St. James Lutheran Church (Portland, Oregon)

St. James Lutheran Church
Portland Historic Landmark[1]
Photograph of a church
The main building in 2017, with the original (1891) building in the righthand background
Locator map
Locator map
Location within downtown Portland
Locator map
Locator map
St. James Lutheran Church (Portland, Oregon) (Oregon)
Locator map
Locator map
St. James Lutheran Church (Portland, Oregon) (the United States)
Location1315 SW Park Avenue
Portland, Oregon
Coordinates45°30′56″N 122°41′01″W / 45.515632°N 122.683613°W / 45.515632; -122.683613
Built1891 (chapel)
1908 (main building)
1958 (education annex)
ArchitectP. Chappel-Browne
Architectural styleLate Gothic Revival
Websitewww.stjamespdx.org
NRHP reference No.75001598
Added to NRHPMay 21, 1975

The St. James Lutheran Church is a church and historic church building located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States.

History

The congregation was founded in 1889 by missionaries as Portland's first English-speaking Lutheran church. The first pastor was Rev. M. L. Zweizig. The cornerstone for the present building was laid in May 1907. Many of the original fixtures are still in use in the building, including the marble baptismal font and oak pews. The church grew and thrived through the first half of the 20th century, and in 1956 added an educational annex, with space for classrooms and offices.[2] The church was forced to remove the tower of the main building in 1951 due to structural deterioration. The tower was replaced in 1974 using historic photographs to match the original style and design as far as possible.[3]

The church's 1891 building, known as the Pioneer Chapel

The St. James building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.[4]

Ministries

St. James is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and has unique programs and uses the traditional liturgy.[5] In addition, it is home to a yearly series of concert vespers featuring the church cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach embedded into a worship service, as they were originally designed to be performed.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ Portland Historic Landmarks Commission (July 2010), Historic Landmarks -- Portland, Oregon (XLS), retrieved November 13, 2013.
  2. ^ Ashcroft, Ida (1990), The Book of the Century: St. James: The First 100 Years, Portland: Binford & Mort, ISBN 0-8323-0480-8.
  3. ^ Norman, James B. Jr. (1991), Portland's Architectural Heritage: National Register Properties of the Portland Metropolitan Area (revised 2nd ed.), Portland: Oregon Historical Society Press, ISBN 0-87595-241-0, OCLC 25072863.
  4. ^ "Oregon National Register List" (PDF). Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. June 6, 2011. p. 40. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 25, 2018. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  5. ^ "Worship and Music | St. James Lutheran Church". stjamespdx.org. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
  6. ^ "Bach Cantata Vespers | St. James Lutheran Church".
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