Lake Oswego has a rich heritage and It is important to keep our historic properties at the forefront, whether on the city’s Landmark Designation List or not. I am a longtime resident of First Addition and my family has lived in the area since 1910.
The beautiful Scared Heart Catholic Church on the corner of First Street and E Avenue is a treasure in the First Addition Neighborhood. The church building is unique in First Addition and is a significant cultural and architectural contribution to the neighborhood and the history of Lake Oswego.
On October 12, 1890, the newly finished church was dedicated. The church pews held 50 parishioners, and was used until June 24,1956 when the new Our Lady of the Lake Parish was dedicated.
The church building and property sold to Lake Oswego residents Rev. Harold L May his wife Gladys. It then became the First Baptist Church of Oswego, which held services until Rev. May’s death in 1972. Later it housed a Foursquare Church.
In 1989 the property was inventoried and listed on the City of Lake Oswego’s Landmark Designation List. Unfortunately, it was removed from the city’s historic inventory in August 1996 after it was remodeled as a residence. At the time, it was fairly easy to remove a property from the list. Information in the original inventory is not readily available.
Next door to the Sacred Heart Catholic Church is the Sacred Heart School built in 1925. The property was first purchased by the Society of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, from the Oregon Iron and Steel Company, in 1892. The deed transferred to the Archdiocese of Oregon in 1917, where it remained for many decades. Father John Moran lived in the rectory prior to the school opening in1938. A new parish school was opened in 1942 at Seventh St. & A Ave, next to the Our Lady of the Lake Parish.
The Sacred Heart Parish House and School, now a residence, remains on the City of Lake Oswego’s Landmark Designation List. It exhibits several of the character-defining features of a 1920s Craftsman bungalow, and is a significant cultural and architectural contribution to the First Addition neighborhood and the history of Lake Oswego.
Sharon Gustafson
Chair First Addition Neighbors/Forest Hills N.A.