First_Church_of_Christ,_Scientist_(Berkeley,_California)
First Church of Christ, Scientist (Berkeley, California)
Historic church in California, United States
First Church of Christ, Scientist, Berkeley, now also known as Christian Science Society, Berkeley, is a Christian Science church, located at 2619 Dwight Way at Bowditch Street across the street from People's Park, in Berkeley, in Alameda County, California.[4]
First Church of Christ, Scientist | |
| Location | 2619 Dwight Way, Berkeley, California |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°51′56.75″N 122°15′21.75″W |
| Built | 1910 |
| Architect | Bernard Ralph Maybeck |
| Architectural style | Mixed (more Than 2 Styles From Different Periods) |
| NRHP reference No. | 77000283 |
| BERKL No. | 5 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | December 22, 1977[1] |
| Designated NHL | December 22, 1977 [2] |
| Designated BERKL | December 15, 1975 [3] |
The Christian Science Society, Berkeley continues to meet in their over-100-year-old church building.[5]
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Berkeley held its first service in Wilkin's Hall, 2412 Haste Street, on Sunday, March 12, 1905, and its present membership— October, 1905—is forty-eight. A lot was bought (2892 Dwight Way) in June, and a church building will be erected later on.
— The Christian Science Journal (December 1905)[6]
The historic 1910 church was designed by renowned architect Bernard Ralph Maybeck (1862–1957), in a primarily American Craftsman style, with Byzantine Revival, Romanesque Revival, and Gothic Revival style elements.[7] The church is widely considered one of Maybeck's masterpieces.[8][9]
The basic plan is that of a square or Greek cross, with two pair of great crossed trusses spanning the central space overhead. In 1929 a Sunday School addition was added to the Church.
Landmark
It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1977, and is on the National Register of Historic Places in Alameda County, California.[2][10]
In October 2005, the Friends of First Church Berkeley were awarded a prestigious federal Save America's Treasurers (SAT) Grant, for the roof replacement and seismic strengthening of the 1910 Church and much of the 1929 Sunday School addition.[11] The church received a Getty Architectural Conservation Implementation Grant in 2006, to enable the completion of the seismic strengthening of the Church and Sunday School addition.[11][12] In 2009 and 2010, the Friends of First Church Berkeley received University of California Berkeley Chancellor's Community Partnership Grants for restoring the garden setting of the church.[11]
- "First Church of Christ, Scientist". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. September 27, 2007. Archived from the original on November 14, 2007. Retrieved September 28, 2007.
- "Berkeley Landmarks". Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
- "1st Church of Christ, Scientist, Berkeley First Church of Christ, Scientist, Berkeley homepage". Archived from the original on September 15, 2017. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
- Pitts, Carolyn (July 1977). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: First Church of Christ Scientist" (pdf). National Park Service.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) and Accompanying 5 photos, exterior, undated, assumed 1977 or earlier (2.52 MB)
First Church of Christ, Scientist (Berkeley, California).