First Congregational Church
Location Long Beach, California, USA
DESIGN TEAM LEADER/ PRESERVATION SPECIALIST john fidler preservation technology inc.
Main contractor giampolini courtney inc.
awards
2023 Los Angeles Conservancy Preservation Award
2022 California Governor’s preservation Award
2022 Long Beach Heritage Award
2021 Façade Tectonics Vitruvian Award
2021 Victorian Society of America Preservation Commendation
2021 California Preservation Foundation Technology and Craft Award
2021 UK Institute for Conservation (ICON) N. Williams Prize.
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Designed by Henry M. Patterson and listed as a National Historic Landmark, this Italian Romanesque Revival church in downtown Long Beach required sensitive exterior restoration following decades of seismic and environmental damage.
At the heart of the work was our handcrafted terracotta rose window, each element precisely matched to the original historic fabric.
The project earned multiple prestigious awards — among them the 2023 LA Conservancy Preservation Award, the 2022 California Governor's Preservation Award, and the 2021 ICON N. Williams Prize — a testament to the technical expertise and attention to detail that complex international restoration demands.
“For the multiple award-winning restoration of the badly cracked and spalling east facade of the 1914 West Coast church, Darwen provided the quickest colour match. Its strong, dimensionally accurate, terra cotta had the speediest production and delivery and thus created best value-for-money. On site survey services were matched by ingenious design-assist support to accommodate complex stainless-steel armatures within the deeply recessed Italian Romanesque decoration to improve seismic resistance.”
— John A. Fidler RIBA-SCA, MRIAI-IRL, Project Leader: founder and president of John Fidler Preservation Technology Inc.
First Congregational Church