First Congregational Church

First Congregational Church is a church of the United Church of Christ located in downtown Long Beach, California. The church occupies a historic red brick structure that was built in 1914. The Italian Romanesque Revival building has been designated as a Long Beach Historic Landmark and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.Construction and architectureThe church was founded in 1888. The current church building, designed in the Italian Romanesque style, was completed in 1914 at a total cost of $210,000. Joachim Bixby, Sr., known as the "Father of Long Beach," was the largest contributor to the construction fund, having given $25,000. The building was designed in the Romanesque style by architect H.M. Patterson of Los Angeles and built of red pressed brick laid in patterns and trimmed with white terra cotta. The large auditorium had the capacity for seating 1,500 persons. The Los Angeles Times wrote that the "immense auditorium, the roof of which is fifty-five feet above the floor, gives one the impression he is entering one of the cathedrals of Europe." The Times also referred to the church’s art-glass windows as being "among the finest to be seen in the West." The church also featured three great rose windows above the gallery and six picture windows below the gallery. The center window was called the "Light of the World."HistoryThe church building was dedicated in December 1914 with more than 2,000 Congregationalists in attendance. The Los Angeles Times described the church as "magnificent" and reported that its "architecture and appointments are without peer in Southern California." It was the largest church in Southern California when it opened.