Church has cost of cross to bear
Central Lutheran is told to rebuild its historic tower or face fines
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
TOM HALLMAN JR.
The Oregonian
For more than 50 years, members of Central Lutheran Church took pride in the wooden cross and bell tower that soared above their building and became one of Northeast Portland's most distinctive landmarks.
Now, it's a financial time bomb.
The trouble began a few years ago after the church finished an extensive renovation and discovered the 100-foot tower and cross were full of dry rot.
The church -- on the edge of the Irvington neighborhood at Northeast 21st Avenue and Schuyler Street -- spent more than a year trying to figure out what to do, said Alan Gullixson, church member and the former chairman of the property committee.
The renovation cost more than $1.2 million, and the budget was tapped out. Leaders, though, worried the church would be liable if the tower collapsed and someone got hurt.
"I know the building is designated as historic and there are tight restrictions on what we can do," Gullixson said. "We found out it could take two years to get permits to tear that tower down. It was too risky for us."
In spring 2005, church leaders decided to demolish the structure without permits and be done with it. "What were they going to do?" Gullixson asked. "Fine a church?"
Well, yes.
The church and tower were designed by famed architect Pietro Belluschi. When the church was completed in 1950, more than 4,000 people -- including Portland's mayor -- dropped by for a look. So it made sense that when the tower and cross disappeared, neighbors noticed.
"We started getting calls," said Hazel Larpenteur, head of the tower restoration project. "People wanted to know what we were going to do about the cross. I discovered that quite a few architects live in the neighborhood. Then someone called the city to complain about what we'd done."
Gullixson remembers getting the official call.
"They told us we'd done a terrible thing," he said. "We had to replace the tower and cross, and the plans had to be approved by the city. Because it was historic, it had to look exactly like it was when it was built."
The church has the original Belluschi blueprints, but with today's building codes, church leaders had decided it was too expensive to rebuild the structure.
"We had no plans to restore the tower," Gullixson said. "The city forced us to do it. We came up with plans that were finally approved. We figure it's going to cost about $150,000."
So far, the church has raised $50,000. It recently published a book about the church and its history by longtime member Margaret Moilien, 90, whose husband was a pastor for 13 years.
The church just started selling the book, with all proceeds going to the tower fund. It printed 300 copies for sale at $20 each. Even if the book sells out, it would only bring in enough money to cover nails.
And the clock is ticking.
"The city is insisting that we file for building permits by June 30 or be fined," Larpenteur said. "We got a letter that says the fine is graduated. If we don't respond to the edict, the fine imposed could run to $1,000 a day."
She has applied to foundations to raise money, pushing the historic angle, but has been turned down because they don't want to donate to churches.
She said she plans to send notices to former church members to solicit donations. Like many urban churches, Central lost members as the suburbs grew. In the 1960s, Larpenteur said, the church had 2,400 members. Today it has 500.
In hindsight, church leaders wish Central hadn't become a city-designated historic landmark. Gullixson's research shows the matter was approved in an ordinance passed by the City Council in July 1970. In addition to Central, 14 buildings and the St. Johns Bridge received the official status.
"We didn't ask to be a landmark," Gullixson said. "We didn't oppose it. We had time to appeal and get off the list, but no one did. At the time, everyone thought it was a good idea. Who knew it would cause such a problem?"
Nicholas Starin, a planner with the Portland Bureau of Planning's Historic Resources Program, said it's important to preserve Central's original architecture because Belluschi is "an internationally known architect whose work is important."
"There are historic buildings and fine architecture scattered throughout the city," Starin said. "They add to the fabric of the city and contribute to the special character of a neighborhood."
Belluschi was a pioneer in the field, said Robert Frasca, an architect with the Portland firm Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership. Central, Frasca said, was a "beautiful building" when designed and built and remains an architectural gem.
Taking the long view in all this is Moilien, who has experienced much of what life offers, both good and bad. In the past few years, she has had a leg amputated and has gone blind in one eye. She spent eight years writing the book, which she said isn't a masterpiece but a labor of love, a gift to the church she considers her second family.
She's been a member since 1958 and has lived in several places in the general neighborhood, always within sight of the cross and tower.
Somehow, she knows, the money will be found and the structure will once again soar over the church. When the Columbus Day Storm roared into Portland in 1962, Moilien remembers watching the tower and cross take a beating.
"The cross and tower swayed back and forth," she said. "It's withstood many things."
Tom Hallman Jr.: 503 221-8224;
tomhallman@news.oregonian.com
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/orego...120.xml&coll=7
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