2025 Outstanding Renovation Award Winner: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
The Queen Anne Historical Society’s 2025 Preservation award for Outstanding Renovation was presented to the congregation and leaders of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church for the recently-completed $2 Million + renovation of their building at 15 Roy Street. Realizing that the improvements needed exceeded their annual maintenance budget, the church launched a capital campaign in 2023 to repair and revitalize the church. The campaign was so successful that the program was expanded to include making the grounds fully accessible.
St. Paul’s began as a log cabin mission in 1892. In 1903, they purchased the site of the present church and constructed their first church building. An office and classroom addition was completed in 1938. In 1963, the church hired the architecture firm of Steinhart, Theriault, and Anderson to design the present sanctuary, replacing the then-60-year-old church building and retaining the 1938 addition.
The distinctive A-frame form and folded plate roof of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is a beloved work of Northwest Regional modern architecture in Lower Queen Anne. Setting it apart from typical Northwest Regional buildings, the structure is not expressed externally. The dominant geometric form of the roof belies the complex timber structure revealed on the interior.
L: Exterior of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Source: Queen Anne Historical Society. R: building under construction. Source: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
The architects worked closely with acoustics engineers to ensure the best sound quality. The organ and balcony that serves as the choir loft hang by steel rods from the structural frame, creating an effect that was described as “music floating from above” in a 1964 article by Seattle Times Arts and Entertainment editor, Louis Guzzo.
Interior of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, viewed from the altar toward the organ and choir loft. Source: atelierjones
The stewardship of this spectacular building by the leadership and congregation at St. Paul’s has been ongoing. A 2011 project by architect Susan Jones of atelierjones removed former alterations and restored the original design, while adding a new glass-and-steel narthex on Roy Street. That renovation was honored for Exemplary Stewardship by Historic Seattle in 2014.
The church again engaged Susan Jones of atelierjones for the 2025 project, which included a stunning new metal roof that simulates the look of aged copper shingles and a redesign of the 1938 addition, which now provides complete accessibility. The 1938 addition required cosmetic renovations as well as all new electrical and plumbing systems, a reengineering of its connection to the sanctuary and new structural support. On June 28th of this year, St. Paul’s held a joyous celebration of the completion of this ambitious project.
We congratulate the St. Paul’s community for their successful capital campaign and outstanding renovation of their church, and we express our gratitude to them for undertaking a project that has revitalized and elevated the presence of their exceptional building. A tour of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is being planned for early 2026; QAHS subscribers will be notified by email.