The Street Seen: Phillips Chapel (C.M.E. Church)
2001 4th Street @ Bay St
The first African American house of worship in Santa Monica, the Phillips Chapel C.M.E. Church, is a former schoolhouse, moved to 4th Street and Bay Street in 1908. Bishop C.H. Phillips helps form the congregation, and the church is named for him. The church is rebuilt in 1949 and granted Santa Monica landmark status in 2005.
Named for Bishop Charles H. Phillips, this is the first CME church established west of Texas. The Phillips Chapel may be the oldest Christian Methodist Episcopal congregation on the Pacific Coast. Originally built as a schoolhouse in 1895 as the Washington School at Fourth and Ashland, the building is moved to 4th and Bay and dedicated on October 4, 1908.
James A. Stout (1875–1932) serves as the church’s first pastor.
It was remodeled in 1910 and again in 1949. Its substantial 1940s remodel converts it from a Folk Victorian style building into a traditional Colonial Revival style building. The commemorative stained glass windows that were installed during the renovation include inscribed names of various church members.
The chapel is designated a Santa Monica landmark in 2005.