The First Presbyterian Church is a church building located in downtown Portland, Oregon, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Construction began in 1886 and was completed in 1890. The building has been called "one of the finest examples" of High Victorian Gothic architecture in the state of Oregon. It includes stained-glass windows made by Portland's Povey Brothers Art Glass Works and a church bell cast with bronze from captured Civil War cannons.
Congregation history
As a congregation, what is now known as the First Presbyterian Church of Portland was organized on January 1, 1854, and was only the third Presbyterian church in the Oregon Territory. With a congregation numbering just twelve members initially, services were originally held in private homes, twice a month. For the first year, Reverend J. L. Yantis journeyed on horseback to Portland from Calapooia, Oregon (2 miles east of Shedd), 80 miles to the south. Services were later held at a larger venue, the Canton House—a public meeting place at Front and Washington streets that was later known as the Pioneer Hotel, the Lincoln House and the American Exchange building.
By 1860, the congregation had grown to 87 members, and fundraising for a permanent church building began. Property was purchased in 1862. The congregation's first permanent building was completed in 1864, at 3rd and Washington streets, and was dedicated on May 22. It included the first pipe organ in Portland. A 1,052-pound bell was donated by Caroline E. Jagger Corbett, wife of Senator Henry W. Corbett. It was made by Meneely & Company (of Troy, New York) from bronze Civil War cannons. A 1987 article in The Oregonian said that in 1865, the bell "rang out the news that the Civil War had ended. Five days later, it tolled for President Lincoln's death."
The church society was incorporated as "the First Presbyterian Church and Society of the City of Portland" in 1865, by members William S. Ladd, John C. Ainsworth, O.P.S. Plummer and others.
As the congregation continued to grow, First Presbyterian counted many prominent Portlanders among its members, including Henry W. Corbett, William S. Ladd, John C. Ainsworth, and Jacob Kamm.
By the 1880s the congregation had grown to 900 members, and it was decided that a new, larger building was needed. In 1883, a parcel of more than a quarter-block was purchased at 12th and Alder streets for the new church, and later an adjacent property at 13th and Alder was purchased for a parsonage. Architect William F. McCaw was hired to design the new building, and his plans were approved in July 1886.
According to The Oregon Encyclopedia, in the 1920s First Presbyterian Church was "among the ten largest [Presbyterian] congregations in the United States." In 1929, membership stood at 2,802. In 1997, there were 1,100 members.
Building
Construction of the existing building began in 1886. The general contractor was John C. Robertson. By May 1887, the foundation had been completed, and the cornerstone was laid in a ceremony on May 2 of that year. The chapel was finished in May 1889, in the new building's west end, and services began being held there as work continued on the main auditorium. Construction of the latter was completed in 1890, and the first public worship service in the new building's main auditorium was held on October 20, 1890. The total construction cost was approximately $120,000 (equivalent to $ million in ).
The church bell from the 1864 building was moved to the new building in 1889 or 1890. It remains in regular use today, being rung twice a day. A 1987 article gave its weight as . The city council designated the church building a Portland Historic Landmark on April 8, 1970, and the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
Description
Designed in High Victorian Gothic style, the First Presbyterian Church occupies an site and includes a spire. (Some sources give the spire's height as 180 feet.) The steeple's roof was originally covered in slate shingles, but copper cladding replaced the shingles in 1929, and a new coating of copper replaced the original in 1982.