St. Paul's Presbyterian Church

This is St. Paul's Presbyterian Church. There is a much larger Presbyterian Church just eight blocks west on 10th Street - Grace Presbyterian, but both have interesting histories. Grace was the largest church in Western Canada when it was completed in 1913 and is one of only four remaining sandstone churches in Calgary. St. Paul's is a good example of what might have been. It was started in 1911, even before its larger cousin, and it also features a sandstone base which you can still plainly see. However, the congregation ran out of money to complete the church and they worshiped in the basement for 44 years. Finally, in 1955 at a cost of $82,000 it was finished using cinder blocks. Local graffiti artists seemed to appreciate it, with large white walls offering the ideal canvas for their work.