AHC Opens 120-Year Old Time Capsule!
Sept. 5, 2025
By: Norm Gholston
Summer Soirée Surprise: Norm Gholston, Preservation Programs Manager, with the contents of the time capsule, at the Architectural Heritage Center’s 2025 Summer Soirée.
On January 3, 2023, an arsonist set fire to the vacant church standing at SW 10th and Clay Streets. The building was deemed a total loss. The church had been built in 1905 for the First German Evangelical Church founded in Portland in 1879. The architect that designed the church and the adjoining rectory had been Henry C. Dittrich. The church contained stained glass windows created by the Povey Bros of Portland. The cornerstone dedication occurred on April 30, 1905. The German congregation left the building in the 1980s and the Portland Korean Church purchased the buildings and held services and activities. In 2015 the buildings were sold to a private party and remained unoccupied until the fire.
The church fire in 2023 and its aftermath.
The City required quick removal of the church due to its close proximity to the trolley tracks on SW 10th and safety concerns. AHC board member Wendy Rahm and long time AHC volunteer and committee member Leslie Hutchinson were onsite when the removal began. The two pled with the removal contractor to call the AHC and allow us to rescue the church’s cornerstone. They were successful and the call was made and AHC Program Director Val Ballestrem, AHC Curator Doug Magedanz and AHC volunteer Norm Gholston quickly arrived onsite to collect the stone.
Norm Gholston, Val Ballestrem, and Doug Magedanz put the cornerstone into the back of a truck.
When the solid granite cornerstone was being loaded we discovered a copper soldered box that had been placed in the stone in 1905.
The copper box time capsule.
Gholston opens the box while Brad McQuaig looks on.
Our curiosity was peaked. Inquiries were made, but the First German Evangelical Church was no longer organized. This year being the 120th anniversary of the placing of the time capsule in the cornerstone, it was decided it was now time to see what the congregation had left for the future. The copper box was opened during the AHC’s Summer Soirée gathering.
The contents are in very good condition. Items included were a German Bible, Hymnal and Church guide book.
Large items from the time capsule: German bible, Hymnal, and Church Guidebook.
Also contained within the box was a list of the members of the congregation, many letters slipped in by members, German newspapers and periodicals and an Oregon Daily Journal dated the day of the dedication. One note was from A. Keller, the man that created the copper box and stated he personally sealed the box the day of the dedication.
First German Congregational Church at SW 10th and Clay in downtown Portland. Image Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Korean_Church
Time capsule letter from 1905 documenting children’s donations to support establishment of the church.
Thank you to everyone that joined us for the Summer Soirée Event and shared this moment connecting us to our past. We tried to get in touch with affiliates of the original church congregation before opening the box, but received no response. However, we look forward to connecting with other community members to share these historic treasures. It was indeed a highlight of our Summer Soirée.