First Presbyterian Church of Portland is located at 1200 SW Alder, Portland. The church was organized January 1, 1854 with ten charter members. It was the third Presbyterian Church to be organized in the Oregon Territory. The congregation met in various places initially but soon settled into semi-permanent quarters in the Canton House. Portland's First Presbyterian Church soon moved to rented space in a building at Third and Morrison Streets.By 1864 the congregation had built a place of worship, noted as a "commodious and elegant edifice" by The Daily Oregonian, at the corner of Third and Washington Streets. The sanctuary boasted a pipe organ built in New York and brought around the Horn of Africa in the 1840s to a church in San Francisco. (The organ stands today in the chapel of the church and is played for services.)
In 1884, with the expansion of Portland's new suburban areas, consideration was given to relocating the church, and in 1888 the congregation moved into the first unit of its new facility at the corner of Twelfth and Alder Streets. The sanctuary, in which the congregation worships today, a longtime landmark in Portland, was completed in 1890. Gothic architectural style. Architect, builder, or engineer: William F. McCaw, Richard Martin, Jr. and F. Manson White. The signature balcony added in 1892 to accommodate the growing congregation.
Instructions for logging waymark: A photograph is required that shows you (or your GPS receiver, if you are waymarking solo) and the place.