Description of Historic Place

St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church is located on the northeast corner lots at the intersection of First Avenue and Queen Street in upper Rossland, British Columbia. This large white stuccoed building, with its red metal-clad peaked roof and steeple, is a prominent heritage building overlooking the downtown. The main entrances to the Sanctuary and the adjoining Annex are reached by two sets of stairs coming from First Avenue below.

Heritage Value

St. Andrew's has been valued as a place of spiritual and religious importance to many Rosslanders since its construction and consecration in 1898. Originally built as a Presbyterian church, St. Andrew's became a United Church of Canada in 1925 when the Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational faiths amalgamated.

The Large Annex, adjoining the Sanctuary on its western side, has been of social and cultural significance to Rosslanders since its construction in 1912. It was built to meet the recreational and social needs of both the congregation and the community, and its large open space (30'X50') has continued to be well used by a diversity of groups for activities, events and gatherings.

Two additions to the original Church, the Large Annex (1912) and the Small Annex (1920s), reflect increasing church attendance and involvement at a time when the population of Rossland was fairly static. Perhaps the greatest increase was in the number of children - when the final additional space was created at St. Andrew's by digging out a basement under the Large Annex for Sunday School rooms in the 1940s, there were close to 300 children attending St. Andrew's Sunday School.

Architecturally, St. Andrew's is a typical church of its time and is similar to other early churches of Rossland with its pitched roof, steeple on the front of the building, bell, and windows of colored or stained glass. St. Andrew's embodies religious, spiritual, social and cultural aspects of the community's past and present.

Source: City of Rossland, Heritage Commission

Character-Defining Elements

Key character-defining elements of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church include:

- footprint of building including the Sanctuary, Large Annex and Small Annex
- steeple with bell
- coloured glass in windows
- 1st Avenue entrances
- red roof
- siting on elevated property above the intersecting roadways
- plaque identifying St. Andrew's as one of Rossland's significant heritage buildings