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Christ Church, Coronado
All That Jazz
Prepared by Jarvis Nolan, Historiographer
If you walk by Christ Church at the top of the hour, you will hear the carillon chime the hour and hymns at noon, 3:00 and 6:00.
The corner of 9th and C Streets has been alive with music and activity since 1896. The church was built on land purchased by Charles Hinde. James Reid, who built the Hotel del Coronado, was hired as architect. The granite stone used to build the church was brought by wagon from a rock cave in Santee. The wood beams of the ceiling are from a single pine tree trunk from the state of Washington. The stained glass windows were hand blown in Scotland, sent to Tiffany’s in New York, where they were designed by Bruce Porter, a poet from San Francisco. Once completed they were taken apart, shipped to San Francisco, reassembled and sent to Coronado by ship. They are considered valuable art treasures of Coronado and the diocese.
As the parish grew it was necessary to expand the facilities and so a parish hall, so named Hinde, was constructed in 1902 in the same style as the church and is almost as beautiful. The dome in the parish hall is a miniature replica of the dome in the ballroom at the hotel Del. Despite his benevolence, Hinde did not want a plaque on the building with his name on it. However, the mortar around some of the granite stones forms the name “Hinde”.
The tranquil island of sage brush and quail was forever changed with the outbreak of World War I. This was the beginning of an influx of military personnel which continues today. During World War II, the parish hall was used as an emergency causulty station. Since 1951 Armed Services Sunday is celebrated on the Sunday closest to July 4.
Another prominent tradition in the community is the Thrift Shop, started in 1951, one of the first in the diocese. It is located on 9th St. in Hauser Hall, built in 1985. Over the years the contributions of the women to the church and outreach have been endless. They have contributed generously to the church budget and for renovations as well as to ECS, The Center for Urban Ministries and scholarships.
A long held dream of the parish was to have a day school which was established in 1957. It began with an enrollment of 41 students and today has 109. The students are taught at a very young age of the needs and concerns of others through their Service Learning Program. Each grade has a project that extends into the community such as raising money for P.A.W.S. of Coronado, making craft kits for the waiting room in Children’s Hospital and knitting caps for cancer patients.
Dorothy Allen, 104, a parishioner since 1940, a former choir member for thirty years, when asked her comments on the church said “I love it!” Allen comes to church every Sunday, as of this edition, posted April 2, 2008.