St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008, St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church is located at 61 Bowers Street.  Built in 1881 in the Romanesque Revival style, it was the first French Protestant church built in Lowell.  French Protestants came to Lowell as part of a large immigration wave from the British provinces of Canada after the Civil War.  The French Congregationalist Society of Lowell organized in 1877 and after worshipping in several locations, erected the present church.

The French Protestant College opened in 1885 in the basement of the church.  But with the college struggling after two years, it moved to Springfield in 1887 and today is known as American International College. 
By 1905, the church was in decline and in 1910 it closed.  Syrian and Lebanese immigrants began coming to Lowell in the 1880s and by 1917 had purchased the church.  The newly-named St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church was dedicated in 1919.