[3] Local historian Linda Larson Boston called the building, “One of a handful of American churches patterned after Unitarian churches of Transylvania, it features a large triple-arched stained glass window on the facade, multiple domes and cupolas, and both round and square towers,” in her pamphlet, Highlights of San Jose, California’s St. James Park and Environs.

Mr. And Mrs. B.F. Watkins, residents of Santa Clara who belonged to the San Francisco Unitarian Church, were staunch supporters of the women's suffrage movement and organizers on behalf of the U.S. Sanitary Commission, which aided victims of the Civil War (and later became the Red Cross).

One notable fundraiser featured actor Dustin Hoffman, who spent several months in 1996 filming Mad City at the San Jose Athletic Club next door.

[9] As part of the renovation project, the church added classrooms and office space in its basement so that it could establish the Third Street Community Center[10] in 1998.

The center is a separate, non-sectarian non-profit that houses the Don Edwards Computer Learning Academy, an after-school program, and ESL classes serving low-income and immigrant neighbors.