First United Methodist Church
On April 7, 1912, the Harper Methodist Episcopal Church was chartered during the Easter morning worship service. The eight charter members met in the two-room schoolhouse on the southwest corner of Orange Avenue and 17th Street in what would soon be called Costa Mesa. As the city grew and prospered, so did the Methodist Church. The church moved to its present location on West 19th Street and built a sanctuary that was dedicated on July 30, 1928. This Spanish Colonial Revival Structure was built in 1928 at a cost of $28,000, serving as an anchor to the downtown area during its transition from farming to unincorporated city. The structure, with its five-story-high tower, was the tallest building in the city to survive a M6.3 earthquake in 1933. It is one of the city’s few structures eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
Costa Mesa, Orange County
Photographer: Andrew SchmidtFirst United Methodist Church, Costa Mesa