St. Nicholas Eastern Orthodox Church, undated photo. St. Nicholas Church was founded in 1916 as a parish of the North American Missionary Archdiocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. The original wood-frame church, whose onion-topped spire is seen here, was completed in 1919. The original edifice was replaced in 1968 with a strikingly modern church building. Designed by architect Sergei Padukow, the new church looks somewhat like a spacecraft, with a sharply arched shape and reflective silver roof panels. Despite its futuristic appearance, the church is still topped with an onion-shaped spire (similar to most Russian Orthodox churches), in this case, rendered in a brilliant blue.