originally the church was that of many of toronto's elite, but the church began to decline in the 1960s and 1970s. in 1980 the congregation merged with trinity united church on bloor, west of spadina avenue to form trinity-st. paul's united church. the congregation was based in the former trinity building, and st. paul's was sold to developers. an acclaimed heritage property, there were several years of debate over what could be done with the structure. the developers hoped to demolish it, but this was blocked by the community and city council. the church became a gallery for the arts and music for several years.