Salem Religious Institutions

Salem has a number of distinctive religious buildings in its central area. This 4.2 mile long walk will take you by a number of them, as you meander through central Salem. All but two of the buildings along the route are Christian in nature, the exceptions being a Buddhist temple and a Bahai worship place. The walk also traipses through Willamette University, the downtown commercial district, and the State Capitol. While long, the route is level.

The walk begins at the corner of 17th Street and Chemeketa Street NE. On the corner is the Chemeketa Street Evangelical Church building, which has been converted to a private residence. The church was originally built in 1894. While it is not individually on the National Register of Historic Places, the entire Court-Chemeketa neighborhood in this area is on the National Register. The original church vacated the building in 1929, and later it was used by Mennonites and then the LDS Church ("Mormons") until conversion to a private residence some time before 1987. The original Evangelical Church that inhabited the building was probably an ethnic German congregation, espousing the Calvinist strain of German Protestantism (in contrast to Lutherans).

Go south on 17th Street. In one block, at the corner of Court and 17th, is the Court Street Christian Church. While this building was constructed in 1949, the church has been located on this site since 1913, started as an east Salem "extension" of the First Christian Church in downtown Salem (visited later on this tour). Looking at the church's website, it appears to be non-denominational, professing no connection to any larger or national church organization. The church's theology states that the Bible is the only authority for its faith, but does not explicitly state that the Bible is inerrant.

Continue on 17th Street to its intersection with State Street. Turn left and go two blocks on State Street. At the corner of 18th and State is the State Street Church of God, which has only this sparse Facebook page for its online presence. More information about the building's history is available here. The church building was constructed a few years after 1900 for a predecessor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, a "mainline" Protestant denomination (see discussion for St. Mark Lutheran Church later on this walk). After a stint as a Baptist church the present congregation arrived in 1976. It appears to be a non-denominational church, which means it has no affiliation with a larger group of churches.

At 19th Street turn right and go one block to Ferry Street. On the corner of 19th and Ferry is the Korean Church of Salem. The church has a Facebook page without much content. The Korean Church of Salem is a Presbyterian congregation. The building was originally constructed in 1926 by a Congregationalist congregation which closed its doors and sold the building to its current occupants in 2005.

Turn right on Ferry Street and then turn left onto 18th. Go two blocks on 18th to Mill Street, then turn right and go three blocks on Mill to 15th Street - carefully cross busy 17th Street. At the corner of 15th and Mill is the Mia Chung Buddhist Temple, located in this attractive red building. The temple does not have a website - in fact, it appears to have no internet presence of any kind.

Continue on Mill Street to its terminus at 12th Street. Use the pedestrian crosswalk to carefully cross traffic, and then head right on 12th Street. After you pass the parking lot on your left turn left into the Willamette University campus. Turn right between the first two buildings, and then left at the first opportunity between buildings. Continue to the large green area known as the Quad. Go around the Quad to the right and stop at the second building on the right. This is Waller Hall, the oldest building on campus (dating from 1867). Among other campus offices it is the home of Cone Chapel, the school's religious facility.

If you visit during weekdays you can go into the chapel itself. In its current form it was consecrated in 1989. It features a stately pipe organ in the front and a dozen large stained glass windows. While Willamette University was founded in 1842 by Methodist missionaries the school has long been unaffiliated with any religious institutions.

After leaving Waller Hall continue north toward the State Capitol. At State Street turn left and head down the street. At the intersection of State and Cottage Streets, to the left,  is a Baha'i Faith Center. The Baha'i Faith was founded in 19th century Iran, and asserts a synthesis of past prophets of many world religions into a new monotheistic religion of world peace and unity. There are about 5 million adherents worldwide. The largest number used to be in Iran, but the Islamic regime under Ayatollah Khomeini and his successors has worked to ruthlessly extirpate the faith from that county since 1980.

Continue straight ahead on State Street for another block to Church Street. The street may be named for this structure, the First Methodist Church of Salem on the corner of State and Church Streets, originally built in 1878. Its spire is taller than every other structure in the city other than the State Capitol.  The original spire had to be replaced in 1984, but the new spire is an identical match. The United Methodist Church has 7.2 million adherents in the U.S., making it the third largest national church (behind Roman Catholicism and the Southern Baptists). This "mainline" Protestant church has its origins in the preachings and teachings of legendary 18th century evangelist John Wesley.

Turn right onto Church Street and proceed two blocks to Chemeketa Street, where you will turn left. After three blocks on Chemeketa turn right onto Commercial Street. In the first block, on the left, is the Union Gospel Mission. Founded in 1953, it serves the homeless while trying to convert them to Christianity, or at least have them become receptive to Christian teachings. There are many such Christian homeless shelters and providers of services to the homeless throughout the U.S. - the largest of these is the Salvation Army.

