Seattle Religious Institutions - Capitol Hill

Capitol Hill is an old and very interesting Seattle neighborhood, located on the heights above downtown Seattle, although perhaps it wasn't originally "above" downtown before the amazing (by today's environmental standards) Denny Regrade was perpetrated on land between Capitol Hill and Puget Sound in the early 20th century. Capitol Hill was originally named in 1901 by a real estate developer who wanted the state capitol to move to Seattle from Olympia. At one point known locally as "Catholic Hill," it has a diverse religious history epitomized by this tour of religious structures in the southern portion of the neighborhood. The walk is 2.7 miles and has a lot of terrain changes.

The walk starts at the intersection of Broadway and Howell At this time you will need to find nearby available street parking to start the walk here, but soon this location will be on the south edge of the Capitol Hill Subway Station, part of an extension of Seattle's light rail line north from downtown to the University of Washington. The tracks visible in the picture will be the route for another new rail line to this location, the Seattle First Hill Streetcar, set to open later this year.

From the intersection of Broadway and Howell proceed east one block to Nagle Street, and then enter Cal Anderson Park, Continue straight across the park. Formerly Lincoln Park, it was renamed in honor of Washington State's first openly gay state legislator. There is an interesting fountain that you will pass on your left.

After crossing Cal Anderson Park you will reach 11th Avenue, where you will cross the street and turn right. On the corner of 11th and Howell is the German United Church of Christ, in this location since 1909. It is the last church in the Pacific Northwest to conduct its services in the German language. The building is, in the architecturally Spartan mode of congregational churches generally.

Continuing south on 11th Avenue, right beyond the German Congregational Church is the Central Lutheran Church parish house, providing extra facilities for the Central Lutheran parish located one building beyond on 11th. Of note is the banner, which refers to a successful campaign in the City of Seattle to raise the minimum wage to $15. It is a sign of the social and moral priorities of the Central Lutheran congregation.

At the corner of 11th and Olive, to the left, is the Central Lutheran Church, clearly from its website one of the more "liberal" Lutheran congregations. The congregation emphasizes issues of social justice and inclusivity in its religious program. While the congregation dates from 1890, this beautiful brick building was constructed in 1932.

At Central Lutheran turn left onto Olive Street. Go two blocks to 13th Avenue, then turn left. On the right side of the street is St. Nicholas Cathedral, a Russian Orthodox congregation. The congregation was founded in 1932 by Russian emigres escaping, as the church's website puts it, "the scourge of Bolshevism." They were also escaping from the established Russian Orthodox church in Seattle, St. Spiridon, for reasons which have been obscured by the passing decades. The cathedral, built in 1937, is dedicated to St. Nicholas of Myra, the religious inspiration for today's thoroughly secular Santa Claus. The building is also dedicated to the "martyred Tsar Nicholas II, his Royal Family and all the Russian soldiers and people who died defending their faith, tsar and country." (from the Cathedral's website) The onion domes are typical of Russian Orthodox churches in Russia and around the world. 

After one block on 13th turn right onto Howell Street. On the left, at the corner of 13th and Howell, is the Assumption Greek Church. This Greek Orthodox congregation is part of a different national church from the Russian Orthodox down the block, but share the same Eastern Orthodox theology, which is well-summarized here. This congregation split from the older St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox church, located several miles to the north, in 1939. This particular building's history is unclear, but it is obviously much more modern than its Russian Orthodox neighbor St. Nicholas.

Continue three blocks east on Howell Street, then turn left onto 16th Avenue. At the corner of Howell and 16th is a small city park. Beyond the park, on the left, is the monumental 1909 First Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle. The controversial church, founded by Mary Baker Eddy and best known for its belief in faith-healing, was a booming and well-funded organization in the early 20th century. However the number of congregations have declined by almost half in the U.S. in the past half-century, and this building was sold to a housing developer in 2006. It is now a condominium development titled "The Sanctuary." After some problems related to the Great Recession, the 12 condominiums are apparently sold and occupied.

