| Home Buildings | Email | Print |
|
In 1901, the church purchased a 50-year old house and moved it east to 104 Erie Street to serve as the vicarage (the residence of the priest) for St. Andrew’s. On May 7, 1902, the cornerstone for St. Andrew’s Church was laid. More than 1,000 people attended the ceremony. Items were placed in a time capsule in the cornerstone; these included newspapers from the day and information about the mission church and its members. The church was completed later in 1902 at a cost of $2,500.
The building was extensively remodeled in 1916. A stucco exterior was added over the white frame building. The entrance was moved to the Erie Street side of the building and a porch was added. The large memorial window was installed at this time. (This window can still be seen today-a large stained-glass piece showing Christ knocking on a door and awaiting a soul to invite Him in.)
During World War II the church was led by a group of Benedictine monks. It was at that time that the vicarage came to be called St. Gregory House. The nave and sanctuary of the church were extensively renovated in an effort that was completed in 1948. The small stained-glass windows that can be seen in new St. Andrew’s were added soon after this. In 1950, the church and its contents were valued at $35,000.
For a brief time in the 1970’s, the church seating was converted to seating in the round, with the altar at the center. It was soon changed back to a more ordinary arrangement with the altar at front and seating facing it. It was also during the 1970’s that St. Gregory House was deemed to be beyond repair and was torn down.
In 1981, the Forrest B. Park Parish Center, attached to Old St. Andrew’s Church, was completed at a cost of some $110,000. The Center was deigned by Bob Book, an architect who belonged to the parish. It housed classrooms and offices for the parish. The Undercroft below the church was remodeled in the 1970’s and again in the 1980’s. This was the site of a many church luncheons and suppers.
Old St. Andrew’s served us well, but by the late 1990’s, it had become too small. In 2005, Old St. Andrew’s was sold to a property developer, who is in the process of turning the historic building into condominiums called St. Andrew’s Square.