EVERETT — David Chrisman knows people have been talking about the Everett Historic Church Tour. He’s heard the chatter himself.
“I heard one woman say she thought there are six churches on the tour and the other said, ‘No, I think there are eight’,” he said.
In fact, eight Everett churches, including Bethel Baptist Church, Calvary Lutheran Church, Central Lutheran Church, First Presbyterian Church, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Trinity Episcopal Church, Trinity Lutheran Church and Westminster Presbyterian Church, will be part of today’s tour.
The self-guided Everett Historic Church Tour runs from 1 to 4 p.m. and begins at Trinity Episcopal Church at 2301 Hoyt Ave. in Everett. Tickets are $15 or $10 for members of Historic Everett.
The first-of-its-kind tour will take the place of this year’s downtown tour by Historic Everett, said Chrisman, program director for Historic Everett. Members of the nonprofit organization that works to preserve historic buildings came up with the church tour idea while making the Historic Everett Churches 2010 calendar.
“We’d just thought we’d repurpose (the calendar) since so many churches are almost up to 100 years old,” Chrisman said.
Many of the church congregations began more than 100 years ago in stores or community hall space, said Dave Ramstad, a member of the Historic Everett board of directors.
“Almost nobody is in their original building,” Ramstad said. “Most of these congregations began in Riverside in the 1890s and they’ve done away with their original structure. They’d get to a point where they could afford a building.”
The one church on the tour where the congregation has continued to meet in a single church building, he said, is Calvary Lutheran Church at 2532 Rockefeller Ave. A group of Lutherans who called themselves Zion Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church first met for worship in a YMCA hall around 1900. In 1902, they constructed the current church building.
“I think Calvary Lutheran is probably our significant church for age and one group forever,” Ramstad said.
Churches such as Trinity Episcopal and Trinity Lutheran feature glass windows that were shipped across the country before being installed in the buildings, Ramstad added.
Members of each church featured on the tour were given the chance to set up their own reception. Docents will be available to answer questions or lead tours at every church.
The church tour is an “experiment in fun and history” according to Ramstad, who researched the information for the Historic Everett Churches 2010 calendar.
The tour will also be like an open house for the churches, Chrisman said.
“People go to their church if they’re going on Sunday or if they’re there for a wedding, but when do they get to explore the other ones around town?” he said.
Amy Daybert: 425-339-3491; adaybert@heraldnet.com.
Historic Everett Churches Tour
Bethel Baptist Church, 2625 Hoyt Ave.
This church congregation was organized in August 1901 by 14 members who built a church sanctuary in 1902. The current building was constructed in 1913.
Calvary Lutheran Church, 2532 Rockefeller Ave.
The church was built in 1902 by Lutherans calling themselves Zion Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church. The group first met for worship in the YMCA hall around 1900. The name change occurred in the 1940s.
Central Lutheran Church, 2702 Rockefeller Ave.
Twelve families formed the core of this congregation in the early 1900s when they first began meeting in an old store at California Street and Broadway. The current sanctuary was dedicated on Oct. 17, 1926, and renamed Central Lutheran Church.
Immanuel Lutheran Church, 2521 Lombard Ave.
Everett Lutherans of German descent began organizing in July 1901 and first met at the Norwegian Lutheran Church at 2928 Lombard Ave. In 1904, they built a frame structure at the northeast corner of 26th Street and Lombard Avenue at a cost of $2,600. The church sanctuary was dedicated on July 24, 1949, and cost $11,000 to build.
Trinity Episcopal Church, 2301 Hoyt Ave.
Everett’s Episcopalians began meeting in the spring of 1892 in an unfinished Riverside store. The group agreed on the name Trinity Church and incorporated on June 12, 1892. The current building was dedicated on Trinity Sunday 1921.
Trinity Lutheran Church, 2324 Lombard Ave.
Everett citizens organized their congregation in January 1904. The sanctuary was built for $15,000. The three-floor western wing was added in 1955.
Westminster Presbyterian Church, 2531 Hoyt Ave.
United Presbyterians began meeting in an Everett hall on Oct. 14, 1900. The current building was built at a cost of $12,000 and the congregation began meeting there on Sept. 8, 1929.
Information from Historic Everett Churches 2010 calendar, Historic Everett
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
