Durand in Hamilton, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)

Central Presbyterian Church
⎯⎯⎯
L'Eglise Central Presbyterian

Central Presbyterian Church Marker - English side image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Boyd, March 21, 2023

1. Central Presbyterian Church Marker - English side

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

Erected to serve a thriving congregation established in 1841, Central Presbyterian Church was built in 1907-08 after an earlier building was destroyed by fire. It is reputedly the only church designed by renowned architect John M. Lyle, the Paris-trained son of the minister and one of Canada's leading exponents of the Beaux-Arts system of design. Georgian in form, the imposing building is symmetrical and well-proportioned. Its most distinctive features- semi-circular stairwells at the ends of the transepts, an elegant, open arch tower and a tapering, octagonal spire-offset the flat wall surfaces and create a striking profile. Although a Sunday School wing erected at the rear of the sanctuary has been altered, Central Presbyterian Church retains much of its original character.

Érigée pour desservir une paroisse en pleine croissance créée en 1841, l'église Central Presbyterian est construite en 1907-1908 après l'incendie d'un premier immeuble. Il s'agirait de la seule église conçue par le célèbre architecte John M. Lyle, fiis du pasteur, qui avait étudié à Paris et est l'un des principaux représentants au Canada du style de l'Ecole des beaux-arts. D'inspiration géorgienne, cet imposant immeuble est symétrique et bien proportionné. Il se distingue par ses cages d'escalier semi-circulaires aux extrémités des transepts, une voute elegante et ouverte, et une flèche octogonale effilée, qui mettent en relief les murs plats et créent un profil saisissant. Malgré les modifications apportées à une école de catéchisme érigée à l'arrière du sanctuaire l'église Central Presbyterian demeure essentiellement ce qu'elle était.

Erected by Ontario

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Heritage Foundation.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the Canada, Ontario Heritage Trust series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1907.

Location. 43° 15.062′ N, 79° 52.745′ W. Marker is in Hamilton, Ontario. It is in Durand. It is at the intersection of Charlton Ave. West and Caroline Street South, on the left when traveling west on Charlton Ave. West. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 165 Charlton Avenue West, Hamilton ON L8P L8P, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe,

in the Hamilton-Halton-Brant Area,

and specifically in the Toronto Metropolitan Area.

It is also in Central Canada.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony,

the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

and Rupert’s Land.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking

Central Presbyterian Church Marker - French side image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Boyd, March 21, 2023

2. Central Presbyterian Church Marker - French side

distance of this marker: Hamilton Tigers Football Club Cenotaph (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); The H.A.A.A. Grounds (approx. half a kilometer away); All Aboard! (approx. half a kilometer away); Sandyford Place (approx. half a kilometer away); a different marker also named Sandyford Place (approx. half a kilometer away); Hamilton Central Public School (approx. half a kilometer away); John Rae, Arctic Explorer (approx. half a kilometer away); Take a Ride on the Electric Railroad! (approx. half a kilometer away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hamilton.

Also see . . .
1. Central Presbyterian Church (Hamilton, Ontario).

The congregation first met in a former schoolhouse in downtown Hamilton, with close proximity to two larger Presbyterian congregations, St Andrew's (now St. Paul's), the large Church of Scotland congregation, and MacNab Street Presbyterian Church (Hamilton), the second "Free Church". It was rebuilt in 1858, and became known as Central Presbyterian Church after the 1875 merger and affiliation within the Presbyterian Church in Canada.

(Submitted on March 21, 2023, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario.)

2. John M. Lyle (Hamilton Public Library biography).

Central Presbyterian Church Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Boyd, March 21, 2023

3. Central Presbyterian Church Marker

John Lyle designed more than one hundred of the most beautiful and most historic buildings in and around Toronto, as well as across Canada. He was born in Belfast, Ireland, and raised in Hamilton where his father founded the Hamilton Art Gallery. He was trained in the Beaux Arts tradition which nurtured two other Canadian architects of note - Percy Erskine Nobbs and Ernest Cormicher. (Submitted on March 21, 2023, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario.)

Central Presbyterian Church image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Boyd, March 21, 2023

4. Central Presbyterian Church

Photographed by Tim Boyd, August 30, 2022

5. Central Presbyterian Church

Central Presbyterian Church early post card of the interior image. Click for full size.

6. Central Presbyterian Church early post card of the interior

Credits. This page was last revised on September 30, 2025. It was originally submitted on March 21, 2023, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. This page has been viewed 333 times since then and 28 times this year. Last updated on September 9, 2025, by Kevin Westell of St. Catharines, Ontario. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on March 21, 2023, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.

Central Presbyterian Church⎯⎯⎯L'Eglise Central Presbyterian

Central Presbyterian Church
⎯⎯⎯
L'Eglise Central Presbyterian