Sixty years and counting

Original post made on Sep 15, 2011

Sixty years ago, St. Raymond parishioners gathered for their first Mass in a little theater on the former Felix McGinnis estate in Menlo Park. The little wooden building, known as the little theater or playhouse, was built by Mr. McGinnis for his daughter, an aspiring actress. The playhouse would become the setting for St. Raymond worship services for the next nine years.

Read the full story here Web Link posted Wednesday, January 27, 2010, 12:00 AM

Comments

Posted by Diane Lovegrove Bader
a resident of Atherton: other
on Sep 15, 2011 at 7:31 pm

I was 12 years old when St. Raymond's was built. It was such a modern church for its time with its simplicity and huge ornate doors. I wonder what ever happened to them. At 13, I was enlisted to play the organ for the Stations of the Cross during Lent. The old organ was in the back of the theater, opposite the stage where the altar was. The organist had her back to the altar so someone put up two car mirrors, one on either side of the organ, so the organist could see what was going on behind her. It was an interesting experience, to say the least. I sang in the first choir, directed by Minerva McDermott in the old theater. We were crowded in a corner to sing. I made my confirmation in that building also. It was so crowded that many people could not get in that day. As a child, I loved playing under the spreading oaks on the old Southern Pacific train cars on the estate.

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