Church of the Nativity
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Why it's listed
Church of the Nativity is a redwood Gothic Revival church on Oak Grove Avenue in Menlo Park, painted white and topped by a central bell tower and slender spire. Built in 1872 by James R. Doyle on land at Ringwood Avenue and Middlefield Road, it was moved in two stages in 1877 and 1878 to its current site after the original land was lost to a financial dispute. A brick foundation and a rear addition in 1887 gave it a Latin cross plan, and the rose window and transept glass followed in 1900. Lancet windows, pier buttresses, trefoil tracery and exposed redwood hammerbeam trusses mark its design. It is described as the earliest surviving wooden Catholic church on the San Francisco Peninsula, and it served as Menlo Park's first school before a public school opened in 1875. In the 1950s parishioners resisted plans to replace it, leading to continued care and stabilization.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it the earliest extant wooden Catholic church on the San Francisco Peninsula. Its Early Gothic Revival style shows the regional lag behind eastern architectural fashion. It also served as Menlo Park's first school and as the educational, social and religious center of the early Irish-Catholic community.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 80000855, listed October 31, 1980. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 210 Oak Grove Ave., Menlo Park |
|---|---|
| County | San Mateo County |
| Listed | October 31, 1980 |
| Reference number | 80000855 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899 |
| Architect / builder | Original builder James R. Doyle |
| Architectural style | Early Gothic Revival |
| Areas of significance | Education, Architecture, Religion |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied and in religious use; stabilized in 1975 at a cost of about a quarter million dollars to retain its original appearance. |
| Acreage | 1.7 |
| Coordinates | 37.46079, -122.18040 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
Religious properties are listed for their architectural or historical significance, not their religious use. Listing is honorary and does not restrict the congregation's use of the building. The federal rehabilitation credit is generally unavailable unless part of the building is income-producing; some state programmes and preservation grants do cover religious buildings. Federal funding or permits trigger Section 106 review.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 80000855.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5118003
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.