and Sunday school.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:50.131989-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/99001331.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99001331/dc2e4ab659-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99001331/dc2e4ab659-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Jim.henderson","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_St_James_CoE_Elmhurst_jeh.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jim.henderson</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_St_James_CoE_Elmhurst_jeh.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75321151","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._James_Church_(Queens)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7588455"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/queens/st-james-church-99001331/"}