Faith Bible Church, Northridge, California
Encyclopedia
Faith Bible Church, built in 1917, was the first church built in Northridge, located in the San Fernando Valley
of Los Angeles, California
. The church building was declared a City of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
in 1975 by the Los Angeles Cultural Historical Board.
Victorian
style. It was built nine years after the Southern Pacific Railroad
first laid tracks through Northridge, which was then known as Zelzah station, in 1908. When it was built, the church was originally known as the Norwegian Lutheran Church, as the six families that formed the congregation were of Norwegian descent.
Built of wood in the basilican style, with the steeple
at the entrance, the church's early Gothic style is differentiated from the High Victorian Gothic by the thinness of moldings and its generally monochromatic appearance. One writer obseved that, "with its steep stairs and narrow girth, it looks like a church you'd find sitting all alone on the Kansas
plains."
More recently, the church has been acquired and operated as a Korean congregation known as either the Northridge Free Methodist Church
, or the Los Angeles Antioch Church. The sign on the church in March 2008 (in photograph to the right) identified it as the Los Angeles Antioch Church.
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
of Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. The church building was declared a City of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments are sites in Los Angeles, California, which have been designated by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission as worthy of preservation based on architectural, historic and cultural criteria.-History:...
in 1975 by the Los Angeles Cultural Historical Board.
History
The church is in the Carpenter GothicCarpenter Gothic
Carpenter Gothic, also sometimes called Carpenter's Gothic, and Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massing applied to wooden structures built by house-carpenters...
Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
style. It was built nine years after the Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
first laid tracks through Northridge, which was then known as Zelzah station, in 1908. When it was built, the church was originally known as the Norwegian Lutheran Church, as the six families that formed the congregation were of Norwegian descent.
Built of wood in the basilican style, with the steeple
Steeple (architecture)
A steeple, in architecture, is a tall tower on a building, often topped by a spire. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religious structure...
at the entrance, the church's early Gothic style is differentiated from the High Victorian Gothic by the thinness of moldings and its generally monochromatic appearance. One writer obseved that, "with its steep stairs and narrow girth, it looks like a church you'd find sitting all alone on the Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
plains."
Present
The original church building still stands at 18531 Gresham Street in Northridge. For many years, it was known as the Faith Bible Church.More recently, the church has been acquired and operated as a Korean congregation known as either the Northridge Free Methodist Church
Free Methodist Church
The Free Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination within the holiness movement. It is evangelical in nature and has its roots in the Arminian-Wesleyan tradition....
, or the Los Angeles Antioch Church. The sign on the church in March 2008 (in photograph to the right) identified it as the Los Angeles Antioch Church.
See also
- List of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in the San Fernando Valley
- History of the San Fernando Valley to 1915History of the San Fernando Valley to 1915The history of the San Fernando Valley from its exploration by the 1769 Portola expedition to the annexation of much of it by the City of Los Angeles in 1915 is a story of booms and busts, as cattle ranching, sheep ranching, large-scale wheat farming, and fruit orchards flourished and faded...