At 2619 Dwight Way, at Bowditch Street across from People's Park, is a church that architecture surveys keep coming back to.
The building
Wikipedia says the church was designed by Bernard Maybeck and built in 1910, mainly in the American Craftsman style with Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic Revival touches. The plan is a square, or Greek cross, with two pairs of huge crossed trusses over the central space. A Sunday school addition came in 1929.
Friends of First Church says Maybeck used modern materials in new ways for a religious building. Factory-made steel window sash holds panes of textured Belgian glass that fill the auditorium with soft light. Decorated reinforced concrete, massive timber trusses, Gothic tracery and bold color all appear together. The group says the low rooflines and heavy wood hint at Japanese traditions. It also credits an all-woman Plans Committee with inspiring Maybeck's design.
A landmark that needs work
The church was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977, according to Wikipedia. Friends of First Church says roof repairs and a seismic upgrade were finished in 2007 with grants from Save America's Treasures and the Getty Foundation. It says the century-old steel window assemblies are now badly corroded and urgently need conservation, and it's raising money for the work.
Tours and events
Friends of First Church offers public architectural tours on the first Sunday of each month at 12:15 p.m. Groups of four or more need reservations. The next public tour is Sunday, Dec. 6. The group also lists midday organ meditations on Thursdays at 11:30 a.m. and piano meditations on the second and fourth Fridays at 3:15 p.m. Private tours can be arranged for a fee. The Christian Science Society, Berkeley, still holds services in the building.