Constructed in 1874, the First Presbyterian Church is a celebrated example of Late Victorian Gothic church architecture in Napa and the region. Designed by local architects R. H. Daley and Theodore Eisen, the wood frame building features a T-shaped plan with a soaring corner spire that has long served as a visual landmark in the city. Its Gothic styling is expressed in pointed-arch windows, steep gables, and decorative detailing that conveyed the aspirations of its late-nineteenth-century congregation. A chapel wing was added in 1890, and in 1911 the sanctuary was updated with electric lighting while retaining its original converted gaslight fixtures.
Although some exterior pinnacles and roof cresting have been lost, the church remains largely intact. Major restoration in 1941 repaired the foundation, roof, and siding, ensuring its preservation, and additional work followed in the 1950s. Later additions for classrooms and assembly space were built nearby but detached from the original sanctuary. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, the First Presbyterian Church continues to stand as one of Napa Valley’s most distinguished surviving examples of Victorian Gothic ecclesiastical design.
