{"nrhp_refnum":"83003432","name":"Park Place Methodist Episcopal Church South","other_names":["Balboa Park Place"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"508 Olive St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Diego","county":"San Diego County","state":"CA","lat":32.73495524000003,"lon":-117.15989103999999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-09-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story Classical Revival church building with a basement at 508 Olive Street in the Bankers Hill area of San Diego, next to Balboa Park. It was built in 1910 and designed by architect Norman Foote Marsh.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a remarkable example of Classical Revival design by Norman Foote Marsh, an architect with a strong Los Angeles reputation. It is described as the only building of this style surviving in San Diego. It also marks the Bankers Hill neighborhood's development alongside the Panama-California Exposition and Balboa Park.","narrative":"Completed in 1910 at 508 Olive Street in San Diego's Bankers Hill district, this Classical Revival church sits beside Balboa Park. Architect Norman Foote Marsh, already known for more than twenty churches and many schools across California and Arizona, designed it for a Methodist Episcopal congregation that wanted the best available architect. Ground was broken in May 1909. The wood-frame building has two stories and a basement, with brick veneer and plaster walls, a two-story Composite portico with pre-cast columns, Palladian-style stained glass windows, and a stained glass dome beneath a cupola topped by a statue of the Archangel Gabriel. The Methodist congregation worshipped here for fifty years, followed by a Baptist congregation for twenty-five more, until 1978. It is described as the only building of its style remaining in the city and as a focal point of a neighborhood that grew with the 1915 exposition planning. By 1982 it stood vacant but largely intact, with rehabilitation planned.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"Norman Foote Marsh","architectural_style":"Classical Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Used as a church until 1978; described as vacant in 1982, in very good condition with minor alterations, and slated for rehabilitation for commercial and office use.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.594578-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/83003432.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83003432/411165e7f2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83003432/411165e7f2-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Bruce Roberson","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Park_Place_Methodist_Episcopal_Church_South.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Bruce Roberson</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:Park_Place_Methodist_Episcopal_Church_South.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860947","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Place_Methodist_Episcopal_Church_South","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5909004"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-diego-county/park-place-methodist-episcopal-church-south-83003432/"}