Saint Nicholas is a continuing expression of the California Mission style—reverent and austere yet inviting and comforting. This fact governed all aspects of the original 1939 design and the 1996 remodel.
In 1996 J. Todd Campbell of Los Angeles was chosen by the Rector and the Refurbishment Committee to design liturgical elements that would be in keeping with the mood and traditions of Saint Nicholas'.
His project was to develop "sermons in metal, wood and stone." Each item was planned as a statement of Christian faith and doctrine; nothing was seen as simply "decorative." Each was seen as a "sacramental place" witnessing to the power and reality of God at work her and now. For this reason, shrine, font, lectern/pulpit and altar apply the scriptural theme that "what is seen passes away;what is unseen is eternal," (Corinthians 4:18) and the "unseen " part of each project is referenced to some aspect of the Christian faith.