Xhurch update: Part II

I forgot to mention. I found out some interesting history on the church. A neighbor tipped me off that there was an historic photo of the church at the Oregon History Museum. So I visited the OHS website to see if I could access it online but struck out, so I called their office and they referred me to the research library, to whom I sent an email soliciting historical materials. They got back rather promptly with two photos and a newspaper clipping(!)—all dating to-or-before 1952.

The newspaper clipping, stamped October 9th, 1952, told of a neighborhood controversy that was spurred when the church—then a synagogue—was in the process of being sold to, as the article states: "a negro congregation." Nothing like old periodicals to prove the impermanent nature of language.

Having the names of the two congregations involved in the sale, I was then able to poke Google's brain for more info, and Google responded faithfully, like a giant sea anemone that first turned inward—all its tentacles aflutter, and then spat back a name—that of a man called Samuel Gruber, who has a blog: Samuel Gruber's Jewish Art & Monuments.

His September 10th, 2010 entry pretty much tells it all.

The Xhurch, circa 1950. Photographer: unknown