{"nrhp_refnum":"99001656","name":"First United Methodist Church","other_names":["Chester Hill Methodist Episcopal Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"226 E. Lincoln Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Mount Vernon","county":"Westchester County","state":"NY","lat":40.91837187200008,"lon":-73.82939866199996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2000-01-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Romanesque Revival church at 227 East Lincoln Avenue in Mount Vernon, Westchester County, New York, built in 1900-01 as the Chester Hill Methodist Episcopal Church and designed by George W. Kramer.","why_significant":"It is an architecturally significant, late Victorian example of Romanesque Revival church design, specifically the Richardsonian Romanesque style. It is a handsome, spacious example of the Akron Plan, a layout often credited to its architect, George W. Kramer. The 1935 Sunday school wing had little impact on the original building, which retains most of its original fabric.","narrative":"Standing at the top of Chester Hill at East Lincoln Avenue and Summit Street, this granite church in Mount Vernon was built in 1900-01 for the Chester Hill Methodist Episcopal Church. New York architect George W. Kramer designed it, and the firm of Dawson & Archer, whose members belonged to the congregation, built it. Limestone details, a red slate roof with intersecting gables, an octagonal conical entrance tower and an 85-foot bell and clock tower give it a picturesque Richardsonian Romanesque character. Inside, a semi-circular auditorium with a wraparound balcony and a domed ceiling lit by a stained glass oculus follows the Akron Plan, in which sliding doors joined the sanctuary to the Sunday school chapel. A Sunday school wing was added in 1935 with little effect on the original structure. The church took its present name after a 1967 merger of two Methodist congregations. It was listed for its architecture and its link to Kramer, a prolific church designer.","period_of_significance":"1900-1935","architect_builder":"George W. Kramer (architect); Dawson & Archer (builders)","architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Romanesque Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Two congregations currently use the building, which remains in religious use; the stained glass oculus was recently restored.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:51.225854-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/99001656.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99001656/85e23a1152-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99001656/85e23a1152-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"jim.henderson","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_United_Methodist_Church_2012-09-23_jeh.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">jim.henderson</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:First_United_Methodist_Church_2012-09-23_jeh.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75323025","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_United_Methodist_Church_(Mount_Vernon,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5454003"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/westchester-county/first-united-methodist-church-99001656/"}