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Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist

Introduction

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Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist, designed by Earl A. Roberts in the Greek Revival and Neo-Palladian style. In 1993 a collaboration of nonprofits bought the building and turned it into the Rainier Valley Cultural Center, which houses theater, arts programs, and other cultural programming. In 2016 the facility was renamed Rainier Arts Center.

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Backstory and Context

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The building before you was not always a Art Center. While today it is home to community artistic endeavors and classes, it was once called The Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist. Built in 1921, this building is an excellent example of the Greek revival architectural style and was designed by the architect Earl A. Roberts. Even before this was built however, Rainier Valley was home to a group of Christian Scientists who origonally called themselves the Christian Science Society. This group was informally started in 1911 where they would meet together in their own homes, and the first official Sunday service was made up of 8 people. By 1914, the group would reach 30 members. In 1918 the Christian Science Society renamed themselves as the Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist and bought the plot which would later house the building before you in 1919. In 1921 the church was fully complete and remains much in the same way it was built almost 100 years ago! In 1997 the building was converted into a non-profit community center and remains as such to this day.

Sources

National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, December 16th 2004. Accessed September 18th 2020. http://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/Neighborhoods/HistoricPreservation/HistoricDistricts/ColumbiaCity/ColumbiaCity-National-Register-Nomination.pdf.

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