Continue on 16th Avenue another block to John Street. On the left is the Group Health Hospital Campus, while on the right is the former Capitol Hill United Methodist Church building, constructed in 1906. In 1991 the Methodists vacated the building, and its fate was uncertain. However instead of being torn down it has been repurposed as a pretty cool office building for Catalysis, a "digital marketing" firm working with Seattle's (and the world's) tech businesses.

Turn right from 16th onto John Street. Across the street from Catalysis is a striking apartment building, the Anhalt Apartments. This English Tudor style building was designed and built by noted Seattle residential builder Frederick Anhalt. After 40 years in service as offices for the hospital across the street, it was repurposed as an apartment building again in 2009.

After one block on John Street turn right on 17th Avenue, and then after one block on 17th turn left onto Denny Way. After one block on Denny turn right onto 18th Avenue. On the left is this large old mansion which now serves as the headquarters of Save Seattle, a ministry of the Seattle Union Gospel Mission. The program offers year-long missions for young adults to serve the needy in the Seattle area and also enjoy life in the Pacific Northwest.

After one block on 18th turn left onto Howell, and then after one block turn right onto 19th Avenue. Once you cross busy Madison Street look up to see that 19th Avenue is also Rev. Dr. S. McKinney Avenue. Samuel McKinney was the pastor of the Mt. Zion Baptist Church for 40 years and was a major leader of the African-American community in Seattle.

Continue on 19th Street and on your left is the Rev. McKinney's church, Mt. Zion Baptist. It is the oldest and largest African-American congregation in the State of Washington. It has been located on this site since 1920, although the building underwent a major "African-style" redesign in the 1970's. The "black churches" of the United States have a long tradition of serving the spiritual needs of African-Americans, at first by necessity, due to segregation as strong in Christian denominations as it was in the rest of American society, but now by tradition and perhaps choice.

Continue on 19th Avenue. To the right is Peace for the Streets, This organization ministers to homeless youth in the Seattle area. While the group's website doesn't have any religious messages other sources indicate that it is in some sort of partnership with Mt. Zion Baptist Church across the street. Under any auspices, it appears to be a worthy organization with a worthy mission.

After two blocks on 19th Avenue you will see a stairway heading up a short hill to the right. Take the stairway and once at the top continue forward. You will be on Pike Street. Continue for three blocks, passing a playground and school on the left, and at the corner of 16th and Pike is Temple de Hirsch Sinai. This large established congregation serves Seattle's reform Judaism community - the most "liberal" of the three main strands of the Jewish faith in the U.S. The large temple facility, taking up an entire city block, was completed in 1960. As the result of a merger with a Bellevue congregation in 1971 the congregation has a second temple in that city.

Continue on Pike Street to Madison Street, which cuts diagonally across the street grid in this area. Veer slightly left on Madison to the stop light at 14th Avenue, which you will use to cross Madison. Then cross Pike to the north side of the street. Halfway up the block is another long-time (since 1886) Seattle African-American congregation, the First AME Church. The African Methodist Church in the United States was founded in 1816, by Methodists alienated by segregation and discrimination they suffered at the hands of established Methodist congregations in the Northeast. The building the congregation occupies was constructed in 1912.

Walk back to Pike Street and turn right. At the corner of 13th and Pike is the Elysian Brewing Company. Founded at this location in 1995, beer production now happens south of downtown Seattle. But you can duck in here and taste the brews, either now or by returning at the end of the walk.

Pike Street has some interesting sights as you continue west. This colorful mural on the left is indecipherable unless you happen to know that Closed Knuckle Jaw is a band, and "The Grizzled Mighty" is one of their albums.

Continue along bustling Pike Street to Summit Avenue. On the right, at the corner of Summit and Pike, is the Summit(on E. Pike), a meeting hall operated by the adjacent First Covenant Church. While the nondescript building is open for rental to any private party, it also hosts the Breakfast Club, a ministry of the church that provides meals for homeless and low-income Seattle residents.

Continuing on Pike Street, on the right side of the street at Bellevue Avenue is the First Covenant Church. The church building was consecrated as the Swedish Tabernacle in 1909. The congregation began in 1889 as the Swedish Christian Mission Church, not changing its name until the mid-20th century, by which time the Swedish character of the congregation had become diluted. The congregation belongs to the national Evangelical Covenant Church, formed in 1885 with roots in the Pietist movement that started in the 18th century as a German Lutheran "reform" movement. From Germany it traveled to Sweden, and then into the New World with Swedish immigrants.

