535 S Main St

From the National Register nomination

Large Colonial Revival one-story church of stretcher-bond brick with occasional header/stretcher courses. The multiple gable roof has asphalt-shingled sheathing. The tower has a metal spire, a cross finial, a decorative balustrade, vertical Indiana limestone panels, and round-arch windows with colored glass. The principal entry has a scrolled pediment with a center cross, console brackets, fluted pilasters, a paneled frieze and reveal, a decorative transom, and double-leaf three-and-three panel doors. The round-arch nave windows have Gothick tracery and Indiana limestone keystones and spring blocks. The 1992 porte cochere on the west side has a pedimented gable roof and Doric columns. Other features include molded brick watertables, several Indiana limestone gable plaques with festoon carvings, and a north wing chimney with double paved shoulders. A curved drive leads from S. Liberty St. under the porte cochere, and a playground and parking lot are located to the north of the church. Two portable sheds, frame and metal, stand at the northwest corner of the lot. The Richmond architectural firm Courtenay S. Welton's Sons designed a Baptist church for Harrisonburg in 1955. The building was erected by Nielsen Construction of Harrisonburg. The congregation moved into the building in September 1959 although the sanctuary was not completed until 1964. The handicap entrance and porte cochere were completed in 1992 (also by Nielsen). (Rachel Hinz; Wells and Dalton, Virginia Architects, 468)