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The Bethlehem Baptist Church is a building in Los Angeles designed by architect R.M. Schindler, and built in 1944. Located at 4901 Compton Avenue, on the corner of Compton Avenue and 49th Street, it is the only example of a church designed by Schindler, and "the lone example of Modernist architecture to cross Los Angeles economic and racial boundaries in the era of Jim Crow housing covenants."
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History
In 2009, Bethlehem Baptist was declared a Historic-Cultural Monument by the Los Angeles City Council. It has been in a state of abandonment for around ten years and is now open and housing the Faith Build International congregation. Faith-Build International paid the initial $17,500 to lease the property with an option to buy, then began restoring it in February 2014.
In late 2015, the Bethlehem Baptist Church hosted artist Robert Barry’s first solo show in Los Angeles since 1989.
Design
A downward-sloping floor leads to the pulpit, which branches out to two seating areas at 90-degree angles.