Nomination for First Congregational Church

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 100240018 (Oct. 1990) National Park Service RECEIVED 1. Name of Property Location street & number N/A U not for publication N/A O vicinity - code 123 zip code 43440 As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this x nomination Ohio Historic Preservation Office -- OH SHPO State of Federal agency and bureau Centered in the National Register. - See continuation sheet. - determined not eligible for the - removed from the National - other, (explain:) Date comments.) state Registration Form Marblehead Ohio Register. National Register historic name State/Federal Agency Certification National Register of Historic Places First Congregational Church 802 Prairie Street 4.

National Park Service Certification United States Department of the Interior city or town Signature of certifying official/Title AUG 2 I 2000 entries and narrative items on continuation sheets (NPS Form 10-900a). Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer, to complete all items. other names/site number First United Church of Christ, Congregational Et meets does not meet the National Register criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant - nationally statewide 5 locally. ( See continuation sheet for additional comments.) Dept. Head I hereby dertify that the property is: architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions.

Place additional request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of In my opinion,the property meets does not meet the National Register See continuation sheet for additional Ottawa County, Ohio Name of Property 5. Classification X building(s) Structures - object Name of related multiple property listing 6. Function or Use 7. Description walls .

other _ site district Noncontributing private glass public-State Architectural Classification limestone roof public-Federal Historic Functions Materials First Congregational Church Narrative Description Richardsonian Romanesque in the National Register RELIGION/religious facility Number of contributing resources previously listed Current Functions asphalt shingle public-local Total Ownership of Property County and State (Enter categories from instructions) Number of Resources within Property wood Category of Property (Check as many boxes as apply) (Do not include previously listed resources in the count.) (Check only one box) foundation limestone (Describe the historic and current condition of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) NPS Form 10-400- Ottawa County, Ohio The First Congregational Church is located in a residential section of the village of Marblehead, just east of the Lakeside Historic District (NR 3-83), Ohio's Chautauqua on the south shore of Lake Erie.

Serving a congregation founded in 1873, it is an Akron Plan church, constructed of local limestone in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. Designed by Chicago architect Oliver W. Marble, the cornerstone was laid in May 1900, with dedication of the completed church held the following December. Basically square in plan, the building measures 58 feet on two sides, with a chamfered southwest corner (photo #2). Exterior walls are constructed of locally quarried rock-faced limestone block laid in a large round-arch stained glass window (photo #1, 11). The square tower's raised, round-arch entry has paired wooden doors and a stained glass arched transom under stone voussoirs. A stained glass window on the tower's east side duplicates the doorway in scale and design. Midway up the tower are small, paired, diamond-pane windows on three sides.

Round-arch belfry openings are surmounted by dormer-like gables projecting from the pyramidal tower roof, which is topped with a metal astrolabe (photo #4). Stone transom bars replicate those found in the other arched fenestration. The facade window extends into a prominent gabled wall dormer, and is divided by a smooth stone transom bar and mullions into paired Most of the other windows are also in groupings of two or three. Several sizeable gables intersect the hipped roof at various heights, including one over the projecting Sunday School entrance on the east elevation (photo #3, 5, The interior floor plan is an adaptation of the Akron Plan (Jaeger 1984), with class and Sunday School rooms opening into the main auditorium (photo #7-8).

A corner pulpit platform is located diagonally opposite the main entrance, and four aisles radiate out from the pulpit, with curved pews configured in a quarter-circle on the pitched floor (photo #9). To simple bullseye corner blocks and ornate brass hardware. Newer ceilings and paneling have been installed in the basement, but original wood trim and kitchen cabinets were retained. Changes to this building over time have been few and minor in character. Most noticeable the peaks were also removed at that time. Other changes include removal of a portion of the First Congregational Church Narrative Description National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet National Park Service is the roof, which is now finished with asphalt shingles rather than slate.

Cast iron finials on the north and east sides are three rooms, separated from each other and the auditorium by full-width wood roll-up doors (photo #10).Wood door and window trim is accented by United States Department of the Interior Section number _7 Page _ 1 United States Department of the Interior Section number _ 7 altar railing, replacement of the original paneled front doors with newer wood doors (ca. balustrade from the east side cornice (date unknown). The astrolabe crowning the bell tower is a modern replacement duplicating the original, which was destroyed in a lightning strike.

