Scandinavian Church
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
The Scandinavian Church is a small, singular stucco structure located at the eastern end of Baker Street at the intersection with Hendryx Street amongst a treed landscape in downtown Nelson, B.C.
HERITAGE VALUE
Originally known as the Scandinavian Lutheran Mission Church, the Scandinavian Church is valued for its unique architectural aesthetic, but more importantly for its cultural and social significance to the city of Nelson.
The church has value for its importance to the Scandinavian population in the city, who first held Scandinavian services in Nelson as early 1897 in a different location. In Sweden the denomination was known as Mission Friends, while in North America it was called the Swedish Evangelical Covenant of America.
The building is significant as the physical result of the Scandinavian population’s desire for a church of their own, and for its development by philanthropic means, as land for the church was purchased in 1930 with funds raised by the local Scandinavian Ladies’ Aid. In 1939, the church became a member of the Mission Covenant Church of America, with Nelson being the most northern location of the conference. The first service by Pastor Earl E. Lindgren was held in Swedish on September 10, 1933, and the first in English on September 17. In deference to its Nelson location, the church provided English evening services on alternate Sundays.
Designed by local Scandinavian resident Leonard Nelson, the church is valued for its unique Spanish Mission architectural style, including a three part massing showing the joining of individual elements, pilaster buttresses, wall facing that divides the façade into four sections, stucco decorations and arched windows. An unusual landmark on Baker Street, the building has been adapted to create professional space.
From the City of Nelson Heritage Register, Page 46