First Congregational Church - Akron, Ohio - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

The First Congregational Church of Akron, established in November 1833, was Akron's first formally organized church congregation. In 1834, the State of Ohio recognized the petition to incorporate the First Congregational Church. The first building was located on S High Street, where the courthouse is currently located. Two other buildings were subsequently used until June 1908, when ground was broken and the cornerstone laid for current Bedford limestone building at East Market and Union Streets. The congregation marched from the old church to the new on June 7 to witness the laying of the cornerstone. On March 20, 1910 the first service was held in the still-unfinished building and on Christmas Day, 1910, the first service was held in the present Meetinghouse (sanctuary). The adjoining parsonage was added in 1912. In 1951 a Casavant Freres pipe organ was installed. Built in Quebec, it currently contains more than 3,500 individual pipes controlled from a console of four keyboards and a pedal board. In 1958 a new wing added a chapel, offices, meeting rooms and lounge to the existing church building. In 2006, major restoration to the Meetinghouse and organ were completed.

The church building’s architectural style is Richardson Romanesque, designed by Charles Henry and Sons. The building has three narthex entries with gable roofs lining the main façade, facing east, which feature a center block with large round arch windows flanked by square towers. The south tower stands three stories with stepped, corbelled battlements. The distinctive north bell and clock tower stands 100 feet high and 18 feet square. It featuring round arch and lancet windows, belt course, corbelled balcony, corner buttress, circular clock and stepped battlements.

First Congregational has the distinction of having one of the last remaining examples of an Akron Plan Sunday school space in the city. In March 2004, the church’s preservation of its Akron plan resulted in its being listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, only three original examples remain in the city of its origin.

Street address: 292 E Market St Akron, Ohio USA 44308 County / Borough / Parish: Summit County Year listed: 2004 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1900-1924, 1925-1949, 1950-1974 Historic function: Religion - Religious Structure Current function: Church Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   12/17/2009 buffalohiker visited it