St Andrew's Presbyterian Church (GPS: 3.14917, 101.70223) is a church on Jalan Raja Chulan, Kuala Lumpur. It is at the junction of Jalan Raja Chulan with Persiaran Raja Chulan, where its entrance is located.
The church building has a capacity of 200 people. As of 2017, it still spots the original floor tiles while the rafters, of cengal wood, are still the original.
The building dates back to 1918. It was the result of mission work established by Presbyterian missionaries such as Reverend Willay Murray, which started the work in 1902. According to The Star2, St Andrew's was initially designed by John McNeill of the then Penang-based architectural firm of Stark & McNeill. Later, the final plans and supervision of the construction was handled by the Singapore-based Swan & MacLaren. The building was used for the first time on 17 April, 1918. At the time it was constructed, the road (then called Weld Road) was still a semi-rural road in Kuala Lumpur.
During the Second World War, St Andrew's was taken over by the Japanese military and used as a store. During that period, the church suffered the ravishes of war. Due to the shortage of metal, the steel pipes of its organ and memorial brass tablets were looted. Further ruin of the church building was prevented when the Wesley Methodist Church stepped forward and requested its use for the Methodist congregation, and surprisingly, it was approved by the Japanese military.
As St Andrew's gears itself for its 100th anniversary, it is constructing a new tower for the occasion. The contemporary-style bell tower will also house a time capsule which will only be reopened in a hundred years. Housed inside the bell tower will be the church bell, which was acquired for the 90th anniversary of the church.
St Andrew's Presbyterian Church (8 July, 2016)
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