Description of Historic Place

The First United Church is a Municipal Heritage Property occupying three city lots at 233-3rd Avenue NE in the City of Swift Current. The property features a three-storey, red brick church constructed in 1913.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the First United Church lies in its status as the oldest church in Swift Current. The building was constructed for the Presbyterians in 1913 at a cost of approximately $25,000. The Presbyterians were the sole occupants of the building until 1943. That same year, the Swift Current Metropolitan Methodist Church burned down. This event led to the amalgamation of the Presbyterian and Methodist congregations to form the First United Church of Swift Current.

The heritage value of the First United Church also lies in its architecture. Constructed with a cross-axial layout and displaying a modest interpretation of the Gothic Revival style, including window tracery, brick and stone construction, and the steeply-pitched roof, the building is characteristic of the Presbyterian churches constructed in larger communities across the prairies during the first decades of the 19th century.

Source:

City of Swift Current Bylaw No. 21-1985 of 1985.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the First United Church resides in the following character-defining elements:
-those elements that reflect the Gothic Revival architectural style, such as the arched, stained glass windows, the window tracery, and the intermittent use of brick and stone throughout;
-those architectural elements characteristic of Presbyterian churches throughout Canada, such as the cross-axial layout, the high-pitched roof, and the inclusion of a narthex (vestibule), nave, chancel and corner bell tower.