Christian Science church stands tallover El Camino

The magnificently tall stucco building is a familiar sight for drivers and pedestrians along northern El Camino Real. The church features a spacious, three-tiered, gold brick staircase, topped by three recessed pairs of wooden entry doors. Each pair of doors is framed by a tall, narrow archway supported by three Corinthian columns. A transom sits above each door, with a decorative stucco arched tympanum above it. The rusticated archways feature smooth blocks of distinctively separated masonry. The arches are round over the entrance, rising to a point over the middle.

The roof is a shallow, front facing tiled gable, with a small, round stucco rosette over central arch. The side wings extend out perpendicular to the main gable, each with arched windows divided by smaller a Corinthian column. Each exterior side of the church nave features four more arched windows. Each window is divided into three sections by two additional Corinthian columns, topped by a quatrefoil ornament. The stucco interior is a wide auditorium divided into three sections of pews, brightly lit by the morning sun streaming in from the east windows. The altar reredos, or backdrop, features a smaller arch encompassed by a larger one, each supported by pair of spiral columns. Between the arches stretch stucco replications of sun rays, fanning out in a half circle behind the pulpit.

The Christian Science community, which formed between 1905 and 1912, met at Masonic Temple on north Ellsworth. The community purchased the church land in 1925, with Architects E.L and J.E. Norberg beginning construction of the church in 1927. During construction, the community met in the basement portion of the church, which now houses the Sunday School. The Norbergs completed the upper auditorium section of the church in 1928, with the community meeting there ever since.

Sue Breidenbach, who works in the Reading Room on 4th Avenue, has been a member of the church for more than forty years. She says the community actually considered tearing down the building at El Camino and Monte Diablo, in order to build a new church. Breidenbach said the size and age of the edifice makes it particularly difficult to maintain, and extremely expensive to heat. However, city ordinance 27.66.060 states that buildings deemed eligible for the National Register of Historical Places can be demolished "only upon a finding by the city council that applicable health and safety requirements cannot be feasibly met unless the building is demolished." Plans to build a new Christian Science church have been scuttled, while the original church still stands. Thus, the needs of the individual community have come into conflict with the needs of the larger community.

Mary Baker Eddy of Boston founded the Church of Christ, Scientist in 1879. Two decades previous, she had experienced personal healings attributed to Phineas Quimby, a well-known philosopher and Spiritual healer. Eddy began to develop her own belief and system pertaining to personal and spiritual healing and health. In 1875, Eddy published Science and Health with Key to the Scripture, then produced the Church Manual, which featured the doctrines of faith for the Church of Christ, Scientist. Today, nearly 3000 Christian Science congregations can be found worldwide.

One of the most prominent members of the local Christian Science church was Kenneth Van Gundy. A former mayor of San Mateo, Van Gundy also served as president of the chamber of commerce, heading the bond campaign to place the College of San Mateo in its current location. Van Gundy also played an instrumental role in the creation of the current San Mateo-Hayward Bridge, completed in 1967.

Although members of the Christian Science church are encouraged to contribute individually to local charities such as Samaritan House, the primary outreach to the community is done through its Reading Room, stationed at 69 E. 4th Avenue. Originally located on South B Street, the Reading Room moved to its present location, with the church purchasing the building on 4th Avenue in 1970. At the Reading Room, anyone can read literature pertaining to the Christian Science Church, including the award-winning, national daily newspaper of in-depth journalism, The Christian Science Monitor.<