Christ Church preserved a piece of history

In 1846, California became the 31st state of the United States. Old Mission San Jose became the parish church of St. Joseph. Then on Oct. 21, 1868, one of our devastating earthquakes along the Hayward Fault damaged the old adobe. A replacement church was built, but in the traditional style of the churches of New England, reflecting the culture of the American residents.

In 1965, a new modern church and parish hall building was built nearby.

A plan was made in 1981 to reconstruct the traditional old adobe mission church on the original site. Mission San Jose was the only "missing" mission in the original chain. This spot was still occupied by the vintage 1869 building, however. The old wooden church was put up for sale with the provision that it must be moved to another place.

Meanwhile, a schism had occurred within St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in San Mateo. A more conservative group split off, joining a national movement known as the Anglican Catholic Church. This new congregation, calling itself Christ Church, was in search of a home.

So, when the 112-year-old church was not bought for the restaurant or the bowling alley, the congregation of Christ Church bought it from the Catholic Archdiocese for $1. This brought them the obligation to spend another $90,000 to move it and a total of $1.2 million to renovate it for their use in San Mateo.

The first step was to remove the 80-foot steeple and remove and box up 33 stained glass windows. Next, they cut the building up into four pieces. These sections were loaded on flatbed trucks. The California Highway Patrol plotted a route of least disruption, and on Sunday, Sept. 26, 1982, a caravan hauled the church around the bay.

The building was reassembled at El Camino Real and State Street in San Mateo. The redwood structure is surprisingly spacious, seating 180. Only one wall had to be replaced after all these years and the stress of the move. A basement level was added, and by 1985, reconstruction was completed. The windows, reflecting shades of red and blue, had been reinstalled. In 1992 a pipe organ was added.

Earlier this month Christ Church celebrated several events, including the consecration of the church and Altar, and that the building is now debt free after its monumental relocation. It is a beautiful example of the severity and clarity of the old Gothic Revival design that had its hey-day in the 1850s. It is wonderful that the congregation of Christ Church has preserved the building for future generations.

Rediscovering the Peninsula appears in the Monday edition of the Daily Journal.

For more information on this or related topics, visit the San Mateo County History Museum, 777 Hamilton St., Redwood City.