{
	"type": "rich",
	"version": "1.0",
	"provider_name": "Action Network",
	"provider_url": "https://actionnetwork.org",
	
	"html": "<link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/petition/turn-first-christian-church-into-homes?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-petition-area-turn-first-christian-church-into-homes' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div>",
	"author_name": "Oakland Heritage Alliance",
	"author_url": "https://actionnetwork.org/groups/oakland-heritage-alliance",
	"title": "Save the First Christian Church: Demand Design That Honors 111 Fairmount Avenue",
	"thumbnail_url": "https://actionnetwork.org//images/generic_facebook.jpg",
	"description": "About the First Christian Church Built in 1928 and designed by W.H. Weeks — whose Bay Area firm employed 53 draftsmen and ranked among the largest architectural practices in California — the First Christian Church at 111 Fairmount Avenue is one of the most architecturally significant buildings in Oakland. A masterwork of Spanish Colonial Revival design, it features Churrigueresque stucco ornamentation, a glazed ceramic tile dome, and original stained glass windows that have graced the corner of 29th Street and Fairmount in Broadway-Valdez for nearly a century. The roughly 100,000-square-foot complex carries a B+1+ rating in Oakland’s Cultural Heritage Survey — placing it in the top fraction of one percent of all structures citywide — and is listed on the Local Register of Historical Resources. Its original design won an honorable mention in a nationwide competition drawing entries from 22 states and two foreign countries. This is not a forgotten building. It is one of Oakland’s finest. The Proposal: A Facadectomy Unity Council and the Oakland Peace Center have proposed redeveloping the site into 91 units of 100% affordable housing for households earning up to 60% of Area Median Income. Oakland Heritage Alliance supports this mission — fully and without reservation. Affordable housing in Broadway-Valdez is urgently needed, and these are responsible developers with a genuine commitment to the community. But the current design by SmithGroup would demolish much more than half of the building — enough that the City of Oakland considers it a demolition, not a renovation — to make way for a new six-story structure. What remains is a facadectomy: the historic facade, bell tower, and front entry preserved as a skin while the substance of the building is removed. The sanctuary — the architectural heart of a 1928 masterwork — would be gone. Preserving a facade while gutting the building behind it is not historic preservation. It is the appearance of preservation without the reality. Oakland Has Done This Better Oakland has demonstrated that adaptive reuse of historic religious buildings can be done right. Rose on Bond — a former Baptist church in the Melrose neighborhood — was successfully converted into apartments while preserving its historic character. That project showed what is possible when developers and designers approach a historic building as an asset to build around rather than an obstacle to work through. The First Christian Church deserves the same commitment. Its Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, its century of presence on the Broadway-Valdez streetscape, and its standing as one of Oakland’s highest-rated historic resources all demand a more thoughtful approach than partial demolition. What We Are Asking For In comments submitted to the City of Oakland in August 2025, Oakland Heritage Alliance outlined the specific design changes needed to make this project worthy of its site. We call on the City to require the following before approving the project: Compatible materials and colors on the new six-story structure, so that the addition reads as a respectful neighbor rather than a contrast A pitched roofline on the north structure, consistent with the Spanish Colonial Revival character of the church Windows on the blank wall facing 29th Street, to activate the streetscape and avoid a dead facade on a prominent public corner Preservation of prominent trees on the site Genuine engagement with adaptive reuse alternatives that would retain more of the historic fabric, not merely the facade The design can still get there. But it is not there yet — and the City should not approve it until it is. Why It Matters Affordable housing and historic preservation are not in conflict. They do not have to be. Oakland has the opportunity to prove that here — to build 91 units of badly needed housing while honoring a building that has defined its neighborhood for a hundred years. What is not acceptable is treating demolition as the path of least resistance, and facade retention as a substitute for real preservation. The First Christian Church is rated among the top fraction of one percent of all Oakland structures for a reason. It deserves a proposal that rises to meet it. Sign this petition to demand that the City of Oakland require design revisions before approving the redevelopment of 111 Fairmount Avenue — and show that Oakland can build the housing it needs without sacrificing the historic buildings that define it.",
	"url": "https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/turn-first-christian-church-into-homes"
}