Name: Community Church of Cedar Hills (original); Cedar Hills United Church of Christ (current)
Address: 11695 SW Park Way
City: Portland
Year of Construction: 1951; multiple additions
Architect: Warren Weber
Original Use: Religious (church)
Status: In Use
National Register of Historic Places: Not Listed
Description: A remarkable church complex by Portland architect Warren Weber, the Community Church of Cedar Hills (now known as Cedar Hills United Church of Christ) was initially constructed in the early 1950s as a simple but elegant A-frame building for the congregation’s services. Weber’s design was among the first churches with this form in the United States, and it received national recognition in the architectural press. A large cross originally hung in the exterior south-facing gable.
During the 1950s, the original A-frame “starter church” was expanded with a fellowship hall and educational wing. Looking to expand further in the mid-1960s, the congregation again hired Weber to design a new sanctuary volume large enough to seat 350 people. Just as innovative as the A-frame was 15 years before, the new circular church was crowned by a wholly unusual flared roof topped with a nine-pointed lantern.
Further Information
• Arthur W. Priaulx, “Churches Can Be Different,” Architect and Engineer, April 1952
• Cedar Hills United Church of Christ [new window]
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