On April 12, 1875, Professor John M. Coyner opened The Collegiate Institute in the basement of the new church. The school prospered, as did other mission schools established by the Presbyterians throughout the territory. By 1889-90, the Presbyterians had 36 mission schools and four academies and had served over 50,000 children. The Collegiate Institute later became Westminster College and moved to its present location at 13th East and 17th South.

Throughout tumultuous times, the church continued to grow in membership. Following statehood in 1896, the congregation began consideration of a new church home on the corner of C Street and East South Temple. Mr. Walter Ware, prominent Salt Lake architect, designed the building in the English-Scottish gothic revival style, modeling it after the Carlisle Cathedral in England. Alexander Carpenter, a member of the church, was the builder. Red sandstone from Red Butte Canyon above Fort Douglas was cut and hauled to the C Street site by wagon. The cost for the building and lot was $175,000. When the cornerstone was laid on June 4, 1903, the membership then exceeded 500 and more than 700 were enrolled in the Sunday School.