The History of the Portland Baha’i Center-St. Johns Post Office
A Collaboration of the Portland Bahá’í Archives and the Portland Unity Museum
Click on the blue links to see references for the facts and pictures in this document.
Early Site History
The confluence of the Willamette and Columbia River is a site of cultural, historical, and spiritual significance for the indigenous people of the area. For centuries the Cascades people migrated seasonally for the abundant salmon, eulachon, and wapato. The site was long used for fishing and camping by many area Indigenous tribes. Cathedral Park, which is right below the Portland Baha’i Community Center building, was the site where William Clark and eight men camped in 1806. They noted a large Indigenous encampment above the camp site.
In 1847, James John, the namesake of St. Johns, moved across the river from Linnton and founded the town of St. Johns. As the town grew he operated a ferry across the Willamette River to Linnton. The St. Johns Bridge replaced the ferry in 1931. It is the only steel suspension bridge in Portland, and consists of 400 foot towers, and a main span of 1207 feet.
The St. Johns Post Office
The St. Johns Post Office was built above the ferry site, now known as Cathedral Park. It is a Georgian style building, and was a Depression Era Public Works project. The land was acquired in 1931, the same year that the St. Johns Bridge opened, and was previously the site of a Chinese Laundry. It was designed by local architect Francis Marion Stokes, built by Anderson Construction, and completed in 1933. The federal government relocated the St. Johns Post Office in the 1980’s a few blocks to the south on Ivanhoe Street, and the old building was purchased by Celtic Development, Inc., which resold it a few years later to the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Portland in 1992. 1
1 Portland Bahá’í Archives
The St. Johns Post Office Workers
In 1931, in the midst of the Great Depression, Beatrice Cannady, a well known racial justice advocate and member of the Baha’i Faith wrote in her newspaper, “The Advocate”, that several colored men had applied for jobs at the U.S. Post office but none of them had been employed. By 1933, when the new St. Johns Post office opened there was one Colored employee, E. J. T. Vernon.
Post Office Staff 1933 - note the first African American postal worker in St. Johns, E. J. T. Vernon, on the far right in front.
Image courtesy of Portland Bahá’í Archives, Center Files.
Post Office Staff - 1935 - E. J. T. Vernon is the first man on the left.
Image courtesy of Portland Bahá’í Archives, Center Files.
Post Office Staff - March 21, 1957 Image courtesy of Portland Bahá’í Archives, Center Files.
Postal Office Staff - 1977 - note the presence of female and African American postal workers. Image courtesy of Portland Bahá’í Archives, Center Files.
Helen Bishop’s House
Helen Pilkington Bishop, image courtesy of Portland Bahá’í Archives, Helen Bishop Files.
The Bishop's Home - image courtesy of Portland Bahá’í Archives, Helen Bishop Files.
Helen Pilkington Bishop became a devoted follower of Bahá’u’lláh—meaning the “Glory of God” in the early years of the Bahá’í Faith in Portland. As a young woman she rendered great services to the Cause at home and abroad. She oversaw the International Bahá’í Bureau in Geneva, Switzerland, and traveled across Europe, giving speeches and spreading the promise of world peace at the brink of World War 2, before returning to Portland in her later years. 1
In 1950, Charles and Helen Bishop were searching for a house that would become a center of Bahá’í activity in Portland. One night, Helen dreamed of a “half-brick house in a dark night; the windows showed the house was ablaze with light.” The next day she recognized the same house in a sales advertisement. The Bishops immediately purchased the home, which, for Helen, had magical and mystical qualities. It became “a new basis for service.”and she believed it would become the “Haziratu’l-Quds” (Bahá’í Center) of Portland. This home became a center of Bahá’í activity in Portland for many years. After the passing of her beloved husband Charles, Helen willed her home to the Portland Bahá’í community, with the requirement it be sold, and the funds used to purchase a Center in the St. Johns neighborhood. 2
1 Portland Bahá’í Archives, Helen Bishop Correspondence
2 Portland Bahá’í Archives, Helen Bishop Correspondence
Purchase of the St. Johns Post Office
Maggie and Peter Cha, first Hmong elected to the Portland Bahá’í Assembly. Image courtesy of Portland Bahá’í Archives Hmong Files.
