Talk:First Church of Christ, Scientist (Portland, Oregon)

First Church of Christ, Scientist (Portland, Oregon)

The current article on the above topic mentions the design and construction of the building, moves to its nomination as a National Historic Landmark in the 1970s and then jumps to its use primarily by Northwest Children’s Theater. I believe this last use did not begin until the 1990s. My notes below recap the significant role that the building played in the neighborhood in the interim. I would want to edit them for length before inserting into the Wiki entry, but I feel strongly this information is important to the history of the building and also the evolution of Northwest Portland. Citations and photos and related are available.

The Christian Science congregation’s numbers had shrunk substantially by the 70s. Maintaining the 33,000 square foot building was not economically feasible for them. They hoped that they could find a buyer whose use of the facility would be compatible with their desire to serve the community. They were willing to sell for less than market and offer generous terms.

At the time the National Register nomination was made, a notable group of preservationist architects and developers led an effort to recognize the importance of many historic buildings in that part of town through such nominations. Their goal was to avoid the kind of urban renewal which had taken place earlier in other parts of the city. The Northwest District Association, the area’s city-recognized neighborhood group, joined the preservationists advocating the need for a center to deliver services to many elderly and impoverished people residing in the area.

Friendly House, a community center at the other end of the neighborhood, joined the effort because they wanted to open a senior center co-located with a Loaves & Fishes Meals on Wheels site. This coalition of activists and the local Area Agency on Aging created Northwest Service Center Inc., as a private non-profit organization which would be charged with taking over operation of the church building and managing it as a hub for social and cultural services in that part of the city. The coalition would also lead the effort to negotiate purchase of the building from the church community and to make improvements so that the building would have suitable space for community meetings, performances, lectures, and similar activities.

David Porter was hired in March of 1980 as Executive Director of the newly-created service organization. At that point, Friendly House Senior Center and Loaves & Fishes, Northwest Neighborhood Nurses, Schools for the City and Citizens for Children, The Video Access Project, and the Gray Panthers were resident non-profit organizations in the building. Leaders of the organization included architects George C. “Bing” Sheldon, Robert Leeb, and Max Bolte, the Executive Director of Friendly House, Robert Denton, and Geri Ethen, the coordinator of the neighborhood association. Ruth Dilley was a primary representative from the Christian Science congregation.

The former sanctuary space was remodeled within the limits of the historic landmark designation. Speakers and an audio system, a thrust stage, and acoustic baffling on the walls of the room allowed it to be used for lectures, speeches, concerts, theater, religious and political assemblies, and more.

By 1986 the Christian Scientist congregation had been paid the balance of the mortgage. A substantial amount of the funding came from funds referred to as the I405 funds because they were generated from rental of space under the I405 freeway which cut through the neighborhood. The city had agreed to dedicate funds from that source to community development in the neighborhood. Other activities in the space now included a parent cooperative daycare, a parent focused newspaper, the neighborhood credit union and neighborhood office itself. Vice Presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro toured the building and spoke when visiting Portland. Little Richard and Burning Spear and Willie Dixon and many other performers had been on stage at The Portico which was the name given the performance space.

Federal social service dollars for the northwest neighborhood had historically been distributed out of an agency in distant North Portland, but the NWSC had lobbied hard to become the agency for distributing those funds. Porter left the position as Executive Director in 1986. Susan Hamada, later Addy, was hired to succeed him.

Trlboss49 (talk) 23:01, 12 December 2024 (UTC)