Page National Register of Historic Places First Congregational Church Narrative Description 1930s?), removal of stone from the two rear chimneys, and removal of a short stone National Park Service Continuation Sheet Overall, however, this building still displays a high degree of architectural integrity in both Ottawa County, Ohio exterior and interior appearance, as well as its Akron Plan room arrangement. NPS Form 10-000 Pastor's office 1 in. = 8ft. drawn by Lee Gernon /l = rolling partitions restrooms were the library, and the pastor's office was Originally, the organ & storage area were the choir room, the referred to as a study. bathroom bathroon new Ottawa County, Ohio Name of Property a significant contribution to the broad patterns of - B Property is associated with the lives of persons Significant in our past.

X C Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type,period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack Property has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history. (Mark "x" in all the boxes that apply.) X A owned by a religious institution or used for - B removed from its original location. - C a birthplace or grave. - D a cemetery. - E a reconstructed building, object, or structure. - F a commemorative property. - G less than 50 years of age or achieved significance within the past 50 years. Marble, Oliver W.

(architect) Bertsch, Ed (builder) (Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form on one or more continuation sheets.) - preliminary determination of individual listing (36 Sal State Historic Preservation Office - Other State agency - previously listed in the National Register - Federal agency - previously determined eligible by the National - Local government - University - designated a National Historic Landmark - Other - recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey - recorded by Historic American Engineering Record # 1900 Architecture Bibilography Register Criteria Considerations Cultural Affiliation Property is: Architect/Builder individual distinction. Applicable National Register Criteria Significant Person 9. Major Bibliographical References religious purposes.

Period of Significance (Enter categories from instructions) A Property is associated with events that have made Significant Dates Narrative Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

for National Register listing.) Areas of Significance County and State our history. Name of repository: 8. Statement of Significance Primary location of additional data: Previous documentation on file (NPS): CFR 67) has been requested (Complete if Criterion B is marked above) (Mark "x" in one or more boxes for the criteria qualifying the property (Explain the significance of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) First Congregational Church Name of Property 10.

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

Geographical Data - See continuation sheet 11. Form Prepared By name/title _ - telephone city or town - - state . Submit the following items with the completed form: A USGS map (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's location. (Check with the SHPO or FPO for any additional items) First United Church of Christ, Congregational street & number _ _ zip code 43440 a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.). Management and Budget, Paperwork Reductions Projects (1024-0018), Washington, DC 20503.

330-451-4707 Easting Zone name Maps Photographs Marblehead Ohio Additional Documentation First Congregational Church Property Owner Boundary Justification UTM References Northing Verbal Boundary Description Jeff Brown/Historic Preservation Administrator Continuation Sheets Additional items (Place additional UTM references on a continuation sheet.) 802 Prairie Street Representative black and white photographs of the property.

Acreage of Property less than one (Complete this item at the request of SHPO or FPO.) County and State Ottawa County, Ohio (Explain why the boundaries were selected on a continuation sheet.) organization _ February 22, 2000 street & number 201 3rd Street NE - zip code - Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information isbeing collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate of this form to the Chief, Administrative Services Division, National Park Service,P.O.Box 37127, Washington, DC 20013-7127; and the Office of 4/6| 010 2010 (Describe the boundaries of the property on a continuation sheet.) 44702-1211 Canton A Sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous resources.

Section number Ottawa County, Ohio Statement of Significance The First Congregational Church of Marblehead is nominated under Criterion C as a significant example of an Akron Plan church and of the Richardsonian Romanesque style of architecture. The Akron Plan was a distinctive 19th century development in the interior design of Protestant non-liturgical churches that was often combined with a Richardsonian Conceived in 1868, the Akron Plan of Sunday School room arrangements marked a major step in changing Protestant church design away from the more traditional center aisle, nave and transept plan long favored by liturgical churches. Nineteenth century evangelical churches increasingly emphasized the sermon in their worship services, and thus the pulpit in conducive to preaching, particularly for people at the rear.

To bring all congregants closer to the pulpit and improve the acoustics, elements of theater design that had proved compatible to these aims in earlier revivals, were incorporated into new designs called auditorium plans. Curving pews, radiating aisles, and sloping floors, all helped "to maximize the focus of the Sunday Schools through the 1800s, Lewis Miller, Sunday School superintendent for Akron's First Methodist Episcopal Church, and Akron architect Jacob Snyder combined to design a plan that incorporated a semi-circular Sunday School area at the rear of and opening into a central auditorium. Several variations on this plan subsequently became popular, particularly one introduced by Akron architect George W. Kramer, with a pulpit in the corner (rather than Church exemplifies that sub-type.

By the mid 1880s, the popularity of the auditorium & Akron plans had spread from Ohio throughout the eastern United States, entirely supplanting the traditional Gothic plan of interior church design among Protestant evangelical denominations. However, shortly after the turn of the century, "the Protestant church in America underwent a number of very fundamental changes in both worship and Christian education, which resulted several years later in related changes in ecclesiastical architecture. Both the auditorium preaching place and the Akron Plan Sunday School were ...entirely supplanted in the course of thirty years In addition to its historically significant interior, the First Congregational Church is also a distinctive example of Richardsonian Romanesque design. Popularized by Henry Hobson Continuation Sheet Romanesque exterior. Protestant denominations.

