The building is of special significance for a couple of reasons. For one thing, among Saratoga's five churches that were in operation during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this is the only surviving building. The others were the Congregational, on the site of the present school on Oak Street; the Episcopal, at Sixth and St. Charles streets; the Catholic, at Sixth Street and Big Basin Way; and the Disciples of Christ, or Christian, on Big Basin Way where the Echo Shop is today.

The Methodist Episcopal Church was built in 1896, with a belfry added in 1903. This was a picturesque belfry, with a pointed spire, but I have never seen any pictures of it housing a church bell. In 1924, the California Conference of the church sold the building to an artist, Theodore Wores, initiating an era that could be considered that structure's claim to fame.

Wores, born in San Francisco in 1859, the son of a Hungarian immigrant father and German-born mother, studied painting in Europe and later in Japan. He became a successful artist, married in 1910, and he and his wife lived in San Francisco. His subjects varied, from San Francisco's Chinatown to portraiture, one of his subjects being Oscar Wilde.

He also traveled, and one of his favorite landscape locations was the Santa Clara Valley, which at that time was carpeted with orchards. The expanse of blossoms became one of his captivating subjects, and Saratoga was a natural focal point for establishing a studio in the church building, where he also added living quarters. Wores' paintings are highly prized, and the Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara has a collection.

Wores moved to San Francisco in 1939, had his last exhibition at the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island and died that same year. In subsequent years, the church-turned-studio served as an antique shop and photographer's studio, among other uses.

The final locations on the walking tour are a pair of buildings designed by famed architect Julia Morgan. Her involvement with these buildings can probably be credited to the late Grace M. Richards, a Saratoga activist who happened to be Morgan's roommate at UC-Berkeley. The first we come to is the original portion of the Federated Church.

Today, this original segment, built in 1923, seems almost like a minor annex to the extensive structure that makes up the church, with meeting halls, classrooms and offices. The Julia Morgan portion comprises the chapel--formerly the main sanctuary--the Fireside Room and Douglass Hall, named for an early pastor, Roscoe Douglass. The first addition, a classroom wing for Sunday school, was built 65 years ago.

There is a certain elegance to this original portion, with its bell tower--complete with bell--and tile roof, and I have many memories going back to earliest childhood that are associated with it. One thing I don't remember, though, is being baptized in the original sanctuary when it and I were both new.

The Foothill Club, at 20399 Park Place, goes back to 1915, and it is truly a cultural centerpiece of the community. As an example, for years it had one of the two proscenium stages in Saratoga, the other being at the grammar school on Oak Street. The late Dorothea Johnston produced some of her plays there, including Alice in Wonderland, with Olivia De Havilland as Alice. I never tire of boasting of playing the duck to Olivia's Alice.

The clubhouse was also a venue for activities such as piano recitals, and I remember my piano teacher saying in 1935 that she had to pay $5 to rent the place for the evening. I think the price has gone up just a bit. Whatever the occasion--ballroom dancing, lectures, dramatic productions--there is a graciousness of atmosphere in that building that makes any event there special.

Julia Morgan had the historic touch.