New St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church

Built in 1888-89, the New St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church is associated with the expansion of Old St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, which sits adjacent to this more recent building. The original St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church was the first Presbyterian church to be built in the Mainland Colony of British Columbia, and reflects the faith of the Royal Engineers who settled in the city after their disbandment in 1863. Both churches are significant for having survived the Great Fire of 1898, which devastated much of downtown New Westminster. The growing congregation necessitated the construction of this larger new church in 1888-89, and in 1922 the original church was raised and remodelled for use as a church hall and Sunday school.

The New St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church is of architectural significance as a fine representative of the Victorian Gothic Revival style. The interior is particularly noteworthy - a soaring space with Douglas Fir hammer beams connected by tension bars, native cedar wood-lined ceiling and a stained-glass rose window that forms a backdrop for the organ. At the west end is a gallery with a carved wooden balustrade. The organ, manufactured by Warren and Son of Toronto, was installed in 1891, and was at the time one of the largest organs West of Winnipeg. Much of the interior wooden carving is original, executed in native alder to designs of the architect by the Royal City Planing Mills.

The church is valued as a significant surviving design by George William Grant (1852-1925), a prolific architect who designed much of the built environment in downtown New Westminster before and after the Great Fire. Grant undertook over one hundred commissions in New Westminster during the period 1888-1892 including landmarks such as the Provincial Exhibition Building at Queen's Park (1889), and the New Westminster Court House (1890-91).