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AKA: Fourth Church of Christ Scientist, Richmond District, San Francisco, CA
Structure Type: built works - commercial buildings - office buildings; built works - commercial buildings - stores
Designers: Werner, Carl, Architect (firm); Carl Frederick Werner (architect)
Dates: constructed 1922-1923
2 stories, total floor area: 20,884 sq. ft.
Overview
A notice in the Building and Engineering News in 1922 noted that the San Francisco architect Carl Werner designed the 4th Church of Christ Scientist. It indicated that Werner's one-story, reinforced concrete church was designed with a basement and would cost approximately $125,000. (See "Churches," Building and Engineering News, 08/05/1922, p. 8.) The San Francisco County and City Assessor Office indicated that the building had two stories.
Building History
The 4th Church of Christ Scientist sold their building tothe Open Library of San Francisco LLCon 09/25/2009, and had their last service here on Thanksgiving Day, 2009. It has became the headquarters of the Internet Archive, the digital preservation organization.
Building Notes
This compact, templar building featured a prominent portico facing Funston Avenue and bold, projecting cornices, typical of Beaux-Art buildings of the 1900s-1920s. In many Christian Science churches of this period, the classical vocabulary was preferred, particularly the use of a strong front portico.
On 02/11/2014, the building was given a "Notice of Substandard Building" by the San Francisco County and City Building Inspector.
In 2015, the San Francisco County and City Assessor Office indicated that church occupied a 19,244-square-foot parcel of land.
PCAD id: 19728