After viewing the First Covenant Church turn right onto Bellevue Avenue. Go two blocks, then turn right again onto Olive Street. After four blocks traveling uphill on Olive Street turn left onto Harvard Avenue. On the right side of Harvard is the Seattle Central Community College campus. On the left, after one block, is Capitol Hill Presbyterian. This majestic structure was consecrated in 1924 as the Westminster Presbyterian Church. The current Presbyterian congregation is the result of a merger in 2006 between the building's existing congregation and the Church at the Center, formed in 1993 as a non-traditional "progressive" church using rented space elsewhere in the city.

At Howell Street turn right and use the walkway between buildings at Seattle Central College to reach the starting point for the walk at Broadway and Howell.

Sullivan's Gulch - NE Portland

Sullivan's Gulch, a drainageway east of the Willamette, has played a long illustrious part in Portland's city history. It is now a major transportation corridor running to the east, with an interstate freeway, a major freight railway, and, in part, Portland's east-west light rail line sharing the route. In the future a major bicycle and pedestrian trail will be fitted in as well. This walk crosses over Sullivan's Gulch twice along its 3.7-mile flat route, and also goes through some great neighborhoods and the burgeoning Lloyd Center district. On the south side of the freeway the walk goes by Benson High School, Buckman Park, and a certain famous doughnut shop, which is where the route begins.

This walk starts at the legendary Voodoo Doughnuts shop. Except that we are not at 3rd and SW Ankeny in downtown Portland - we are at Voodoo Doughnut Too, located at 1501 NE Davis on the east side of the river. As you can see by the bright purple line dividers, this Voodoo outlet can get pretty crowded too, but it is generally a much shorter line, and the doughnuts are the same. You don't lose much in atmosphere here either!

From the entrance of Voodoo Doughnuts go west on Davis Street to 15th Avenue. Turn right and when the street ends walk up to Buckman Field Park. This well-used recreation area doubles as the athletic facilities for adjacent Benson High School. Turn left at the track and walk around the circumference of the soccer field.

After traversing a large portion of the track you will come to this building, which is the Buckman Recreation Center. The building looks pretty old, but I cannot find any information about its age or history.

After passing the Recreation Center building go straight where the track curves to the right. The building straight ahead is Benson Polytechnic High School. Turn left onto the driveway adjacent to the building and walk to 12th Avenue, then turn right. The front facade of Benson High is along 12th Avenue. Benson High has been in this location since 1917. It is named for Simon Benson, early Portland civic leader (of Benson Bubbler fame), who donated half of the Portland School District's $200,000 cost to build the school. The school's Wikipedia page provides a pretty good summary of its place in the Portland School District.

Continue on 12th Avenue across Hoyt Street, but first make sure to cross to the west side of 12th Avenue before proceeding any farther north. The building on the right houses Point West Credit Union, but it has an interesting history. It was constructed in 1932 as the club house for the 9-hole Lloyd Golf Course, which spread behind it and down into Sullivan's Gulch to the north. By 1955 the golf course was closed and replaced by the Banfield Expressway (now the I-84 freeway), but this building remained and was "recycled" as a financial institution.

12th Avenue crosses Sullivan's Gulch on a bridge. Below you is the noisy freeway and the Union Pacific freight line. The MAX light rail line doesn't go into the Gulch until 16th Street farther to the east. It is unclear where the proposed bicycle and pedestrian trail will fit in. There are signs of significant homeless and transient usage of Sullivan's Gulch - such usage has some interesting history.

Once across the freeway and rails take a left at Lloyd Avenue. Cross to the right at 9th Street and then immediately turn left onto Oregon Street. The building on your left is the Oregon State Office building for Portland, with its distinctive roof design.

When you reach the entrance to the State Office Building cross Oregon Street to the right and head up this pedestrian pathway for two blocks to Holladay Street. The gazebos to the right host the Lloyd Farmer's Market every Tuesday throughout the year.

