Plaque

First Church of Christ, Scientist

CAMPUS AREA

Dwight Way at Hillegass Avenue Map View

CITY OF BERKELEY LANDMARK

designated in 1975

NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK

First Church of Christ, Scientist

Bernard R. Maybeck, Architect, 1910
Roof replacement, accessibility, and seismic improvements:
Architectural Resources Group and Degenkolb Engineers, 2007

Maybeck’s masterpiece is an Arts & Crafts fusion of Romanesque, early Christian, Gothic, and Japanese architectural influences. Constructed with common industrial materials—metal, concrete, and glass—the design expresses permanence and integrity in design and structure. Massive diagonally crossed wood trusses supported by four fluted concrete columns allow unobstructed views from the congregation to the Reader stands. Skylights, translucent hammered glass window walls, and indirect lighting create a connection between the interior space and the adjacent landscape. The Sunday School along the eastern side of the main church was added in 1929 by Maybeck in association with Henry Gutterson.

Berkeley Historical Plaque Project
2007


  • First Church, side entry (2010), photo R. Kehlmann.

  • First Church of Christ Scientist, photo Ashley Greene (2023).

  • First Church of Christ Scientist, photo Ashley Greene (2023).

  • First Church, postcard, photo Allen Stross.

  • Bernard Maybeck, Dimitri Shipounoff Collection, BAHA Archives.

  • Doors, First Church (1980), photo David Close, BAHA Archives.

  • First Church (1912), Berkeley Public Library.

  • Bernard Maybeck, photo L.S.Slevin, Monterey County Free Libraries.

Photo credit abbreviations:
BAHA: Berkeley Architectural Heritage Assn.
BHS: Berkeley Historical Society