San Lorenzo Valley Museum

Grace Episcopal Church
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Location	12547 CA 9, Boulder Creek, California
Area	less than one acre
Built	1906
Architectural style	Gothic Revival
NRHP reference No.	06001158
Added to NRHP	December 19, 2006

The former Grace Episcopal Church building, located on State Route 9 in Boulder Creek, houses the San Lorenzo Valley Museum's main gallery, administrative office and information center. Originally located in the former town of Lorenzo, it is currently the oldest religious structure in downtown Boulder Creek. The building is constructed of old-growth redwood in the late Gothic Revival style. It was completed in November 1906 and was listed to the National Register of Historic Places on December 19, 2006, the centenary of its construction.

Grace Mission was established in May 1906 and a plot of land was purchased on which to build a church. Arthur William Wolfston Darwall and his son, Arthur Leicestor, are credited with the construction of the Grace Episcopal Church building.[4] The Episcopal Church did not attracted a large following in Boulder Creek, with most residents instead attending the nearby Presbyterian Church or the Catholic Church, and most Episcopalians attending St. Andrew's Church a mere 3 miles away in Ben Lomond. Congregation numbers began to decline several years after completion. It was decided by the Church around 1915 to consolidate the parishes, with St. Andrews being chosen as the permanent location,[4] and abandoned the structure.

The structure went unused until 1923 when the local Christian Science Society purchased the building. Isaiah and Maude Hartman loaned over half of the amount needed for purchase. Eventually, in 1955, the Society attained full Church Status and changed its name to the First Church of Christ Scientist, Boulder Creek. The adjacent property to the south of the building was purchased for additional parking in 1966 and a Sunday school was built behind the church in 1977. The Church was officially dedicated in 1978. The Church building was sold by the Christian Science Society to the Boulder Creek Historical Society in 1995 to house the San Lorenzo Valley Museum's collections.[4]

The original garden beside the church has also seen constant expansion and improvement since the Museum took control over the property.

The former Felton Presbyterian Church building, located on Gushee Street in Felton, houses the San Lorenzo Valley Museum's second gallery and temporary exhibitions. It is one of the oldest church structures in the San Lorenzo Valley. The building is a one-story redwood frame vernacular Victorian church. It was completed in July 1893 and was listed to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

The building of a religious structure in Felton was not proposed until the winter of 1892. However, the raised donation amount from the town was not enough to start building until Santa Cruz entrepreneur F.A. Hihn donated the land. The church was built by volunteer carpenters from March to July 1893 and was called the Presbyterian Community Church for the next sixty-three years.[5]

By the 1950s, the congregation had outgrown its building and proceeded to move into a larger church to accommodate this growth. A local restaurateur, Nick Belardi, purchased the former church property with the intention of dismantling the building to rebuild a new home. Following community activism of citizens interested in preserving the structure and the death of his wife, Belardi donated the land and the building to the town of Felton, with the stipulation that it would serve as a memorial. Money was raised to carry out necessary renovations but the structure was not dramatically altered.[5] On April 15, 1956, the former church building was dedicated as the Faye G. Belardi Memorial Library.

The Felton Library had outgrown the Belardi building by 2016[3] and library operations permanently closed in November 2019.[6] An agreement was signed between the San Lorenzo Valley Museum, the Belardi Trust directors, and Felton Library Friends in 2018 to use the building as a Museum exhibition gallery.[3] The Faye G. Belardi Memorial Gallery opened in October 2020 with its debut hosting the Smithsonian's Museum On Main Street "Water|Ways" exhibit.[7]