In the Middle Ages "Going Behind the Red Door" meant, in part, to seek sanctuary from persecution in a church as a great many churches of the time had red painted doors. St. Andrew's door, centred in its large stone bell tower, is similarly painted red. Upon entering the church the first thing one may notice is the cross beamed ceiling, followed by the large stained glass window at the rear of the sanctuary, installed around 1966.
St. Andrew's is a church begat by
Church Union in Canada, which officially took place on June 10, 1925. Church Union united Methodists, Congregationalists and 70 percent of the Presbyterians in Canada into the
United Church. When the United Church built a new church on the site of the old St. Andrew's Presbyterian in 1927, the Presbyterians who chose not to join the United Church bought a new lot and built this church, the cornerstone being laid in 1927. Compatible additions were made to the building in the 1970s.
Though built after the
Victorian Era proper, St. Andrew's is very much Gothic Revival in design. This style is exemplified by the steeply pitched roof of the nave, the Gothic arched windows with tracery in the nave, each filled with stained glass, the massive, square stone tower and belfry, small gabled dormers surrounding nave windows, the flared eave, tall, hipped roofed spire, and the four gabled and Gothic arched belfry vents. Even the building material - stone - shouts Gothic. One could almost imagine this as a true
Gothic Era, or a nineteenth century Gothic Revival building.
Presbyterian work in the Penticton area began with Presbyterian ministers visiting the lower Okanagan area in 1892 and services were conducted afterwards. The Penticton Presbyterian Church was built in 1904 and in 1912 the Church was named St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. The congregation entered church union in 1925, and continued it's work as St. Andrew' United Church until 1927. In 1927, the two congregations of Trinity and St. Andrew's unanimously voted to amalgamate. As a result, Penticton United Church was formally organized on May 6, 1927. A new church was built on the old St. Andrew's site and was dedicated on November 18, 1928.
From Memory BC
St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
This historic place comprises a large stone church, built in the gothic revival style. It includes the church on its corner lot and an adjacent wood frame hall.
HERITAGE VALUE
St. Andrews Church is illustrative of the continuity of the Presbyterian tradition in Penticton. The first Presbyterian services were held in the Palace Hotel in 1904. A small wooden church was built in 1904. It was later moved to a site on Main Street. With church union in 1925, a number of Presbyterians joined with Methodists in Penticton to form Penticton United Church. A group of dissenting Presbyterians bought this property on Martin Street, and, in 1927, erected this church.
This church is an important physical statement to the determination of a sector of the Presbyterian Church to remain independent. As a definitive statement, the church building committee decided to build the church with dressed field stone. The decision to add the tall spire was made by the Toronto office of the national church.
Prominently located at the corner of Martin Street and Wade Avenue, the church, with its tall spire, makes a strong aesthetic statement and is a prominent feature in downtown Penticton. The gothic architectural details and the use of finely crafted dressed stone add to the church’s architectural value. Compatible additions to the church in the early 1970s are a further indication of the cultural value of this church to the community.
CHARACTER-DEFINING ELEMENTS
- Prominent corner lot
- Gothic revival style of the church
- Architectural details, including tall gothic-arched windows and arched entrances
- Tall steeple
- Use of dressed local stone as a building material
- Compatible stone additions
- Adjacent office
From Historic Places Canada
