Old First United Church

No visitor today can see Old First United Church, because the building burned down in 1969. In its day it was one of the most striking buildings in Hamilton’s downtown, Ontario, a large Italian Renaissance church with a copper dome that could be seen over the rooftops. It stood on the corner of King Street East and Wellington Street and opened in the spring of 1914 as the First Methodist Church, built for a congregation that had outgrown its earlier home.

Methodism was a powerful force in Hamilton, and the church's size reflected that. It was designed by the local architect W.E.N. Hunter, who lived nearby, and the plan followed the fashion for grand, domed sanctuaries inspired by Renaissance Italy. The auditorium was large enough for about 1,500 worshippers, set in a semicircle around the pulpit, a layout that put everyone close to the preacher and the choir. Its great dome was said to be about 56 feet high and 60 feet across, and at night it was lit from within, creating a glow that made the church a landmark of the city's skyline.

The name changed in 1925, when the United Church of Canada was formed by the union of several Protestant denominations, the Methodist, Congregational and most Presbyterian churches. The congregation became First United Church, and it continued as a centre of religious and social life in the city for four more decades, with choirs, Sunday schools, concerts and community activities.

On 13 September 1969 a fire destroyed the building. The loss was felt across Hamilton, and in the aftermath the congregation merged with another, First Pilgrim United Church, which continued the tradition. The site was later redeveloped, and nothing of the original church remains for sightseers. The story survives in photographs, church records and the memories of older residents, and local archives and the Hamilton Public Library hold material on the building.

Travellers curious about Hamilton's religious architecture can find other historic churches in the downtown area, and the Art Gallery of Hamilton and the city's heritage districts offer further context for the era when the church was built. A walk along King Street East gives a sense of the streets where the church once stood.

For anyone researching the city's past, the story is a reminder of how much of the early 20th-century city has been lost.