Helen stipulated that the Center must be accessible to the Hmong community, the majority of which lived in the St. Johns neighborhood. There were approximately 200 Bahá’í Hmong refugees who had fled Laos at the end of the Vietnam War, along with hundreds of Hmong refugees from other religious backgrounds. The sudden influx of this large number of Bahá’ís of Hmong descent greatly increased the size of the Bahá’í community of Portland, which had been meeting in neighborhood homes. There was a great need for a Bahá’í Center, and Helen’s generous gift upon her passing allowed the Bahá’ís to purchase the old St. Johns Post Office in a perfect location for the Hmong community. The old St. Johns Post office building was discovered for sale by Carol Madonna, a Portland Bahá’í Assembly member whose mother lived close to its location. She noticed the building for sale and brought it to the attention of the Portland Assembly. 1
1 Portland Bahá’í Archives, oral history interview with Carol Madonna, October, 2023
The First Remodel
The condition of the building had deteriorated. The roof and the parquet floor needed extensive repairs, a replacement heating-cooling system was needed, outside paint had deteriorated, and the window frames had dry rot. Bahá’í communities throughout the area donated money, time, and expertise, and the building was repaired and improved by also adding a handicap entrance, restrooms, and new interior walls. 1
1 Portland Bahá’í Archives, Center Files
Bijan Baghdadi remodeling the Center. Image courtesy of Bahá’í Archives, Center Files.
Shapour Meshkin remodeling the Center. Image courtesy of Portland Bahá’í Archives, Center Files.
Historic Murals
The Bahá’í Center building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, along with two murals in the foyer which are owned by the United States government. These murals depict the early history of St. Johns, and the development of commerce and industry after the bridge was installed. They were commissioned by the United States government Depression Era Public Works project, and are installed on the east and west walls in the foyer. The Bahá’í community is responsible for the protection of these federally owned murals. They are currently protected by a cloth cover until the Federal Government makes arrangements for a suitable place to safely display them.
The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Portland, the owners of the building, have determined that the message and purpose of the murals do not convey the Faith’s values or principles regarding the equality and the oneness of humanity.
Art Installations
Baha'i Center Dome Artwork Image courtesy of Portland Bahá’í Archives.
The beautiful artwork on the dome structure in the main hall was originally designed by Louis Bourgeois, who designed it for the ceiling of Foundation Hall at the Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette. Artist Bridgette Schneider, who had lived in Portland and was working in Wilmette, saw the design, and the Portland Spiritual Assembly received permission from the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States to create a color version, and painted it in the dome in the main hall. The dome covers duct work that was added for the new furnace. The dome suggests an embryonic form of a nine sided Bahá’í Temple, just as Helen Bishop imagined her home to be the future “Haziratu’l-Quds” (Bahá’í Center), and includes the Arabic phrase “Alláh-u-Abhá” (God is Most Glorious)1.
1 Portland Bahá’í Archives Center files
Portland Bahá’í Shapour Meshkin spent the waning days of his life laboring on the woodwork installations over the main hall entrance, and on the west side wall.1 The west wall work includes a calligraphy of the Sacred Text of Bahá’u’lláh - ”Yá Bahá’u’l-Abhá (Oh Thou Glory of Glories), which was designed by Mr. Meshkin’s ancestor, Mishkin Qalam, who was a renowned calligrapher and the amanuensis of Bahá’u’lláh. The entrance work is a nine pointed star, a symbol of unity, perfection, and the word Bahá (Glory). Inside the star is the Baha’i Ring symbol, with calligraphy designed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The words in Arabic are “Alláh-u-Abhá”. (God is most Glorious).
1 Portland Bahá’í Archives Center files
2024 Remodel Project
The Bahá’í Center property underwent a major remodel in 2024. Improvements included new landscaping, and a major remodel of the basement kitchen area including installation of new flooring, cabinets and appliances, the addition of a commercial dishwasher, and an electric chair lift to improve access to the lower level. The historic original doors were reinstalled in the lower level with added inset windows for light and safety for children. The building is now more multi-functional and fully equipped to support community wide needs. The electrical power breaker system was also rewired and upgraded to meet electrical codes with added electrical outlets, a new water heater installed that meets code, and a venting system for a new washer and dryer.1
In addition to these building improvements new artwork has been commissioned and installed. The Bahá’í artists include Joe Paczkowski, Beth Yazhari, Arya Badiyan, and Lesley Cottle.
1 Portland Bahá’í Archives