First Presbyterian Church

First Presbyterian Church. . In 1889, First Presbyterian Church began its ministry in Kern County as Cumberland Presbyterian Church. In 1905 the church merged with Westminster Presbyterian; being renamed First Presbyterian Church of Bakersfield. The church acquired property on the corner of 17th and H Streets in 1909 and constructed its first sanctuary in 1913. Local architect Thomas B. Wiseman (1885-1920), an associate of the Train and Williams firm, designed the church in a Tudor-Gothic architectural style. Razed by fire in 1920, the facility was redesigned by San Francisco architect John Galen Howard (1864-1931) and construction supervised by local contractor James Marshall (1880-1956). The gothic designed structure stood until the 1952 earthquakes. A new sanctuary was designed by Los Angeles architects George B. Allison (1904-1977) and Ulysses F. Rible (1904-1982) in the Louisiana Colonial architectural style and dedicated in 1955. In 2003, the church expanded; closing G Street and extending its campus from H to F Streets between 17th Street and Truxtun Avenue. Klassen Corporation, a local construction firm, constructed additional buildings to include an administration office and activity center.