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The buildings on either side of the pathway are a low-rise office development known as Oregon Square. They are scheduled to be replaced by a massive new apartment project with over 1,000 units in 4 high rise towers, and in the middle a large open space plaza, which may or may not continue to host the farmer's market. It would be the largest of the many apartment projects that have been built in Portland since 2012 or so.

Upon reaching Holladay Street straight ahead you will see a new apartment complex that, until Oregon Square is redeveloped, is the largest such new development in Portland in many years. Hassalo on Eighth consists of three buildings with 657 apartment units, retail on the ground floor, and space for 1.200 vehicles in its underground parking garage. The buildings are under construction and almost finished at the time of the posting of this walk.

Turn right onto Holladay Street, named for one of Oregon's robber barons. The street is the location of rails for the Portland MAX light rail network. Three lines run along these tracks, which will merge a few blocks to the east into Sullivan's Gulch on their routes to the Portland Airport, Gresham, and Clackamas Town Center.

Continue along Holladay Street to 11th Avenue, where you will come to Holladay Park on the left. Enter the park and walk diagonally across it to the corner of 12th Avenue and Multnomah Street, across from the Lloyd Shopping Center.

The Lloyd Center, on the north side of Multnomah Street, is Oregon's first indoor shopping mall, opening in 1960. For now it remains viable, but its fate in the days of disappearing shopping malls will be interesting to follow in coming years.

Continue on Multnomah Street to 16th Avenue, then turn left. Two high rise residential buildings are located near this intersection. The complex on the left is Holladay Park Plaza, a large retirement community with options from independent living to skilled nursing care. The high rise on the right is the Fontaine, built in 1963, now converted into condominiums.

Follow 16th Avenue north and as is starts to curve to the left you will see a walkway continuing straight ahead. Take the walkway and follow it to the right around the side of the Holladay Park Plaza high rise. Continue straight ahead onto Clackamas Street. After crossing 17th Avenue the neighborhood abruptly changes from the Lloyd District to a street of early 20th century homes mixed with two-story apartment buildings constructed in the 1960's and 1970's. The older homes are much nicer to look at.

This house, at the corner of Clackamas and 19th Avenue, was constructed in 1906. It is a great example of the "four-square" or "farm-house" style popular at the time. A full attic and full basement, when improved, add considerable square footage to this style of home.

Continue on Clackamas Street, carefully crossing busy 21st Avenue. One block further, at the corner of Clackamas and 22nd, is this 1907 home built in the Craftsman style.

Cross 22nd Avenue. After an apartment building on the right you will see this home, built in 1918. It is strikingly different from the colonial and craftsman bungalow styles more prevalent in the early 20th century, looking much more modern. It exemplifies the Prairie style of architecture, a school of design inspired by America's most famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. A second example of the Prairie style will be found later on the walk route on Multnomah Street.

Continuing along Clackamas, after a few more houses you will see this great example of another popular architectural style of the early 20th century, the Dutch colonial, with its distinctive gambrel roof. This home, on the left side of the street, was built in 1923.

At 24th Avenue turn left, and then cross over to the right side of 24th. After crossing Halsey Street you will see two older attractive apartment buildings, both built in the 1920's. The first is this one, which can be described as a Spanish-Craftsman mixture, and the second is a brick building. To me the most notable aspect of these two apartment buildings is that neither appears to provide any off-street parking for residents. With all the fuss over new no-parking apartments in Portland the past few years, it is interesting to note that it's not a new phenomenon.

Continue on 24th Avenue past Weidler, which is where the busy Broadway-Weidler couplet system of one-way streets ends and combines onto NE Broadway going east. On the corner of Weidler and 24th is another attractive old apartment building without any off-street parking. And on the corner of Broadway and 24th is this grand old 1909 church, now home to a very modern congregation. The Metropolitan Community Church, part of a worldwide organization of 222 churches, came to this location in 1977 to minister to Portland's gay community, at a time when homosexuality was an unwelcome subject and homosexuals were generally pariahs not only at conservative "fundamentalist" churches, but also among mainstream Protestant denominations. Those times have changed (at least among the mainstream Protestants), but the Metropolitan Community Church is still church devoted to ministering to the needs of a predominately gay congregation.

