The architect who built the Mission Inn next door

The First Church of Christ, Scientist, occupies 3606 Lemon Street like a reserved seat at a very quiet dinner party. It was built in 1901 to house a movement that had actually been sneaking around Riverside for nearly a decade. Before they had this Mission Revival structure, the locals met in the home of Emma Stanton Davis, a student of Mary Baker Eddy who moved to town in 1887.

Arthur Burnett Benton was the architect in charge of the construction. If that name sounds familiar, it is because he also designed the Mission Inn just one block away. He even handled the Riverside Municipal Auditorium on the south end of the property. He was the man with the plan, and the plan was a Mission Revival masterpiece that landed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

Inside, the original vibe was pure craftsman style. You would have seen natural wood and exposed beams everywhere. Then the 1950s happened. The congregation decided the raw wood was too much and covered everything in white paint with blue decorations. This reflected a more classical tradition which may have been preferred by the congregation.

The church still operates today as an active site for the faith. You can walk past the Mission Inn and still see Benton's work holding the line on the street, even if the interior of the church decided to go for a makeover half a century ago.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons