It has been said that God works in mysterious ways, perhaps none so mysterious as the amazing, midcentury, architectural marvels, standing like modern incarnations of the ancient temples of Jerusalem along Southern California's sprawling web of freeways. It has been my long-held desire to explore some of these churches and determine if they are just as amazing on the inside as they are on the out.
The first entry into this series is Central Baptist Church in Pomona, CA. Pomona is a transitional area of Los Angeles. On the precipice of the region Southern Californian's sometimes derisively refer to as the "Inland Empire," Pomona is home to the Los Angeles County Fair. It has a large historic district that includes many antique and vintage shops. It was even a primary filming location for Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat movie. It is also kind of weird. A block of beautiful, craftsman homes is surrounded by great stretches of transmission shops, strip clubs, and check-cashing outlets. Some people might be a little turned off, but I was delighted to see ferile roosters and hens wandering the main drag. Honestly, I felt completely at home within Pomona city limits as it gave me a sense of old California; Central Baptist just upped Pomona's ante.
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| Central Baptist Church - Pomona, CA |
Like a great, white monolith beckoning world-weary sinners, Central Baptist looks like a Greek Orthodox church mated with the It's A Small World attraction from Disneyland.
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| There was some debate among our group as to the exact year when the church was built. I couldn't find the information online but I think the church's van might have been a clue. |
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| The outside of the church had us practically ready to be baptized on the spot. The semi-sunken chapel had a series of incredible stained-glass, demilune windows and the textured rock walls looked freshly whitewashed |
We arrived at Central Baptist late in the day; seeing that the doors were chained, bolted, AND barred, we were beginning to resign ourselves to the fact that we would merely be enjoying the beauty of the church's exterior. Nevertheless, I was wearing a good luck charm that I had a feeling would get us in good with The Man Upstairs...
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A lapel pin I picked up at a garage sale for ten cents earlier that day!
Coincidence? I think not! |
It worked! From another building on the campus of the Central Baptist Church/School, came Travis, a genial young man who offered to tell us a little bit about the church and its ministry AND give us a guided tour of the chapel. Yahoo!!!
With a little encouragement (Jesse might have told Travis that his mom used to go to church at Central Baptist), Travis happily showed us the rest of the building.
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| "He's got the whole world in his hands." Mr. Tiny was stoked!!! |
To tell you that the chapel was awe inspiring would be an understatement; from soaring, buttressed ceilings of purest white hung giant, gold, midcentury chandeliers. This was a modernist cathedral!
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| I learned from Travis that the approximate size of the congregation is between 80-100 people. I am not a Baptist but I encourage all who are of the Baptist persuasion and live in the greater Pomona area to find themselves here on Sunday mornings; there is room for a lot more!!! |
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| Bathed in the glow of the afternoon sun, the chapel becomes an atrium. A little landscaping and TLC could only make the planters that run the entire length of the church even more beautiful! I'm pretty sure Jesse and Emily were rethinking their whole "Catholic wedding" of last year. |
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| What appeared to be simply odd, little rectangular windows on the outside of the building were actually primary-colored (plus green) glass blocks that must give congregants the feeling that they are sitting in God's very own jewel box! |
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| I love this place! |
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| An inside view of the stained-glass |
With a little encouragement (Jesse might have told Travis that his mom used to go to church at Central Baptist), Travis happily showed us the rest of the building.
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| The foyer - enrobed in gorgeous lattice work |
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| Classrooms |
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| The scary, dungeon-like storage rooms that could only be entered into via a tiny half-door in a dimly-lit stairwell through which I refused to pass just in case that was where he was taking us to kill us. Only kidding Trav... |
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| As much as I wanted to, we didn't get to go up on the roof. |
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| But we did get to see the sea-foam green changing rooms with their multi-colored, mosiac tile floor and... |
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| The gargantuan baptismal font! It is a BAPTIST church, after all. |
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It is easy to see that the awesome woodland/waterfall
mural was painted more with love than with training.
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We had the greatest time walking through Central Baptist Church; after our visit, I have an entirely renewed perspective on the heritage of Southern California religious architecture. Paris can have its Notre Dame. Barcelona can keep La Sagrada Familia. Las Vegas can take comfort in The Little White Wedding Chapel. In the Central Baptist Church, the people of Pomona have a true architectural gem that I believe is inspired both by midcentury madness and maybe, just maybe, the Divine.
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A huge THANK YOU to our new pal, and intrepid tour
guide, Travis (pictured with Nick, Emily, and Mr. Tiny -
Jesse was the cameraman)
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Are there any cool churches in your neighborhood? Did you grow up going to a church that inspired a love of architecture or interiors? Tell us about it!
"He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" - Nina Simone
Central Baptist Church
395 San Bernardino Ave
Pomona, CA
(909)623-1228
Cheers!
Mr. Tiny
