The First Baptist Church, also known as the Bell Towers, is a historic

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

complex built in 1931 in

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of th ...

. The church moved to a new campus in 1977 and the building presently used as an

office building An office is a space where the employees of an organization perform administrative work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific du ...

. The structure was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

(NRHP) on January 2, 1979.

Structure

Constructed in 1931, the structure was built of

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...

, with the outside finish, simulating brick, created by a poured cast. Red, Spanish tile shingles cover the roof. A prominent, 70 foot (21 meter)

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

stands in the center of the south facade, forming part of what was the vestibule and

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...

of the church. The south side of the church also features large

white oak ''Quercus'' subgenus ''Quercus'' is one of the two subgenera into which the genus ''Quercus'' was divided in a 2017 classification (the other being subgenus ''Cerris''). It contains about 190 species divided among five sections. It may be calle ...

doors with decorative arches above them. Blind arches and

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...

s rise to the roof level, giving the structure its Romanesque character. A single story

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...

joins the wings of the building and surrounds a landscaped courtyard.Chris Brewer, Historic Resources Inventory, State of California -- The Resources Agency, Department of Parks and Recreation, May 10, 1984; copy accessed from City of Bakersfield Cultural Resources Survey Downtown Area, located in the Local History room of the Beale Memorial Library, Bakersfield, California. The southwest side of the complex is the original

fellowship hall A church hall or parish hall is a room or building associated with a church, generally for community and charitable use. In smaller and village communities, it is often a separate building near the church, while on more restricted urban sites i ...

, built in a

Mission Revival The Mission Revival style was part of an architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century ...

style. The structure is characterized by lofty arched windows on its west side; on its south side is a large arched window, originally a door, flanked by smaller arched windows. The old fellowship hall and church are connected by a two-story connecting building that continues the overall Mission Revival appearance.

Significance

Located on a prominent spot in downtown Bakersfield, the First Baptist Church structure is considered one of the finest examples of a

decorative concrete Decorative concrete is the use of concrete as not simply a utilitarian medium for construction but as an aesthetic enhancement to a structure, while still serving its function as an integral part of the building itself such as floors, walls, dri ...

structure in the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; Spanish language in California, Spanish: ''Valle de San Joaquín'') is the southern half of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. Famed as a major breadbasket, the San Joaquin Valley is an importa ...

and is a prominent landmark in Bakersfield. It is the only religious structure of its era to survive the

1952 Kern County earthquake Year 195 ( CXCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Scrapula and Clemens (or, less frequently, year 948 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 195 f ...

that destroyed many of downtown Bakersfield's historic structures. It is also one of the few buildings in the area to remain relatively unaltered over the ensuing years.

References

External links

Disciples Church
(formerly First Baptist Church] {{Authority control Churches in Kern County, California Buildings and structures in Bakersfield, California National Register of Historic Places in Kern County, California Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in California Churches completed in 1931 20th-century Baptist churches in the United States Tourist attractions in Bakersfield, California Mission Revival architecture in California Romanesque Revival church buildings in California

Structure

Significance

See also

References

External links