The First Church of Christ, Scientist was designed in 1910 by Bernard Maybeck and is often considered his masterpiece. The building is a fusion of ordinary materials such as reinforced concrete, industrial sash windows glazed with translucent glass, panels of asbestos siding known as Transite, redwood trellises and roof framing. Structure and decoration merge on the interior of the church, where the color scheme has been well preserved. The natural brown of the roof trusses and the gray of the concrete pillars contrast with the gold gilt in the tracery enhanced by blue, red, black, and green in the depths of modeled ornament and flat stencil work. Natural and artificial light is used to enhance the structure, and different shades of translucent glazing create the desired effect. The building is a highly creative combination of historic references from Byzantine, Romanesque, and Gothic to Japanese. (Adapted from the website of the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association)