The First Presbyterian Church has been on the southwest corner of SW 12th and Alder since 1887. Its south side, hidden for many years by the Danmoore Hotel (at left), is now completely exposed since the hotel was demolished in 2005. We gained a view on the south but street-side trees maturing since this 1967 photo tend to obscure the magnificent east and north facades.
(University of Oregon Libraries)
Vintage Portland 
Those Gingko trees have really sprouted up since this photo. Also, the building on the north side of Alder is nearly unrecognizable with it’s recent remodel
Interesting also are the now nearly extinct ” lifeforms” exhibited here. Telephone booths, AMC autos, Ford and Chevy station wagons, white sidewall tires, blue skies devoid of contrails, and parking spots. All gone the way of the Passenger Pigeon . Just saying.
In hindsight, the Danmoore was actually a pretty nice looking pile.
And hark, is that a stop sign I see??
The church must have been really out in the sticks when it was originally built.
And the obligatory street view:
http://g.co/maps/9dgkb
The mid-spire architectural details in the 1967 photo are no longer there, but apparently even they were not original to the church. Here is a link to an earlier postcard depiction showing what I believe is the original configuration of the spire.
http://www.cardcow.com/322173/first-presbyterian-church-portland-oregon/
I wonder when the two spire renovations took place. I can imagine the possibility that the version in the 1967 photo may have been repairs from the 1962 Columbus Day storm, but that’s just speculation on my part.
While I was sad to see the demolition of the neighboring Danmoore hotel, I was pleased with the opening up of the South face of the church and amazed with the design that combined the garden/plaza and underground parking that took the place of the Danmoore.
Was this the church that had a teen hangout called Charix in the basement in the 60’s? Seems to be about the right place.
And they had contrails in the 60’s…..
The Charix was in the basement of the First Unitarian Church at the corner of 12th & Salmon. It is now called Elliot Chapel. It looks more like a single spire church that you might see in the center of town, in a small european city, built in 1924.