A landmark building and Northeast Portland’s Irvington
neighborhood could be in store for invigorating news given that the Portland
Youth Philharmonic Orchestra hopes to buy the vacant Central Lutheran Church.
The notable church, designed by architect Pietro Belluschi
in 1950, offers office space, practice and teaching rooms and a spacious
sanctuary that could seat more than 200 people for musical events. The site also includes 12 parking spaces and
easy access to a larger lot across the street that the Zeller Chapel of the
Roses often allows to be used for community events.
Details of the potential sale are not yet known. The non-profit youth philharmonic needs to
work through some change-of-use issues with the City of Portland before a deal
can be finalized. The timing could take a few months.
The church is one of several in Portland designed by
Belluschi comparatively early in his brilliant architectural career. It ranks as perhaps the most interesting in
that it steers completely away from easily-recognized religious architectural
forms. The bell tower, for example, is
an open tower composed only of essential wooden beams.
A canopy over the main entrance on NE 21st Avenue is a
gently arched roof held up by simple wooden pillars, reflecting a traditional
Japanese feel that Belluschi had studied.
While lacking traditional stained glass windows, the sanctuary is bathed
in light entering through red and blue glass panels framed within narrow wooden
channels on the western façade.
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| (State Historic Preservation Office image) |
Belluschi’s son, Anthony, a retired architect who greatly
admires his father’s work, has embraced the youth philharmonic’s concept with
enthusiasm. Finding a new use for a
historic building sometimes offers the best opportunity for saving it. Short of some other church buying it,
creating a home for the youth philharmonic orchestra would be an exceptional
outcome.
Tenancy by the youth philharmonic would benefit the
Irvington neighborhood by providing an active use for a site has been vacant
for a few years. Central Lutheran halted
regular services with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and concluded that it
was unable to maintain the building financially after the pandemic ended. The church has been for sale since late 2023.
In an interesting historical twist, the youth philharmonic
organization was started a century ago in Irvington School by the school’s
music teacher, Mary V. Dodge. Today the
orchestra provides lessons and performance opportunities for some 300 students
from over 100 schools in the Portland region.
Their ages range from 9 to 20.
A friend asked me: Will the crosses be saved? Any exterior changes would have to be reviewed by the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission, and then, if appealed, by the City Council. Another solution: Let the orchestra play occasional religion-inspired music.
----Fred Leeson
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