National Register of Historic Places
Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church
Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon
The record
- Listed
- September 6, 2016
- Type
- Building
- Address
- 3138 N. Vancouver Ave., Portland
- County
- Multnomah
- State
- Oregon
- Contributing resources
- 1 building
- Coordinates
- 45.54592, -122.66761
- Reference number
- 16000604
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesUSGS Historical Topographic Map CollectionDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
The story
Written by AI from this property's National Register nomination and the record above; every sentence is checked against its sources before it appears here. Corrections: privacy@treealive.com
The Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church is a church building at 3138 N. Vancouver Ave. in Portland, Multnomah County, in the Late Gothic Revival style. The building is dated 1909, with an addition built in 1956-1957.
Why it's listed
It was listed under criteria A and B, with state-level significance in Black ethnic heritage and social history. Its significance runs from 1951, when the congregation took up the building, to 1968, the year of a memorial service there for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Physical character
In 1958 brick veneer replaced the original beveled siding, the building was expanded to the east, and the stairs were moved outside. The windows include Povey stained glass and Povey-designed lancet windows, and the mezzanine keeps its original pews. A 1973 addition provided offices and a pastor's study, and an ADA elevator and mechanical equipment were built in 2013.
Historical context
O.B. Williams was installed as pastor in 1945, and the church incorporated in 1946. King preached at the church in 1961, and the nomination describes a 1963 mass demonstration there as the largest public Civil Rights demonstration in the city.