First Church of Christ, Scientist (Scranton, Pennsylvania)

The First Church of Christ, Scientist, now known as Lackawanna County Children's Library, is a building in Scranton, Pennsylvania located at 520 Vine Street. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 9, 1988. The building, built in 1915, was listed for its Classical Revival architecture.[1]

First Church of Christ, Scientist
The former church in 2013
Location520 Vine St., Scranton, Pennsylvania
Coordinates41°24′32″N 75°39′38″W
Area0.3 acres (0.12 ha)
Built1915
ArchitectAlbert J. Ward
Architectural styleClassical Revival
NRHP reference No.88000467[1]
Added to NRHPMay 9, 1988

History

Christian Science religious activity in Scranton dates from before 1890 when Judge Septimus J. Hanna and his wife came to take charge of the fledgling Christian Science Society. The Hannas left in 1892 for Christian Science world headquarters in Boston where he had been called by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, to become the editor of the Christian Science Journal.[2]

In 1915 the Neoclassical church edifice was erected at 520 Vine Street for the congregation which by then had become First Church of Christ, Scientist, Scranton. The architect was Albert J. Ward. The congregation held regular church services in this building until it downsized in the 1980s. In 1985 it sold the building for $1.5 million to the Lackawanna County Library System, which then converted it into the Lackawanna County Children's Library.[3][4][5]

The Children's Library is located immediately southeast of the main Scranton Public Library, which is also listed on the National Register under the name Albright Memorial Building.

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. A Biographical Sketch (obituary) of Judge Septimus J. Hanna, C.S.D., from the Pasadena Star-News, Pasadena, California, Monday, July 25, 1921, accessed March 22, 2008
  3. Article, Balancing the books, by Josh McAuliffe in the Times-Tribune, March 9, 2008, accessed on March 22, 2008
  4. "Lackawanna County Children's Library website". Archived from the original on 2008-04-21. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
  5. "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania" (Searchable database). CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Note: This includes Marnie Rees (1988). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: First Church of Christ, Scientist" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-01-02.
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