First Baptist Church of Los Angeles is a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

church located at 760 South Westmoreland Avenue in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. It was designated Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument 237 in 1981.

History

On September 4, 1874, believers came together to pray. In the beginning, they met on North Spring Street, but by 1884, they moved into its first building at the corner of Sixth and Fort Streets, until 1898. Its construction was funded by donations from

Isaac Newton Van Nuys Isaac Newton Van Nuys (; November 20, 1836 – February 12, 1912) was an American businessman, farmer and rancher who owned the entire southern portion of the San Fernando Valley—an area 15 miles long and 6 miles wide. With the approach of ...

(1836-1912) and

James Boon Lankershim James Boon Lankershim (1850–1931) was an American heir, landowner and real estate developer. Early life James Boon Lankershim was born on March 24, 1850, in Charleston, Missouri. His father was Isaac Lankershim (1818–1882), a German-born Calif ...

(1850-1931). The second building, constructed in 1897, was located at 727 South Flower Street, and

Dwight L. Moody Dwight Lyman Moody (February 5, 1837 – December 26, 1899), also known as D. L. Moody, was an American evangelist and publisher connected with Keswickianism, who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Massa ...

(1837-1899) attended its dedication.

Billy Sunday William Ashley "Billy" Sunday (November 19, 1862 – November 6, 1935) was an American outfielder in baseball's National League and widely considered the most influential American evangelist during the first two decades of the 20th century. Bo ...

(1862-1935) preached there in 1913. In 1927, a new church building, the current church, was designed by Allison & Allison in the Spanish Gothic style. It was modeled after the Ducal Palace in

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Theological significance

Pentecostal revival in Los Angeles is said to have started in this church in 1905 thanks to Rev. Joseph Smale, after he had met Evan Roberts (1878-1951) on a trip to

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

.Roberts Liardon (ed.), ''The Azusa Street Revival: When the Fire Fell'', Destiny Image Publishers, 2006, p. 9

/ref> Frank Bartleman (1871-1936) attended this church.

Bibliography

*Herbert L. Sutton, ''Our Heritage and Our Hope: The History of First Baptist Church of Los Angeles, California, 1874-1974'' (1974)Google Books
/ref>

References

External links

Baptist churches in California Churches in Los Angeles Wilshire, Los Angeles 20th-century Baptist churches in the United States Churches completed in 1927 1920s architecture in the United States Allison & Allison buildings Spanish Revival architecture in California {{California-church-stub