St. Andrew’s United Church at 1044 St. Georges Avenue in the City of North Vancouver was built in 1912. The architects were Alexander and Brown. However, the first St. Andrew’s, which at that time was a Presbyterian Church, was located on East 6th Street facing Victoria Park and built in 1904. The “new” church built in 1912 is the one we see today, a shingle-clad adaptation in the Gothic Revival style.
In 1925 the Presbyterian, Methodist, and Congregational Churches in Canada joined together to form the United Church of Canada. The following year, 1926, two churches in North Vancouver—Sixth Street Methodist at the southwest corner of St. Georges Avenue, which had opened in 1910, and St. Andrew’s Presbyterian—joined to form St. Andrew’s United Church. At the time of the union, St. Andrew’s had a membership of 340 and the value of its property was $19,000. Sixth Street Methodist had a membership of 140 and the value of its property was $7,050.
Directly behind the church and across the lane to the north is the St. Andrew’s Christian Education Building. Here over the years many programs have been provided for the community. In the 1970s there was the Margaret Fulton Centre, an adult day care to give a daytime break to adult children caring for senior parents who would benefit from supervision. To the east of the Church Hall is St. Andrew’s Park, a children’s park where in recent years an annual Teddy Bear Picnic has been held. From the front steps of the church you can look down St. Georges Avenue right to the blue waters of Burrard Inlet.
Today the inspiring church spire of St. Andrew’s continues to act as a witness to the Christian community in North Vancouver.
Excerpt from the book Heritage Inventory, City of North Vancouver, 1994. Reference: St. Andrew’s United Church, North Vancouver, 1925-1975 a history by J.S. Terry.