National Register of Historic Places First Congregational Church worship space upon the preacher and pulpit"(Jaeger: 53). With the growing importance of centered),diagonally opposite the main entrance and vestibule.The First Congregational National Park Service church architecture.The long nave and high ceilings in traditional designs were not United States Department of the Interior NPS Form 10-000 (Jaeger:182), as a new emphasis on separate Sunday School buildings took hold among Page Ottawa County, Ohio Statement of Significance Richardson in the 1880s, this variation of the Romanesque Revival typically features a rough- cut stone exterior with heavy round arches. Stone voussoirs in the arches, steeply pitched transom bars, colored glass transoms, or diamond panes, further distinguish this style.

The First Congregational church displays all of these defining elements with a high degree of integrity. In addition, Richardsonian Romanesque exteriors were often associated with Akron Plan interiors in American church architecture. Indeed, many auditorium plan churches were designed in this style "as late as the 1910s, some twenty years after its disappearance from the mainstream of American architectural design" (Jaeger: 91). "By the turn of the twentieth century, the exterior expression of the (auditorium) plan had coalesced into a fairly standard A typical Romanesque Revival, Akron Plan church "usually consisted of a corner tower with a large, squat gable end to either side. It often included a third gable at one side The astrolabe crowning the church tower is such an unusual ornamentation for a church in this region that it deserves additional comment.

Although the precise intentions of the congregation are not now known, it was probably a reflection of the area's strong nautical heritage. Since the early 1800s Marblehead has been a port for the shipment of limestone, the nearby Marblehead lighthouse (NR 1969) is the oldest operating lighthouse on the Great Lakes, and there is a long and distinguished local lifesaving tradition extending from the U.S. Lifesaving Service station of the 1880s to the present U.S. Coast Guard station at Marblehead. Although only a village, Marblehead's substantial ethnic and religious background is reflected in the community's five churches. Three are built of local limestone: this building, the Russian Orthodox church, and the Catholic church.

There are also a number of limestone commercial buildings and residences in and around Marblehead, including the Alexander Clemons House (NR 1987), but this church and the Catholic church are probably the two most architecturally distinctive examples of limestone construction in the village. Marblehead's Congregational Church was established in 1873 with 17 members. In 1875 they purchased an old Methodist church, a small frame building that is now a residence. A second building was acquired in 1896 to supplement the first, but membership grew rapidly, and on February 23, 1900, the lot at the corner of James and Prairie streets was purchased for the construction of this church (Tietjen: 3-5, 15-16).

Continuation Sheet First Congregational Church National Park Service National Register of Historic Places United States Department of the Interior indicating the presence of the Sunday School and other auxiliary spaces"(Jaeger:93).The hipped roofs with intersecting gables, and windows -often paired -with stone mullions and Section number8Page NPS Form Page Marblehead church, built in 1900, is a highly representative example of this model. United States Department of the Interior Church minutes retained by the First United Church of Christ, Congregational; Marblehead, Marblehead Congregational Church. The Sandusky Republican, May 15, 1900. The Auditorium and Akron Plans -- Reflections of a Half Century of American Protestantism. Unpublished M.A. thesis, Cornell University, 1984. Unpublished blueprints for the First Congregational Church, Marblehead.

In possession of First United Church of Christ, Congregational; Marblehead, Ohio. Pahlau, James A. Akron Sunday School Plan. Progress Through Preservation newsletter, Akron, Ohio, February 1993. Tietjen, Ellen First United Church of Christ Congregational, Building Centennial 1900-2000. Published by the First United Church of Christ, Congregational; Marblehead, Ohio, 2000. Verbal Boundary Description The nominated building is located on Lot 20, Section 1 of the Village of Marblehead, Ottawa County, Ohio (Vol. 56, p.4, Deed records), on the northwest corner of Prairie Street and James Street. associated with the nominated building. Anonymous Ohio.

Continuation Sheet Boundary Justification First Congregational Church National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Bibliography Boundary is based upon legally recorded lot descriptions, and includes the land historically Ottawa County, Ohio Jaeger, A. Robert Marble, Oliver W. NPS Form 10-9004 Section number 9, 10 Page - United States Department of the Interior (#1,4-6,9,11-14): Lori Roberts-Cobbledick Location of Negatives: Possession of Photographer Description of View: Facade, looking N-NW. East and north sides, looking SW. Detail of belltower and astrolabe. Detail of side entrance, looking west. Interior view, looking from classrooms into the main sanctuary. Interior view, looking from the sanctuary into the classrooms. Interior view, looking from the rear of the sanctuary towards the pulpit. #12. Original hymnal board. Interior view, east side entrance.

