OpenStreetMap (new tab)

Google Map (new tab)

Google Streetview (new tab)

Overview

Congregation member and architect Lawrence G. Waldron (1911-2000) planned this church to be part of a campus of facilities, built in two early construction phases. The first phase consisted of a new church and 11 classrooms. An office, five more classrooms and a parish hall, comprising the second, was completed about three years later in 01/1962.

Building History

Waldron designed the simple, gable-roofed church to replace the former sanctuary that seated 120 people. In the years following the completion of the Floating Bridge, the population of Mercer Island expanded greatly, and the Emmanuel Episcopal congregation required accommodations for about 380 with overflow space for 100 more. Waldron's Seattle-based architectural firm of Waldron and Dietz laid out a whole campus for the church on 4.2 acres. The first building phase, including the main sanctuary and 11 classrooms, contained about 10,432 square feet in two buildings, connected by a breezeway. The general contractor, Harold L. Larsen, completed this first stage of the building plan om 02/1959 at a cost of $171,592. The church had about 6,400 square feet, the classrooms, 4,032.

The second building phase, including an administrative office, five more classrooms and parish hall, took up about 7,500 square feet and was finished in 01/1962. Of this phased building process, Waldron remarked: "Since [Emmanuel Episcopal's parishioners] were on a very limited budget, it was also necessary to plan in such a way that the church plant could be constructed in phases as money was available and as the congregation expanded further. Therefore, a simple form with wood materials, built on a campus plan, was the starting point." The campus was laid out in a quadrangle around a yard. Waldron selected this quadrangular plan because "The court plan and disposition of other buildings likewise gives a feeling of shelter and separation from the surroundings." (See "Growing Parish Retains its Intimate Scale," Pacific Architect and Builder, vol. 68, no. 1, 01/1962, p. 21.) The sanctuary stood on the yard's north end, the classrooms to its east side, and the parish hall to the south. Parking lots stood to the west of the yard and south of the parish house. Directly east of the sanctuary was the small, separate office building containing three offices, workroom and a library. In 1962, to the north of this office building Waldron and Dietz projected building a chapel.

They also projected the construction of another classroom space on the south end of the current classroom building. Waldron hoped that the quadrangle would be flexible for future expansion: "Units are so disposed that future additions may be made conveniently without interrupting the use of buildings already constructed." (See "Growing Parish Retains its Intimate Scale," Pacific Architect and Builder, vol. 68, no. 1, 01/1962, p. 21.)

Building Notes

The Emmanuel Episcopal Church sanctuary had a stark geometry to it, its gable roof supported by large glue-laminated beams bolted to external piers. The piers, composed of vertical concrete slabs, were scored with diagonal lines echoing the angle of the supporting beams. Hand-split cedar shakes protected the gable and were meant to "...tie [the church] to [its] residential site." Waldron described his design for the sanctuary: "Simple, tall shape symbolizes repose and dignity. Eaves are low in order to achieve a sheltered feeling, with ample light admitted around the perimeter and the entire apse flooded. The nave is rather wide in proportion to its length, in order to stay below the length which would produce annoying reverberations. Choir is placed in the rear of the nave to bring the congregation closer to the altar and pulpit." (See "Growing Parish Retains its Intimate Scale," Pacific Architect and Builder, vol. 68, no. 1, 01/1962, p. 21.) Waldron designed a generous narthex and porch to accommodate parishioners socializing after services. The sanctuary's exterior was faced in aggregate stucco.

The Emmanuel Episcopal Church won an Honor Award for its design from the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Seattle Chapter.

The connections between the Waldron and Dietz firm and this church were strong. Lawrence Waldron attended it, for example. An important office manager for Waldron's architectural firms, Jean Allison Thomas Houston (1913-2005), began her career working as a secretary at the Mercer Island Episcopal Church in the 1950s before moving to his architectural office in the 1960s. She remained with Waldron and his partners for over a decade. (See Seattle Times Obitiuaries, "Jean Allison Thomas Houston," published 07/31/2005, accessed 03/06/2017.)

PCAD id: 19697