Through My Lens: St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church
My photo choice for today, the Fourth Sunday of Lent, is St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church. Located across the street from First Baptist Church, this building has been open for worship since 1933.
When the Methodists, the Presbyterians, and the Congregationalists came together in 1925 to form the United Church of Canada, two downtown congregations— Wesley Methodist on the southwest corner of Georgia and Burrard and St. Andrew’s Presbyterian on the northeast corner of Georgia and Richards—decided to come together as one congregation and jointly build a new church.
St. Andrew’s-Wesley is the result.
The late Gothic Revival building was built with Nelson Island granite and Haddington Island stone; inside, there is a vaulted timber ceiling. The first of the 27 Italian and French stained glass windows was commissioned by Prime Minister R. B. Bennett in memory of his sister, Evelyn Bennett Coats. Thanks to its excellent acoustics, the church is a popular venue for concerts. Jazz vespers takes place on Sunday afternoons and has done so for more than 30 years.
The 22-storey tower behind St. Andrew’s Wesley (at right in the photo) is St. Andrew’s Residence at Wesley Place. Income from the 200 rental units has funded various renovations of the main church building and provides income security for the dwindling congregation. The tower was completed in 2002 and was the largest development project ever taken on by the United Church anywhere in Canada.
Through My Lens: First Baptist Church
The origins of what became the First Baptist Church of Vancouver began with a Sunday School class of 30 children gathered at Blair’s Saloon on June 6, 1886. Exactly a week later, the saloon — and most of Vancouver — was destroyed in what became known as the Great Vancouver Fire.
The group picked itself up and built its first church on two lots purchased from the Canadian Pacific Railway. It soon outgrew that building, as well as the next, and so, in 1904, the congregation bought a lot at the corner of Burrard and Nelson for $4000.
This is where they built its current building, out of stone, in the Gothic Revival style. (The Toronto-based architects of Burke, Horwood, and White also designed the Hudson’s Bay buildings in Vancouver, Victoria, and Calgary.) The building was dedicated on June 9, 1911.
These days, Burrard Street is one of the busiest streets in downtown Vancouver, and condos abut the 114-year-old church. Until a few months ago, the building was surrounded by plywood construction fences due to restoration work of the main church building and construction of the 57-storey tower just behind it. The joint project between First Baptist and the developer provides market housing as well as a daycare, church office space, and a separate seven-storey building dedicated to social housing.
Joint projects between developers and old downtown churches have become something of a pattern in Vancouver — stay tuned to learn more.
First Baptist Church is my photo choice for today, the Third Sunday of Lent.
Through My Lens: St. Paul’s Anglican Church
For today, the Second Sunday of Lent, here is a photo of St. Paul’s Anglican Church, a small neighbourhood church in the heart of Vancouver’s West End. This parish first held services in 1889 in a building in what is now Yaletown. In 1898, that building was moved on skids to its current location to be much closer to where its parishioners lived. In 1905, a new, larger church was built in the Gothic Revival style, but out of wood instead of stone.
In 1973, the parish built an apartment high-rise for seniors on land they owned next door to the church. The income earned from this building, the Pendrellis, has become instrumental to funding the various ministries of St. Paul’s.
I love walking past this little wooden church in the heart of my neighbourhood. The building on the outside looks pretty much as it did in 1905. Standing on the church steps amidst those close-set trees, you could shut your eyes and imagine yourself in a rural country setting, but instead, you are in the heart of one of Canada’s densest neighbourhoods, surrounded by condo towers and apartment buildings, one block off the main commercial strip of Davie Village.
Just imagine being a witness to the transformation of that neighourhood, from home to Vancouver’s elite living in large mansions, to the bustling, diverse community it is today.
If only the walls of St. Paul’s could talk.
Through My Lens: Holy Rosary Cathedral
It seems like five minutes ago we were facing the start of winter and now, here we are, already back in the Season of Lent. For this year’s Lenten series, I’m going to take you on a tour of the churches of downtown Vancouver. My photo choice for today, the First Sunday of Lent, is Holy Rosary Cathedral. Its full name is the Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, and it serves as the cathedral for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver.
A church has stood on the site since 1885; construction on this building began in 1899 and was completed in just over a year. The architecture is late nineteenth-century French Gothic revival, a style common throughout Canada during the time period. Its walls are built from Gabriola Island sandstone.
These days, large building projects seem to take years to complete. What amazes me about the speed at which this church was built is that the population of Vancouver at the time was a mere 26,000 people.
There and Back Again 