{"nrhp_refnum":"80000854","name":"Methodist Episcopal Church at Half Moon Bay","other_names":["Community Methodist Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"777 Miramontes St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Half Moon Bay","county":"San Mateo County","state":"CA","lat":37.46270446900007,"lon":-122.428132845,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-11-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Victorian Gothic Revival wood-frame church at 777 Miramontes Street, Half Moon Bay, San Mateo County, California, built in the summer of 1872 to designs by architect Charles Geddes. A former railroad freight depot and a 1955 classroom wing are attached and included in the nominated property.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it an outstanding vernacular adaptation of Gothic Revival style and the only country church on the remote San Francisco Peninsula coastside documented as having a commissioned architect. It also represents a long struggle to maintain a Protestant church in an area populated mainly by Catholic-oriented nationalities. It has always been used as a church.","narrative":"Built in the summer of 1872 on the San Mateo County coast, this wood-frame church in Half Moon Bay reflects a vernacular version of Gothic Revival design. Architect Charles Geddes of San Francisco drew the plans, and John H. McKay held the $2,275 woodwork contract; total cost was $3,700. Notable features include a double-door entry with an ogival arch and fanlight, lancet-style window mullions, and an unusual octagonal bell cupola with many small brackets. The 1906 earthquake threw the building off its foundation, and it was largely rebuilt by 1907. In 1930 the congregation attached a former Ocean Shore Railroad freight depot as a social hall, and a classroom wing followed in 1955. The nomination describes the church as the only documented coastside country church with a commissioned architect and as a record of Protestant persistence among a mostly Catholic population. A 1962 proposal to demolish it failed, and it remains in use as a church.","period_of_significance":"1872","architect_builder":"Charles Geddes, architect; John H. McKay, builder","architectural_style":"Victorian Gothic Revival (vernacular adaptation)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in use as a religious building; condition listed as excellent, with alterations.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:32.188424-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/80000854.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000854/db850dad0e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000854/db850dad0e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Sanfranman59","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Methodist_Episcopal_Church_at_Half_Moon_Bay,_777_Miramontes_St.,_Half_Moon_Bay,_CA_10-30-2011_11-50-33_AM.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Sanfranman59</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:Methodist_Episcopal_Church_at_Half_Moon_Bay,_777_Miramontes_St.,_Half_Moon_Bay,_CA_10-30-2011_11-50-33_AM.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861532","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_United_Methodist_Church_(Half_Moon_Bay,_California)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6823804"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-mateo-county/methodist-episcopal-church-at-half-moon-bay-80000854/"}