Photographs Page Detail view, pew carving. Continuation Sheet First Congregational Church National Park Service East side, looking west. National Register of Historic Places The following information is the same for all photographs: Large window in the facade. Section number Name of Photographer (#2,3,7,8,10): Jeff Brown View of the roll-up doors that separate classrooms and sanctuary. Name of Property: Ottawa County, Ohio OM8 AoprovelNa. 1024-0018 Facade & west side, looking NE.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET NAME : DATE OF 16TH DAY: 9/22/000ATE DATE OF 45TH DAY: OTHER : N PDIL: N PERIOD: COMMENT WAIVER: N ABSTRACT/SUMMARY COMMENTS: TELEPHONE DATE 10/05/00 RETURN REJECT MULTIPLE DISCIPLINE 8/21/00 REVIEWER RECOM./CRITERIA NATIONAL PARK SERVICE DATE RECEIVED: Entered in the NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES PROGRAM UNAPPROVED: National Register REASONS FOR REVIEW: DATE OF WEEKLY LIST: DOCUMENTATION see attached comments Y/N see attached SLR Y/N LESS THAN 5O YEARS: Photo + 6 if 14 WALK Photo + 8 -T 14 229 143 MARBLEHEAD, OTTAWA CO., OHIO Photo + 13.f14 7.5 MINUTE SERIES (TOPOGRAPHIC) KELLEYS ISLAND QUADRANGLE State Route GEOLOGICAL SURVEY STATE OF OHIO KELLEYS ISLAND, OHIO DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR N4130W8237.5/7 5 UNITED STATES MARBLEHEAD, OHIO 43444 Telephone 798-4612 Mr. Steve Gordon Ohio Historic Preservation Office 567 E.

Hudson St. Columbus, OH 43211-1030 We want you and your committee to know that on Feb. 16 our church council voted unanimously to support the nomination of First Congregational Church, Marblehead, to the National Register of Historic Places. We also voted to waive the required comment period We hope this, and the accompanying letter from Marblehead Mayor Steve Plottner, will facilitate the nomination process. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Congregational Parsonage First United Church of Christ Ellen Tietjen Jeff Brown has sent you a historic preservation nomination form for our church building. Council Clerk April 1, 2000 802 Prairie Street Dear Mr. Gordon: REC'D BY OHPO APR 2 42000 513 W. Main Street - P.O. Box 306 Marblehead, Ohio 43440 (419) 798-4074 Steve Plottner, Mayor (419) 798-9382 - Fax (419) 798-4238 Email: splot@infinet.com Mr.

Steve Gordon Ohio Historical Preservation 567 East Hudson Street Columbus, Ohio 43211-1030 Re: First United Church of Christ Congregational, Marblehead, Ohio Dear Mr. Gordon: The purpose of this letter is to indicate to you that the Village of Marblehead waives its right to a 60-day comment period regarding the nomination to place the century-old First United Church of Christ Congregational church building on the National Register of for its Dedication Day service on December 10. The Village of Marblehead supports this nomination of the First United Church of Christ Congregational church building to the National Register of Historic Places. If you have further questions regarding this support, please feel free to contact me. cc Rev. Kay Cox, Pastor, First United Church of Christ Congregational Ms. Ellen Tietjen, Clerk of Council, First United Church of Christ Congregational Ms.

Cynthia H. Rakocy, Clerk-Treasurer, Village of Marblehead Mayor Village of Marblehead Historic Places.It is my understanding that the congregation is seeking this status in time April 19, 2000 Steve Plottner 567 East Hudson Street Columbus, Ohio 43211-1030 614/ 298-2000 Fax: 614/ 298-2037 Visit us at www.ohiohistory.org/resource/histpres/ SINCE 1885 August 14, 2000 Ms. Carol Shull, Chief of Registration National Park Service National Register, History & Education Programs Mail Stop 2280, Suite 400 NATIONAL RE 1849 C. Street, NW Washington, D. C. 20240 NEW SUBMISSION If you have questions or comments about these documents, please contact this office. Amos J. Loveday, Jr State Historic Preservation Officer COUNTY Ottawa enclosures Sincerely, SOCIETY First Congregational Church HISTORICAL procedures have been followed for this new submission.

Ohio Historic Preservation Office Enclosed please find one(1) new National Register nomination.All appropriate notification Dear Ms. Shull: AUG 2 I LJUU & EDU OHIO