St. Paul's Eastern United Church
St. Paul's-Eastern United Church is one of the oldest congregations in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The stone Romanesque church building is located in the heart of downtown Ottawa (Sandy Hill) on the corner of Daly and Cumberland Streets, near the University of Ottawa and two blocks east of the Rideau Centre.
| St Paul's Eastern United Church | |
|---|---|
 St. Paul's-Eastern United Church at 473 Cumberland Street | |
| Denomination | United Church of Canada |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Architect(s) | S.R. Badgley |
| Architectural type | Romanesque |
| Administration | |
| Presbytery | Ottawa |
| Province | Ontario Ottawa Conference |
History
The Romanesque Revival structure was built from 1888 to 1889 for St. Paul's Presbyterian Church by S.R. Badgley, architect.[1] It originally had a large steeple. Unfortunately the church was built on sand, and the steeple side started sinking into the ground. The steeple was therefore removed early in the 20th century, leaving the building as a relatively squat stone structure.
With the creation of the United Church of Canada in 1925, St. Paul's merged with the nearby Eastern Methodist Church and got its current name.
In the late part of the 20th century the church struggled. The growing secularization of Canadian society and the smaller number of people living downtown meant that the church was rarely more than half full and the Sunday school had only a handful of children.
The church closed in 2021 following the covid crisis and the congregation disbanded. [2]
St. Paul's today
More recently (2003–present), the church has experienced a revitalization in activity, membership, finances and Sunday School involvement. Most of the new people coming to St. Paul's-Eastern are young families and young singles.
St. Paul's-Eastern has a number of groups and partners who operate out of the church. They include: Jericho Road and Touch of Love. Other groups such as Girl Guides and Alcoholics Anonymous also operate out of the church.
The church closed in 2021 following the covid crisis and the congregation disbanded. [3]
References
- Ottawa: a guide to heritage structures City of Ottawa, Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee; managing editor, Lucy Corbin. 2001
- Harold D. Kalman Exploring Ottawa: an architectural guide to the nation's capital University of Toronto Press, 1983