First Church OPC and Covenant OPC of San Francisco Merge and Sell Properties
October 1961, Volume 30, Number 10, Page 182
California Churches Dedicate Buildings (March, 1961, Reported in October Presbyterian Guarding)
San Francisco — Earlier in the month First Church of San Francisco was filled to overflowing as some 250 people crowded into the upstairs chapel and into the social hall below.
The Rev. John Galbraith (general secretary of the Committee on Foreign Missions) used as his theme for the dedication sermon "Size Doesn't Count."
Pastors of other congregations in the area who participated were the Rev. Messrs. Henry Coray, Richard Lewis, Jack Miller, and Arthur Riffel.
First Church began under the ministry of the Rev. Robert Atwell, meeting in a store building until the purchase and remodelling of the old Stanley Dollar home on Turk St.
(Editorial Note: See R. Stanley Dollar Shipping for additional information)
Following the pastorates of the Rev. Carl Ahlfeldt and the Rev. Edwards Elliott, the Rev. Salvador Solis was called as minister in the spring of 1958.
About a year later Covenant Church (whose former pastor, the Rev. Lionel Brown, is now in Volga, S. D.) and First Church merged, the properties were sold and the present location acquired at 1350 Lawton St., at 20th Avenue.
An existing building serves as a manse, with Sunday school rooms downstairs.
The exterior of the new chapel is of stucco and brick, with a copper steeple above a high slanted roof. The interior has a driftwood finish, with laminated arches. Blue carpeting adds to the loveliness of the chapel, which seats 165. A social hall and pastor's study are downstairs.
On the Friday after the dedication the church family gathered for a fellowship dinner and a time of reminiscing.
The MacKenzies showed color slides portraying the history of the church from its beginning and closing with pictures of the many volunteers whose labors brought the construction to its completion.
Location: New Location 1350 Lawson St. And 20