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Excerpts from:
"THE PARISH OF ST. DUNSTAN, San Diego, California, The First Twenty-Five Years"
by the History Book Committee, ©1973, St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church, San Diego, CA
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St. Paul's Episcopal Church at its Eighth and C Streets location in downtown San Diego
prior to its removal in 1948 to become the home of St. Dunstan's.
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 Accordingly, we fell heir to the historic
edifice of St. Paul's. In the spring of 1948, the building was cut into ten
sections for moving. Like a giant jig-saw, they were put together, piece by piece,
on two lots at 5198 College Avenue which had been purchased by St. Paul's for $4750.
According to an article in the San Diego Union on May 13, 1948, the
"entire cost of moving, re-assembling and remodeling the church was estimated at
$40,000. When the church was built in 1887, the cost was $7750."
When the
cross was being placed on the steeple of the Chapel of St. Dunstan's in 1948, a man was
heard to remark, "You wouldn't find me crawling up that steeple with a cross
in my arms." To which a bystander replied, "You wouldn't find me
crawling up that steeple without a cross in my arms!"
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The enrollment at State
College [in 1965] had increased to more than 16,000, and plans were being made to initiate
an extensive building program and to increase the size of the campus considerably.
This threatened [parish] expansion, together with the total lack of parking space during
the week, was gradually strangling the growth of the parish.
In March, 1967, the
property on College Avenue (Canterbury Hall, Seabury Hall, the church itself, and all
underlying land) was sold to San Diego State College for $173,000.
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On April 9, 1967, a
land dedication ceremony was held at the new site [Lot 719, Lakeshore Unit No. 8]
following the 9:15 a.m. church service. In September, 1968, the vestry ratified
final plans, which originally included the church building, a parish hall, and church
school facilities. Although the building was far from complete, in keeping with the
"First Service on Christmas Eve" tradition, the church family gathered there en
masse, each bringing his own chair to the first service on December 24, 1969. Mrs.
Bright recalls what a thrill was experienced when "as we neared the church, 100
luminaries gleamed in the darkness, lighting our paths. And even more thrilling was
the sight of our illuminated stained-glass windows which
we had not seen for almost a year. We were finally coming home!" |
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The chapel is moved once again to Lemon Grove to
become St. Philip's Episcopal Church.
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Stained
glass windows from the original chapel that made the transition to the current church
building.
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Today, St. Dunstan's Church in the San Diego
community of San Carlos.
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