Cross Broadway at 24th Avenue (at the signal light) and then turn right on Broadway. The next several blocks contain the usual mix of storefronts for this type of neighborhood. One of the most notable is an outlet of Arthur Murray Dance Studio. There are enough of these studios around town to indicate that a market for ballroom dancing lessons still exists! Also along this stretch of Broadway, on the left side, is Coco's Donuts, definitely without the Voodoo ambience, but with doughnuts as good or better according to its fans.

At 28th Avenue turn left, and after one block turn right on Schuyler Street. The next two blocks contain a nice mixture of Portland homes, including this one. While built to the pre-existing neighborhood style, the under-house garage and lack of any other basement betray the fact that it is a newly-built home in this old neighborhood.

Continue on Schuyler for two blocks to 32nd Avenue, then turn right. Cross Broadway at the signal light. Ahead is Grant Park Village, a large redevelopment project on the site of an old sloping industrial development adjacent to the I-84 freeway. The building contains 211 apartments and a New Seasons market. It opened in late 2014. It is another interesting example of the "densification" of the central neighborhoods in Portland.

Continue on 32nd Avenue one short block to Weidler Street, then turn right. On your left is the market New Seasons is challenging in this neighborhood, the Fred Meyer Hollywood West store. This Fred Meyer was completed in the mid-1980's, relocating from one of the original Fred Meyer stores across from the Hollywood Theater 13 or so blocks to the east on Broadway. The contrast between this 1980's store and the New Seasons Grant Park Village development is striking. Now completely forgotten, the construction of this Fred Meyer was hugely controversial in the 1980's - this store also replaced an industrial use located along Sullivan Gulch and the Union Pacific railway Now the only obscure reference to the controversy that can be found online is this page, in the annals of the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals. A click on the first of the 1987 opinions, Younger v. City of Portland, will take you to a high-powered battle between opponents, who hired noted Oregon land use attorney Ed Sullivan, Fred Meyer, and the City of Portland. As you can see with your own eyes, Fred Meyer prevailed, with the case eventually being resolved by the Oregon Supreme Court.

Follow the frontage of Fred Meyer along Weidler Street, then turn left onto 28th Avenue. Note that all of the streets entering onto 28th from the Sullivan's Gulch residential neighborhood to the right have been blocked to vehicular traffic - one of the mitigation measures  installed in the 1980's to prevent Fred Meyer traffic from entering from or exiting into those neighborhoods. After following the curve of 28th, turn right onto Wasco Street (it is the last street before 28th crosses the I-84 freeway and the MAX line to the south). Once again the neighborhood is a mixture of attractive early 20th century houses with a few 1960s-1970s apartments in the mix. This 1905 "farmhouse" style home is located at the corner of Wasco and 26th.

Continue on Wasco to 24th Avenue, then turn left. After one block turn right onto Multnomah Street. On the left, with the freeway and MAX line behind it, is this bungalow court done up in a mock English Tudor style. Note, once again, the absence of off-street parking. On the right side of Multnomah is another striking example of the Prairie residential style inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright.

At 21st Avenue turn left and use the bridge to cross Sullivan's Gulch again. At this point the 84 freeway and Union Pacific tracks have been joined by Portland's MAX train line, as it leaves city streets and picks up speed on its routes to the airport, Gresham, and Clackamas.

After crossing Sullivan's Gulch 21st Avenue splits in two - take the road to the right, which becomes 20th Avenue. The building at the "V" intersection with its antenna is the dispatch center for Portland's fire alarm telegraph system, The system was lauded in a paper written by the Works Progress Administration during the 1930's as a model for the rest of the nation. Behind the antenna is the Sunshine Dairy building, a non-descript industrial facility highlighted with a milk carton sign above it.

Continue on 20th Avenue to Irving Street, then turn right. On the left, between 18th and 16th Avenues is the Parkview Apartments. This complex of two-story buildings was completed in 1941. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. Proceed into the complex at the pedestrian entrance between 18th and 16th Avenues to best appreciate the design and park-like setting. After the first set of buildings turn right and return to the street grid on 16th Avenue.

Once on 16th Avenue turn left. Go to Sandy Blvd., where you will turn right and then quickly right again onto Davis Street. Ahead will be your starting point, Voodoo Doughnuts.