Old North Church, Historic church in Sierra Madre, United States.
The Old North Church is a wooden church built by hand in 1890 with local timber, standing on the north side of Sierra Madre Boulevard at Hermosa, a stretch that was then the dirt road Central Avenue. Its bell tower originally had a barn-shaped roof modeled on a Dutch church in Holland; the Church of the Nazarene later replaced it with a pointed spire. Between 1908 and 1910 the building gained meeting rooms, a kitchen and bathrooms, and in 1910 a furnace replaced the wood-burning stove.
The building was originally erected in 1890 as a place of worship and began services that same year. Over the decades, it was taken over by different religious groups, most notably the First Church of the Nazarene from 1942 until 1976, before returning to its original congregation.
Since 1976 the Old North Church has served Christ Church Sierra Madre as a space for its youth and children's ministries. Cub Scouts Pack 373, started in 1971, and Boy Scouts Troop 373, founded in the building in 1924, still meet there; Troop 373 marked its 100th anniversary on February 24, 2024.
The Old North Church stands on the north side of Sierra Madre Boulevard at Hermosa, across from Sierra Madre Memorial Park. The 1890 building is used today for youth and children's programs and hosts meetings of Cub Scouts Pack 373 and Scouts BSA Troop 373, so interior access depends on those activities rather than regular public visiting hours.
The 1893 bell, cast by Meneely Bell Foundry of Troy, New York, weighs 517 pounds and bears the inscription "Let him who hears come." Donated by A. S. Bixby of Bixby Knolls, it rang for Sunday services and funerals and also alerted Sierra Madre's all-volunteer fire department. In 1928 it was moved to the new south bell tower.
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