Historic Denver's offices have moved.
We are now in the Tattered Cover Building
1628 16th Street, Suite 200
Denver, CO 80202
303-534-5288
Fax: 303-534-5296

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Trinity Memorial Church was founded in 1873. The church was first erected in 1874 at 26th and Curtis and was established as the second Episcopal parish in Denver. The original church blew down in 1904. The new church was built on the site at 20th and Glenarm. The cost of the church, designed by, Ralph Adams Cram of Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson, Sudbury, MA, was $45,000. The building is the only known small building he designed west of the Mississippi. The church was built in the style of the Old English Episcopal church. In 1919 the church reverted to mission status and the name was changed to St. Andrew's.

St. Andrew's became a local landmark by the Denver Landmark Commission in 1974 and applied for and received National Historic Landmark Status in 1975.
St Andrew's converted from parish status to become a mission of St John's Cathedral. St. John's gave $150,000 to restore the sadly run down church. The agreement was that St. Andrew's would do mission work in the inner city for St John's.

Gary Long, an architect, donated his expertise in restoring the church to its original state. Warren Shannon was the general contractor. Before the restoration, the roof was leaking, the walls were severely damaged and the salvageable pews had been painted. The Women of St. Andrew's provided funds to redo the sanctuary, which included a new altar rail. The women also embroidered the cushions at the altar rail. Helene Marsh donated a new pulpit in memory of her husband. A "Soiree" raised $6000 in December 1987 for the purchase of new pews, to replace those that could not be restored. The original Stations of the Cross were lost, so Holly Buchan, granddaughter of the artist, Marion Buchan, donated twelve of the fourteen casts, used for the Stations of the Cross at Ascension Church in Denver. Don Allen then cast these in bronze; the two that were missing were cast from the plaster and slightly smaller Stations at Ascension. The church was restored in 1988 and rededicated November 29, 1988. A worker was still hanging the last light fixture from the ceiling when worshipers arrived. The parishioners lovingly carried much of the work restoring the building.

In 1999, a year after it again became a parish, St Andrew's was damaged by fire. The fire started in the basement after a Halloween celebration for the neighborhood children. The exact cause was not determined, but it is supposed that one of the candles was not extinguished and started the paper decorations on fire. The basement and much of the main floor had extensive smoke and water damage and had to be restored. The floor of the church was destroyed near the west wall. A neighboring business owner smelled smoke when she was leaving her restaurant, when she could find no smoke in her building she looked about the neighborhood and discovered the fire and called the fire department. The smoke blackened the Raredos at the rear of the altar. Staff from the Denver Art Museum restored it. All of the church was restored to its original condition but the fire destroyed the original organ it had to be replaced. The restoration cost about $200,000 most of which was covered by insurance.

St Andrew's is involved in social justice ministry. It has been the site for the Children's Center for Arts and Learning. The congregation grew to the extent that a second service was added. The homeless are still welcome to sleep at St. Andrews in the summer, volunteers help the homeless keep to the rules and clean up after themselves when they stay. Bethany House provides low cost housing and services to those suffering from AIDS/HIV.