Celebrating 75 years at the landmark Zion Lutheran Church

 

Regardless of religious views, Portland architecture enthusiasts will be able to enjoy the inside and the acoustics of a landmark church during a celebration of its 75^th anniversary on May 3.

Zion Lutheran Church, at 1015 SW 18^th Ave., is the first Mid-Century Modern church in Portland – and probably anywhere in Oregon – designed by the city’s most famous architect, Pietro Belluschi.  Its opening in May, 1950, drew 7,000 visitors on its first day, many attracted by newspaper construction photographs of its unusual design.

Festivities of the anniversary will include an organ recital by Zion’s organist, Floy Berentsen, and remarks by Belluschi’s son, Anthony, a retired architect who admires and celebrates his father’s work.  To Zion’s credit, the church has been well-respected and maintained over the decades by the congregation.  Like many other Belluschi works, Zion Lutheran is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

“With his expertise, talent and Italian charm, Pietro was able to convince congregations to embrace the elegant simplicity of Mid-Century Modern design while still integrating the familiar symbols of their traditions and beliefs” Anthony wrote in a history provided by the church.  Interestingly, the church turned down Belluschi’s original idea for a flat roof, but Belluschi soon accomplished that end by putting a flat roof on the Central Lutheran Church in Northeast Portland.

Bronze doors with angels ascending

The most graceful of Belluschi’s traditional symbols at Zion Lutheran are the elegant gothic arches that frame the sanctuary.  They are composed of glue laminated beams, a rather new technology of the post-war era. 

The late Ruth Hyde, a Zion historian and long-time church office manager, wrote in some detail about the church’s design.  “The use of space, light, color, scale, and simple materials in the nave and chancel has created a sanctuary which facilitates the worship of Zion congregation. The sanctuary has the power also to surprise and awaken a response in the unsuspecting visitor seeing it for the first time. For many it inspires a sense of awe.”

As designer of some 42 houses of worship in his lengthy career, Pietro Belluschi was well-aware of the importance of acoustics.  In 1984, 10 years before his death, he said, “An architect knows that the size and shape of a hall can determine the quality of sound received. The spoken word, the singing, and the music, particularly organ music, have different wave lengths and intensities and require different means of enhancing their quality, so portions of the church must absorb sound; others must reflect it; and speaking voices must be aided through electronic means.”

 The 75^th anniversary celebration is bound to be a beautiful event – in many ways.

---Fred Leeson

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