Christ Church traces its history to the missionary efforts of the First Bishop of the Diocese of California, the Right Reverend Ingraham Kip, in the 1870’s and to the eucharists celebrated in a disused barn before the construction of the church building.  A Sunday School was started that met weekly.

Christ Church was built in 1882.  Its first photograph shows it stark and new without a hedge, with white painted windows, and without a bell in its tower.  It stood alone on the unpaved street corner, for as yet neither Rectory nor Guild Hall existed. The entrance was through a doorway in the front of the tower and once within, one turned sharply to the left across the rear of the church to reach the center aisle. The interior of the church in 1882 would be strange to our eyes now. The Chancel was box-like, lacking its present, pointed arch, and with only board walls on each side.  Three tall lancet windows with a painted design formed the rear of the chancel above a small white alter of the pedestal type. The communion rail was simply a rail, and the only furniture in the chancel was a high-backed seat, fronted by a priedieu, and a very plain wooden lectern. 

Christ Church's first rector, Fr. Frederick Wilcox Reed, arrived in 1882. Fr. Reed also held missionary services in Petaluma and Tiburon once a month. This year also saw the installation of the first memorial windows, which replaced the unsightly white-painted glass, and which we enjoy today endeared by time in all their quaint charm. In 1891 a small pipe organ was purchased and housed at the rear of the choir loft. This was pumped by hand and the long wooden pump handle projected from a slot in the side of the organ where, in an alcove invisible to the congregation, a hired boy or if needed a volunteer worked it up and down to produce the sound.                      

The church is Sausalito Historical Landmark #5 and is the oldest surviving church structure in Sausalito.  Its original exterior was shiplap. In the early 1900’s, the entrance was relocated to align with the center aisle and the exterior was shingled which enhances its Gothic Revival architecture. The Choir Room (1966), attached at the rear of the church, is on the site of the old Guild Hall which served from 1889-1965.   

A Rectory was originally constructed in 1882. In 1914, it was remodeled and enlarged to its present size.  During the early years, the rector kept a cow and a horse below and sometimes moos and whinnies interrupted the service to the delight of the children in attendance.

 

CAMPBELL HALL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step across Santa Rosa Avenue to Campbell Hall, designed by Heinrich Bull who received the coveted 1966 Church Design Award of the 27th National Conference on Religious Architecture. In 1924,  Mrs. H. C. Campbell, widow of the first rector, purchased the land for the use of the parish.  By 1960, after many years as a playground and tennis court, it was decided to use the property for a new parish hall. The Guild Hall which from 1889 housed the church school activities, the choir and served for parish social events was inadequate and had deteriorated. During the ground-breaking ceremonies on October 23, 1961, the fifth bishop of California, the Right Reverend James A Pike, turned the earth with a golden shovel. On May 12, 1963, Bishop James A. Pike returned to dedicate Campbell Hall. The completed building stands today in testimony to the leadership of the rector, Fr. Joseph S. Doran.