Grace Toronto Church, originally St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, is located at 383 Jarvis St (at Carlton St on the southeast corner) in the Garden District of Toronto.
Built in 1878, architects Langley, Langley & Burke designed the church in the Gothic Revival style. The structure is made from Credit Valley freestone with Ohio stone dressing and has two entrances underneath the towers on Jarvis St.
The amphitheatre-shaped interior is canopied with 11 m or 36 ft tall groined arches supported by iron piers. The hand-carved cherry and walnut pulpit was designed by architect William G Storm. When first built, the church seated 900 parishioners. The value of the property was approximately $57,000.
Originally St Andrews Presbyterian Church, it later became St Andrew’s United Church and, in 1951, St Andrew’s Lutheran Church. In 2015, the church was sold and became home to Grace Toronto Church.
The church building received heritage status from the City of Toronto in 1980.
Grace Toronto Church Photos
St. Andrew’s Church
“Designed by Langley & Burke in Gothic style and built of Credit Valley stone, this church was dedicated 17 March 1878. The Rev. Dr. G. M. Milligan, the first minister, who served here for over two decades, initiated its construction for his Presbyterian congregation. With St. Andrew’s Church (1875) at King and Simcoe streets, it re-placed the original Old St. Andrew’s (1831-1978) at Church and Adelaide streets. In 1951, the building was acquired by Estonian and Latvian Lutherans who arrived here as refugees following the occupation of their homelands on the Baltic Sea during World War II.”
Toronto Historical Board 1978
SOURCE
- City of Toronto Heritage Register: 383 Jarvis St
- Heritage Toronto plaque
- The Toronto Daily Star Newspaper Archives: Nov 5, 1951, pg 9
- Landmarks of Toronto: Volume 1 by J Ross Robertson (1904), pgs 225-233
- St Andrew’s Latvian Church Toronto: History
- Mural: Equilibrium by artist Okuda San Miguel
- Photos: Denise Marie for TorontoJourney416
- Vintage Photos: City of Toronto Archives