{"nrhp_refnum":"78000774","name":"Felton Presbyterian Church","other_names":["Faye G. Belardi Memorial Library"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"6299 Gushee St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Felton","county":"Santa Cruz County","state":"CA","lat":37.05267732200008,"lon":-122.07437683999996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-04-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story frame vernacular Victorian church at 6299 Gushee Street in Felton, Santa Cruz County, California, built March to July 1893 by volunteer carpenters. It now serves as the Faye G. Belardi Memorial Library.","why_significant":"It is one of the oldest church structures in the San Lorenzo Valley and the first church building in Felton. It survived a planned demolition after townspeople rallied to save it, and it was converted to a library with few alterations. Architecturally it is a late 19th century vernacular country church, notable for its pressed tin ceiling in a floral pattern.","narrative":"Built by volunteer carpenters between March and July 1893, this small frame church at 6299 Gushee Street in Felton was the town's first church building. Land was donated by Santa Cruz entrepreneur F.A. Hihn after local donations alone proved too little to proceed. It operated as the Presbyterian Community Church for sixty-three years. When the congregation built a larger church in the early 1950s, a local restaurateur bought the property intending to dismantle it, but townspeople campaigned to save it and he donated the land and building to the community. It was dedicated as the Faye G. Belardi Memorial Library in 1956. The one-story vernacular Victorian building has Gothic windows, wide horizontal siding, a bell cupola over the apse, and an arched ceiling of pressed tin panels in a floral design. Its form remains largely unaltered, and it recalls Felton's lumber and tourism era.","period_of_significance":"1893","architect_builder":"Unknown architect, volunteer carpenters","architectural_style":"Vernacular Victorian church with Gothic windows; late 19th century vernacular country church","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in use as a public library; kept in excellent repair and freshly painted as required.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:32.076985-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/78000774.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000774/6d3c48b2ea-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000774/6d3c48b2ea-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Mrwrite","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Forme_rchurch_in_Felton.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Mrwrite</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Forme_rchurch_in_Felton.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861855","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felton_Presbyterian_Church_(historic_building)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5442673"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/santa-cruz-county/felton-presbyterian-church-78000774/"}