First Presbyterian Church of West Berkeley Plaque

First Presbyterian Church of West Berkeley

WEST & CENTRAL

926 Hearst Avenue (plaque missing) Map View

CITY OF BERKELEY LANDMARK

designated in 1981

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF WEST BERKELEY

(Westminster Presbyterian)
(Ethiopian Orthodox Church)
Charles Geddes, Architect, 1879

This church and nearby Church of the Good Shepherd are among the oldest remaining wood frame buildings in Berkeley. They were visible symbols of the bustling early community of Ocean View. At a time when the Temperance Movement was active, the congregation agitated for closure of nearby saloons. In 1906, during a period of heated debate over liquor laws, its pastor was hanged in effigy.

In 1914 builder F.W. Farwell added an upstairs gymnasium, offices, and social hall on Eighth Street. The wood frame Victorian Gothic structure, its square, eighty-foot tall steeple, and hammered glass sanctuary windows remain intact.

Berkeley Historical Plaque Project
2003


  • First Presbyterian Church Building, photo Candice Schott (2023).

  • First Presbyterian Church Missing Plaque, photo Candice Schott (2023).

  • First Presbyterian West Berkeley entry (2010), photo R. Kehlmann.

  • First Presbyterian Church Location, photo Candice Schott (2023).

More information:
BAHA

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