{"nrhp_refnum":"12000810","name":"First Congregational Church of Long Beach","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"241 Cedar Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Long Beach","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":33.77045111600006,"lon":-118.19557560599998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2012-09-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large Romanesque Revival church at 241 Cedar Avenue in downtown Long Beach, California, built in 1914 of red brick with white glazed terra cotta trim and a 110-foot corner tower.","why_significant":"The truncated text does not include the full Section 8, so the criteria are not readable. The form describes the church as a large auditorium-type Romanesque Revival building that has dominated the downtown neighborhood for nearly a century while keeping its historic integrity. It was designed by architect Henry M. Patterson, and the congregation was described as the largest Congregational church community in the country.","narrative":"First Congregational Church of Long Beach, completed in 1914 at Cedar Avenue and West Third Street, is a large auditorium-style church in the Romanesque Revival manner. Red brick walls with patterned tapestry brickwork, white glazed terra cotta trim, a green mission tile roof and a 110-foot corner tower give it a commanding presence downtown. Three large rose windows and many leaded and stained glass windows light the sanctuary, which is laid out on a Greek cross plan with a three-sided balcony, a groin-vaulted foyer and an adjoining two-story Administration Wing. Inside, carved wood furniture, paneled finishes, stenciled surfaces and original Arts and Crafts light fixtures survive. The building was repaired after the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake, and a 2005 Education Building stands beside it. The form presents the church as a long-standing downtown landmark, locally designated in 1979, whose design and integrity have been carefully preserved.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Henry M. Patterson (architect, per the 1913 architectural plans cited)","architectural_style":"Late Victorian/Romanesque Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still in religious use; the form says the building's historic integrity has been retained. A non-contributing Education Building was added in 2005.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:29.527905-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/12000810.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000810/7e69b884aa-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000810/7e69b884aa-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Kaihsu Tai","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Congregational_United_Church_of_Christ_20080203.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Kaihsu Tai</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Congregational_United_Church_of_Christ_20080203.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859113","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Congregational_Church_(Long_Beach,_California)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5452804"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/first-congregational-church-of-long-beach-12000810/"}