For whom does this bell toll?

Historic downtown church turns to public to repair aging bell tower

The Rev. Charles Svendsen understands that the life of a church can be a tricky thing. Svendsen is interim minister of First Congregational United Church of Christ. Perched on the South Park Blocks, First Congregational is one of the citys oldest and most imposing churches. For 60 years, its 175-foot-high bell tower was the tallest structure in Portland. Only First Congregationals bell rings out over the South Park blocks on Sunday mornings.

But that bell tower, basically unchanged since its construction in 1895, has been crumbling. Once, the church would have prevailed on its members to pay the $500,000 cost of the repairs. Forty years ago, the church had 700 members. Today it has 328. Most Sundays, somewhere around 135 people attend services, many of whom are children or grandchildren of earlier congregants, who drive in from the suburbs, often passing other congregational churches on the way to what Svendsen calls the mother church.

These churches down here, theyre historical, theyre central, theyre the ones from whom all the other churches came, Svendsen says of the old downtown houses of worship.

While a number of once-proud Portland churches have closed their doors in recent years, First Congregational is not about to go broke. In fact, while its membership contributions are down compared to years past, its income is greater than it was 10 years ago due to rental revenue it gets from leasing part of its property for the Newmark and Winningstad theaters on Southwest Broadway Avenue.

The churchs 328 members would each have to contribute about $1,500 to pay for the restoration of the First Congregational Tower. While some are making contributions about $85,000 has been pledged so far the church has decided to ask the greater Portland community to take ownership of its bell tower by contributing to its Restore a Portland Landmark fundraising campaign. Its pitch asks the residents of what often is referred to as the nations most unchurched city to examine their relationship with its historic religious institutions.

Just south and west of First Congregational on the Park Blocks stands St. James Lutheran Church. A little bit farther south sits the Christian Science Church. Just south of First Congregational is the First Christian Church. Another dozen or so churches are scattered throughout downtown and the Goose Hollow neighborhood. Most of the old ones have at least one thing in common.

All these churches have declined, Svendsen says. But all are vital to the health of downtown and the larger Portland area, he insists.

Kerry Tymchuk, executive director of the Oregon Historical Society, says hes a backer. He says the church, which was designed to resemble Bostons Old South Church, is one of the few examples of Venetian Gothic architecture in the country. It also happens to sit next door to Tymchuks Historical Society.

It would look so much better without that netting around it, Tymchuk says, referring to mesh placed around a portion of the bell tower to catch falling tracery panels. Just a few weeks ago, in fact, a 2-foot-long piece of one of the wooden Gothic panels fell to the sidewalk near the church.

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For whom does this bell toll?