Pilgrim Congregational Church is a historic congregation of the United Church of Christ in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Constructed in the 1890s for a congregation founded in the 1850s, it was named a historic site in the 1970s.

Congregationalists Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

began operating a

Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood in 1854, and their efforts resulted in the creation of a church five years later. The members began construction of their first church building in 1865, although it was not completed until 1870. It was suitable for the congregation's needs for only a short time, as construction on the present building was started just 23 years after the first building was finished. The name "Pilgrim Congregational Church" was adopted in 1894 upon the completion of the present building;Owen, Lorrie K., ed. ''Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places''. Vol. 1. St. Clair Shores: Somerset, 1999, 262. they had been styled "Heights Congregational Church" into the 1870s and used the name "Jennings Avenue Congregational Church" in the 1880s.Pilgrim Congregational Church
Encyclopedia of Cleveland History,

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...

, 1997-07-21. Accessed 2014-02-12. The building was a community landmark from its earliest years — electric wiring was included in the original construction at a time when no other Cleveland buildings west of the

Cuyahoga River The Cuyahoga River ( , or ) is a river located in Northeast Ohio that bisects the City of Cleveland and feeds into Lake Erie. As Cleveland emerged as a major manufacturing center, the river became heavily affected by industrial pollution, so mu ...

had electricity. Designed by prominent Cleveland architect

Sidney Badgley Sidney Rose Badgley (May 28, 1850 – April 29, 1917) was a prominent start-of-the-20th-century Canadian-born architect. He was active throughout the United States and Canada, with a significant body of work in Cleveland. Biography Badgley was b ...

, Pilgrim Congregational cost approximately $150,000 to complete. It is a generally square building typical of the

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanesque ...

style, distinguished by exterior elements such as prominent

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...

s on the northern and eastern sides. At the time of construction, the church was deeply involved in social programs in the community; rooms such as recreation space for young men, a library, and a gymnasium take up two-thirds of the building. The tallest section of the church is a square corner tower with a pointed roof; tall arched windows occupy much of its height, with circular windows and a belfry between the arched windows and the top of the tower. The main entrance also is through an arch, placed at the top of a wide flight of stairs., Ohio Historical Society, 2007. Accessed 2014-02-12. In 1976, Pilgrim Congregational Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, qualifying both because of its place in local history and because of its historically significant architecture, which when completed was called an "epoch-making church building"; just four years after the building was erected, the plans had been used as an example of the latest ecclesiastical architecture at the

Paris Exhibition Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

at the turn of the century. It was one of twenty

Cuyahoga County Cuyahoga County ( or ) is a large urban County (United States), county located in the Northeast Ohio, northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the Canada–United States border, U.S.- ...

locations added to the Register in 1976.

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* {{authority control Churches completed in 1894 19th-century churches in the United States Churches in Cleveland National Register of Historic Places in Cleveland, Ohio Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Ohio Romanesque Revival church buildings in Ohio United Church of Christ churches in Ohio Tremont, Cleveland