Saint Paul's Episcopal Church - Oakland

St. Paul's Episcopal Church ¹

Saint Paul's Episcopal Church, located at 114 Montecito Avenue, in the Adams Point neighborhood, is situated across from Lakeside Park. The parish was organized in 1871, and in 1887 was located on the corner of Harrison Street and 14th Street, with Rev. Hobart Chetwood as the rector.

The cornerstone for the present church was laid January 25, 1912. ^1,2,3 The building was designed by Benjamin Geer McDougall, ¹ and dedicated December 8, 1912. ⁴

Part of the positive community involvement sponsored by the church included the formation in the 1960s of the senior retirement facility, St. Paul's Towers.

In 1966 the church founded St. Paul's Episcopal School, a diverse, multicultural elementary and middle school. Originally housed entirely at 116 Montecito Avenue, the middle school is now located at 262 Grand Avenue.

On May 24, 1994, Saint Paul's Episcopal Church was designated Oakland Landmark #116, under Zoning Case #LM 92-200. The building is built with bricks, and is on formerly marshy land at the edge of Lake Merritt. It suffered minimal damage in the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, but resultant new city codes necessitated significant seismic retrofit work to the church and office building, completed in 1997.