Downtown Victoria Tour

Quadra Street – Fisgard Street

1701 Quadra Street

The First Metropolitan United Church at 1701 Quadra Street was designed in 1912 by architect J.C.M. Keith for the First Presbyterian Church.

It was built in stages beginning in 1912 and opened on 11 May 1913. It has been used a church since 1913.

First Metropolitan United Church, 1701 Quadra Street. Built in 1912 by architect J.C.M. Keith as the First Presbyterian Church

First Metropolitan United Church, 1701 Quadra Street. Built in 1912 by architect J.C.M. Keith as the First Presbyterian Church

Here is a map showing the location of 1710 Quadra Street:

Here is a Google Street View image of 1701 Quadra Street:

A Brief History of the First Metropolitan United Church, 1701 Quadra Street

This building was designed in 1911-1912 by architect John Charles Malcolm Keith for the First Presbyterian Church,.

It was built in successive stages. The first building to be completed was the church hall, in which an inaugural service was held on 11 May 1913. The original building permit for the church hall, issued by the City of Victoria in July 1912, describes a “new brick building, two storey, 7 rooms” to used as a “Sunday school” with an estimated construction cost of $20,000.

The main church building was completed in 1913, with the formal opening held on Sunday, 2 May 1913.

This building was the First Presbyterian Church until 1925, when the Presbyterian Church, the Congregational Church and the Methodist Church amalgamated to form the United Church of Canada.

The union of these three denominations left the new United Church of Canada with three major church buildings within three adjacent blocks on Quadra Street. These buildings were the former Metropolitan Methodist Church at 907 Pandora Avenue (at the corner of Pandora Avenue and Quadra Street), the Congregational Church at 1600 Quadra Street and the First Presbyterian Church at 1701 Quadra Street.

The Congregational Church building at 1600 Quadra Street was sold to the Baptist Church and became the First Baptist Church.

The United Church continued to operate this building as the First United Church and the former Metropolitan Methodist Church at 907 Pandora Avenue as the Metropolitan United Church.

In January 1997, the congregations of the Metropolitan United Church and the First United Church were amalgamated to become the First Metropolitan United Church, located in this building at 1701 Quadra Street,

In 1997 the United Church sold its former Metropolitan United Church at 907 Pandora Avenue to the Victoria Conservatory of Music, which now operates it as the Alix Goolden Performance Hall.

For more historical information on the First Metropolitan United Church, see:

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