First Congregational Church

Designed and built in the Richardsonian Romanesque style by the noted architectural firm of Charles Henry, the historic First Congregational Church in Akron, Ohio was completed in 1910 and recently restored in 2005.  It is architecturally significant as it is one of the few remaining “Akron Plan” churches designed by Charles Henry, a design that they would eventually take nationally.  The Akron Plan had a unique layout with a Sunday school arrangement of small classrooms surrounding a central assembly hall.  This structure is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Our work on this project included:

• new slate and copper roofs and copper gutters
• restoration of the monitor on top of the church, which included extensive structural work, restoring the original crenellations, copper cladding, extensive ornamental copper, and new windows to match original
• structural shoring in the basement
• installation of stone lentils on windows
• masonry cleaning and restoration

Following completion of this project, we received the following awards for our work:

• five individual awards from the Cleveland Builder’s Exchange for craftsmanship for the slate, copper, and structural work
• 2006 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Design Award
• 2007 National Roofing Contractors of America (NRCA) Gold Circle Award for the best steep roofing project in the country.