Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church, 217 West Twenty-Sixth Street, Bryan

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS TX-3547. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

St. Andrew s Episcopal Church is a Gothic Revival structure built by the Episcopal Diocese of Texas in as a new home for the parish located nearby since Description: St. Andrew s Episcopal Church is moderately sized concrete and brick structure with a cruciform plan. Noteworthy features include a bell tower at the entrance end of the nave, stained glass windows, a pipe organ, and exposed wood trusses. Wood paneling and altar rails ornament the interior space. History: St. Andrew s Episcopal Church retains both its original ownership and function. The congregation of St. Andrew s had previously occupied another building which was located at the intersection of and Parker streets. By however, they had plans underway for the construction of the current St.

Andrew s and, in three separate deeds from three different individuals, they purchased the land at the intersection of West Street and Parker Avenue in Bryan, Texas. The rector at the time, Rev. William Wesley Daup, contacted the Society of Domestic and Foreign Ministries to get plans for the new building. Unfortunately, when the drawings by Bringham, Coveney & Bisbee, Boston arrived, the design was nine feet longer than the site would allow. Harvey L. Page, an architect from San Antonio, corrected this problem by removing nine feet from the nave, resulting in one fewer pair of windows than originally planned. The cornerstone was laid on Thursday, May 30, with assistance from a Masonic Lodge.

The box placed inside the cornerstone included a list of the names of all the vestrymen and presidents of the parish, the architect, contractor, and building committee, as well as a copy of the daily paper, a prayer book, hymnal, Bible, and coins minted in George and Charlie Jenkins, the builders, proceeded with construction. The congregation moved in for the Palm Sunday service on April 5, bringing with them the bell and altar cross from the old church. On May 3, the Bishop of Texas, Rt. Rev. George Kinsolving, came to consecrate the structure. In the parish added a parlor to the east side of the church as a memorial to John E. Astin, a junior warden at St Andrew s. This structure connected the church to a neighboring building, part of which was originally owned by a Mr. A.C.

Plasek and another part by Calico Foods. Over the years, St. Andrew s gradually annexed this structure, first renting and finally buying it, ST. ANDREW S EPISCOPAL CHURCH HABS No. (Page 2) which now serves as the parish hall, housing the parish offices, a conference room, kitchen, dining room, and game room. Over the years repairs to the structure and stained glass windows, improving systems and wheelchair accessibility, and landscaping changes have kept St. Andrew s viable. Source: Kathleen Davis, Alice Nixon, and Catherine Chatham. St. Andrew s, Bryan: The First 125 Years. Privately published,