After two blocks on Commercial Street turn right onto Marion Street. After one block, on the corner of Marion and Liberty Streets, is the Salem First Baptist Church. A short history of the church is found here - while the church has been on this site since 1868, the current building was constructed in 1951. First Baptist does not make any mention of a national affiliation on its website, but it appears to be part of the Conservative Baptist Association, a loose group of churches that split from the more "liberal" Northern Baptist Convention in the middle of the last century. The history of formations, splits, and unions of groups of Baptist churches in this nation is much too complicated for any explanation here. National Baptist church organizations are often very loosely organized, and the particular theology of individual Baptist churches in the same grouping may vary widely. The Baptist faith is differentiated from other versions of Christianity by belief that the act of baptism - committing oneself to the Christian faith by complete immersion in water, is only possible for consenting adults (as opposed to the practice of other Christians, most notably Roman Catholics, of baptizing infants).

Turn left onto Liberty Street and after one block turn right at Union Street. After two blocks on Union turn left onto Church Street and walk north. At 675 Church St. NE is this beautiful old federal-style home. It is the Endicott House, built in 1910. and now converted into offices.

Continue north on Church Street. You will soon reach this bridge in the road that crosses Mill Creek. This waterway, augmented by a diversion from the Santiam River, meanders around the central Salem area, occasionally flooding homes and other buildings along its banks.

Continue on Church Street to "D" Street, then turn right. After one block, at the corner of Cottage and "D",  is the Evergreen Presbyterian Church. This congregation is a member of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). The PCA split from the mainstream Presbyterian Church U.S.A. in the 1970's as a conservative reaction to the increasing liberalism of the national Presbyterian church, disagreeing with among other theological innovations the ordination of women. However the building, constructed in 1928 in a neo-Gothic style, was originally the Bethel Baptist Church, and has only been occupied by the current Presybterian congregation since 2008.

Turn right onto Cottage Street and go back south. After one long block you will reach Union Street - proceed another block to Marion Street. Between Union and Marion on your left is the Old Garfield School Building. Constructed in 1909, it served as an elementary school until 1973. It has now been repurposed as office space, and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Opposite the Old Garfield School Building, on your right, is the Salem First Christian Church. The church is part of the Disciples of Christ national church. The church requires a belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, but encourages its individual churches and members to find their own way in Christianity and not follow any additional established doctrine. The church's national membership has declined steeply from 2 million in the 1950's to 650,000 today. Three Presidents, James Garfield, Lyndon Johnson, and Ronald Reagan, were Disciples of Christ at some point in their lives. This brick building that is home to the congregation was built in 1951, although the congregation was established in Salem way back in 1867.

Turn left onto Marion Street. On your right is the First Congregational United Church of Christ. The church's website describes itself as a "long established, theologically liberal, open and affirming, just peace congregation." The United Church of Christ is the most theologically and politically progressive of mainline Protestant churches in the United States, which is interesting, since Congregationalism has its roots in the austere Puritan churches of 17th century Massachusetts. The history of First Congregational in Salem goes back to 1852 - the current building was dedicated in 1941.

The next church is adjacent to the First Congregational Church, at the corner of Marion and Winter Streets, on your right - St. Mark Lutheran Church. This "American" Lutheran Church (with services in English instead of German) was formed in 1927, and originally used the "Old Presbyterian Church" building a couple of blocks away on Church Street. In 1958 the church dedicated this building and the old church, originally built in 1894, was demolished. St. Mark is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), which is a mainline Protestant denomination. This branch of Lutheranism is in "full communion" with the national Episcopal, Methodist, Reformed, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, and Moravian Churches, which means that these churches welcome members of sister churches in services. including at communion, recognize ordained ministers of sister churches, and coordinate and worship together in other ways that are described well in this ELCA webpage.

Notably, "full communion" among American churches does not include the Roman Catholic Church in America. Which brings us to the next church building. At Winter Street turn right and go two blocks to Chemeketa -  on the right is St. Joseph Catholic Church. While a Roman Catholic church building has been present on this block since 1864 the current building was completed in 1957, apparently with some local controversy over the height of the bell tower. Behind the church building is St. Joseph's Elementary School.

On the opposite corner of Winter and Chemeketa, on the right, is First Presbyterian Church, built in 1928. Amazingly, this substantial church building was moved to this location. The church was originally at the northeast corner of Winter and Chemeketa Streets. In 1958 it was moved diagonally across the Chemeketa/Winter intersection to its current location, to make room for the State's Bureau of Labor and Industries building. First Presbyterian is a member of the Presbyterian Church USA, a mainline Protestant denomination. Presbyterianism has its roots in the Scottish Reformation of the 16th century, whose leader was John Knox, and is based upon rejection of the rule by bishops and their replacement as leaders by governing boards of lay elders, or presbyters.

Continue one block further on Winter and then turn left onto Court Street. Stay on the left side of the street as you pass the State Capitol on your right, and continue several blocks, past the 12th Street railroad tracks, to the corner of 14th and Court. On your right is St. John Lutheran church. While the building looks older, it was constructed in 1953. St. John is a member of the Missouri Synod branch of Lutheranism, which dates back to a conservative reaction to increasingly "reformed" Lutheranism in early 19th century Germany, and was founded in the United States in 1847. The Missouri Synod Lutherans remain more conservative than the larger, "mainstream"  Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, and are not in full communion with other mainline Protestant faiths.

Continue on Court Street to 15th Street, then turn left. After one short block turn right onto Chemeketa Street, where in two blocks you will be back at your starting point.