{"nrhp_refnum":"78000696","name":"Friendship Baptist Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"80 W. Dayton St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pasadena","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.14323175100003,"lon":-118.15191880499998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-11-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Friendship Baptist Church is a frame and stucco Spanish Colonial style church at 80 West Dayton Street in Pasadena, California, built in 1925 and finished the following year to designs by architect Norman F. Marsh.","why_significant":"It is described as the first and oldest Black Baptist church in Pasadena, founded by a congregation formed in 1893, and the mother church for the city's Black Baptist congregations. It is also considered a good example of the Spanish Colonial style popular in Southern California in the 1920s.","narrative":"Friendship Baptist Church, at 80 West Dayton Street in Pasadena, is a frame and stucco church built in 1925 and completed the next year. Local architect Norman F. Marsh designed it in the Spanish Colonial style, which was especially popular in Southern California during the 1920s. Its features include a large square corner tower with arched openings, a curved gable forming the facade, a rose window above the main entrance, decorative pilasters, and stained-glass windows along the nave. The congregation was formed in 1893 with ten members, met in a rented building and then a tent, and raised funds for the present building in 1925. It is recognized as the first and oldest Black Baptist church in Pasadena and as the mother church for the city's other Black Baptist congregations. The church has played a significant role in civic and cultural affairs, and the city designated it a local landmark. The roof, electrical system and foundation underpinnings have been replaced, but no major alterations are recorded.","period_of_significance":"1925","architect_builder":"Norman F. Marsh (architect); Bowman Construction Co. named as builder in the attached city landmark form","architectural_style":"Spanish Colonial","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied and in religious use; condition marked fair. The roof, much of the electrical system and the foundation underpinnings have been replaced, but no major alterations are reported.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.661807-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/78000696.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000696/3585d421dd-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000696/3585d421dd-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Adrianne Wadewitz","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FriendshipBaptistChurch.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Adrianne Wadewitz</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FriendshipBaptistChurch.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"07001303","name":"Old Pasadena Historic District (Boundary Increase)","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/california/old-pasadena-historic-district-boundary-increase-07001303/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859129","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendship_Baptist_Church_(Pasadena,_California)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5504382"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/friendship-baptist-church-78000696/"}