Saturday, March 10, 2012

A Grand Conversion


The steeple just visible in yesterday's pic belongs to this church on College St which was built in 1888 as The College Street Baptist Church and remained so until the 70s when it changed hands before being purchased by a developer in the 2000s. Most church conversions in the city have resulted in the buildings being divided up into many small suites which display little of the former grandeur of the churches. This one is different - 4 units only! The front one is 10,000 sq ft with a home office in the tower featuring a 48 ft ceiling, the next one is 8,000 sq ft with the top floor a wine cellar for 3,000 bottles, and 2 smaller units at the back of 5,500 sq ft each! I took this pic in the fall and am using it today because many of the windows have protective coverings on them now as the wonderful restoration of the historically designated exterior continues. I'll keep following the progress and hope for an open house but I doubt it.

20 comments:

Paul in Powell River said...

Wow! A nice bit of cachet there - "Come on into my office!" Though I'm fairly certain even the smaller units are out of my price range.

EG CameraGirl said...

It's a magnificent structure so I'm glad it's being renovated rather than being torn down.

Deb said...

Hmmm reminds me of book I just read about a couple who moved into a converted church. It did not end well as something was lurking in the crypt. Hope the new owners here fare better!

ArtandArchitecture-SF.com said...

Wow, most churches around here get bought up by the extremely wealthy and get turned into single family homes. So glad to see that at least four people get to enjoy this magnificent structure. Would love, love, love to get an open house tour of these spaces.

ArtandArchitecture-SF.com said...

Wow, most churches around here get bought up by the extremely wealthy and get turned into single family homes. So glad to see that at least four people get to enjoy this magnificent structure. Would love, love, love to get an open house tour of these spaces.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful red brick church...

LĂșcia said...

This is the coolest conversion I've ever heard about! ;-)

Halcyon said...

I think it would be sort of fun to live in a old church. I'm glad at least that they haven't been torn down.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful shot!

Sharon said...

Wow, 10,000 sqf and 8,000 sqf....that is a lot of space!

Regina K said...

Wow yes, let's hope for an inside tour.

Kay L. Davies said...

Fabulous!
When we first looked around our little town, before we bought our house, the Catholic church was for sale. I told my husband it could be divided into suites, and he laughed at me.
So we bought our little old house, but someone else bought the church and turned it into suites, much to my husband's surprise.
K

Randy said...

What a lovely old church.

Kitty said...

wow. I'm sure the 10,000sf apartment is incredible. Geez. But if there are only 4 units, that's a lot for each owner to handle (maintaining the grounds and exterior).

Anonymous said...

It's certainly a different place to live!

Lowell said...

It would be fun to see the interior...48' ceiling? Zounds! There must have been a zillion churches built in those years that look very much like this one.

The irony, and what I find really funny, is the Baptists, officially, do not drink alcohol (well, they're not supposed to do so), including wine which is why they use grape juice for their Communion services. Now, in this restoration, there is a wine cellar to accommodate 3,000 bottles. Heh, heh!

Not even an old church can escape the power of the grape! ;-)

PerthDailyPhoto said...

This is definitely the grandest conversion of all you've shown us so far Red, but like Deb said, I'd be a little worried about 'things' from a previous time still hanging about.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

... And I would love to see the interiors!

Melbourne Australia Photos said...

Unfortunate that it is not being used as a place of worship any more, but still, this conversion is better than demolition.