Mendocino Presbyterian Church Explained

Mendocino Presbyterian Church
Nrhp Type:cp
Nocat:yes
Location:44831 Main Street
Mendocino, California
Built:1867-1868
Architect:S. C. Bugbee & Son of San Francisco, architects; Albert Maxwell, contractor
Architecture:Carpenter Gothic
Designated Other1:California
Designated Other1 Number:714
Partof:Mendocino and Headlands Historic District
Partof Refnum:71000165

The Mendocino Presbyterian Church is an historic Carpenter Gothic-style Presbyterian church building located at 44831 Main Street, in Mendocino, California. Built of coast redwood, it sits on the Mendocino headlands overlooking the Pacific Ocean; its board and batten exterior walls, tall side-entrance bell tower, steep gabled roof and lancet windows are typical of many Carpenter Gothic churches. Its stained glass windows were made by local stained glass artist Leone McNeil Zimmer.[1] The church is California Historical Landmark No. 714 and is also a contributing property in the Mendocino and Headlands Historic District which was added on July 14, 1971, to the National Register of Historic Places.

History

The church was designed by architects S. C. Bugbee & Son of San Francisco and was built between 1867 and 1868 at a cost of $10,000 by contractor Albert Maxwell. On July 5, 1868, it was formally dedicated.[2] It served as the model for the smaller but more elaborate Church of the Good Shepherd, Berkeley that S. C. Bugbee's son Charles L. Bugbee designed in the late 1880s.

In 1947 parts of the movie Johnny Belinda, which starred Jane Wyman and Lew Ayres, were filmed on the premises and the church received enough money to buy a new roof.[2]

Current status

Today the church is an active congregation in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),[3] and is one of the oldest continuously used Protestant churches in California.[4] The Rev. Matthew E. Davis is the current pastor.[5]

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.mendopres.org/history/mpc-stained-glass/ MPC Stained Glass
  2. http://www.mendopres.org/AboutUs/History/tabid/45203/Default.aspx Mendocino Presbyterian Church history
  3. http://www.pcusa.org/search/churches/church_search.jsp Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) listing for Mendocino Presbyterian Church
  4. Adams, Rick, and McCorkle, Louise, The California Highway 1 Book, New York: Ballantine Books, 1985, 1st edition, p. 284, . The oldest continuously-used Protestant church, a Methodist church in Downieville, California, was finished only 12 years earlier, in 1856 http://www.historichwy49.com/churches.html.
  5. http://www.mendopres.org/churchstaff.asp Mendocino Presbyterian Church contact us