PARIS – The Deering Memorial United Methodist Church in Paris has been entered in the National Register of Historic Places, according to Earle G. Shettleworth Jr., director of the Maine Historic Preservations Commission, whose staff prepared the nomination.

The designation indicates that the property has been documented, evaluated and considered worthy of preservation and protection as part of the nation’s cultural heritage.

The church was erected between 1910 and 1911 and is the only known commission in Maine by the Cleveland, Ohio, architectural firm of Sidney Rose Badgley and William Nicklas.

Built of granite quarried in nearby Bryant Pond, the cruciform-shaped structure, with crenellated entrance tower, prominent buttresses and large stained glass windows, was designed in a late Gothic Revival style reminiscent of the English Perpendicular Gothic.

On the interior, the sanctuary features dramatic hammer beam trusses with supporting arches, as well as quarter-sawn oak pews, trim and furnishings.

While the overall massing, materials and style of the church alludes to late-medieval precedents, the interior arrangements reference 19th century liturgical reforms, including a modified Akron style lower-level classroom area and an auditorium-style seating arrangement in the sanctuary.

The Deering Memorial United Methodist Church was listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its architectural significance.