o The public can see the Proto-Cathedral of St. James the Greater, 218 W. 12th St. in Vancouver, without walking into religious services by visiting Tuesdays through Fridays, 8 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 4 p.m. Access is through a side door on the west side of the building.
o St. James Cathedral was the seat of the Nesqually Diocese for 55 years, until Bishop Edward J. O’Dea moved from Vancouver to Seattle in 1903. After more than a century as a parish church, St. James in October was officially designated the proto-cathedral — the first cathedral — of what now is the Diocese of Seattle.
A light came down from above.
And after a little metal-sawing on the old light fixture and a lot of rewiring, a new chandelier was reeled up to take its place high above the pews.
Workers have been replacing 11 chandeliers this week in the sanctuary of a landmark Vancouver church. It’s part of an extended project that includes restoring several 129-year-old stained glass windows. There even is some new signage, reflecting the recently updated name for the church: the Proto-Cathedral of St. James the Greater.
Built in 1885, St. James was the first masonry cathedral in what was then Washington Territory. The parish celebrated a restoration of the historic church in 2008, but there were still a few things on the to-do list.
Eventually, money came along for some of the finishing touches. The new chandeliers were funded by a bequest from Mary Palena, a parish member who died in 2012.
The light fixtures being taken down are obviously not original, because electrical service didn’t come to Vancouver until the 1900s. The chandeliers do have more of an Old World look, even though the new-generation bulbs will cut the lighting bill by 80 percent.
“We wanted a medieval look” that went with the church’s Gothic Revival style, said the Rev. William Harris, pastor of the Proto-Cathedral of St. James the Greater.
Replacing a chandelier is not a job for a guy on a very tall ladder, by the way. In an attic just under the church roof, a cable tethers each chandelier to a small winch.
To lower a chandelier, church facilities manager Kha Vu climbs 77 steps to the attic’s access door. Then he unwinds the cable and lowers the chandelier to the church floor so volunteers Jerry Nehnevaj and Rusty Gallagher can help switch the fixtures.
The windows undergoing restoration are the original stained glass.
“Nothing has been done with it since the glass was put in during the 1880s,” Harris said. “Some glass had to be replaced, but the main part of the restoration is replacing the lead” that holds the pieces of glass together.
The Maybelle Clark Macdonald Fund, a private foundation based in Bend, Ore., reached out to St. James and asked if the church was interested in a grant to restore seven of the stained-glass windows.
“We were really blessed,” Harris said.
