Capitol Hill (Seattle) - Churches

Churches

While many of Capitol Hill's churches began as suburban congregations serving to establish the newest neighborhood of young Seattle, they have changed with the neighborhood to reach out to the poor and homeless and those living with HIV, as well as continuing their work of encouraging the faithful.

A few of the original churches include St. Joseph's on 19th Avenue E., which anchored a large Roman Catholic population on the east slope. The imposing edifice of St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral overlooks I-5 on the west side of the hill and is home to a large Episcopal congregation and the seat of the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia. All Pilgrims Christian Church combines the former congregation of Seattle First Christian Church with that of Pilgrim Congregational Church. The Nisqually earthquake permanently damaged First's sanctuary across the street from SCCC (then the only other church on the Broadway strip, now demolished).

The oldest black church in Seattle is located on 14th Avenue, between E. Pike and E. Pine streets. The First African Methodist Episcopal Church was originally incorporated in 1891 as the Jones Street Church (when 14th Avenue was called Jones Street). The church was constructed in 1912, replacing the large house where congregations were previously held on the same site. The facility has been remodeled and expanded to accommodate the growing membership. It was designated as a Seattle landmark in 1984.

There are a number of other Christian congregations on Capitol Hill without church buildings of their own. Grace Church Seattle, Presbyterian Church of America, meets at Volunteer Park Seventh Day Adventist Church on 13th and Aloha. Church on the Hill was started by the First Advent Christian Church, which used to be on 13th and Olive; Church on the Hill meets at the Balagan Theatre Harvard between Pike and Pine. Sanctuary, Southern Baptist, meets at Piecora Pizza, and Church of the Undignified (Nazarene) meets at Central Cinema.

One recently founded church does have a building: Capitol Hill Presbyterian (PCUSA), located on Harvard behind Seattle Central Community College, was formed on Easter 2006 when Westminster Presbyterian Church merged with Church at the Center. Capitol Hill Presbyterian has liturgical music that draws on indie rock and a strong arts influence.

A number of immigrant populations worship throughout the neighborhood as the population diversifies, including Russian Orthodox, Ethiopian and Vietnamese. There is also a longstanding Greek Orthodox Church, the Church of the Assumption, which separated from St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in the 1930s.

Two landmark church buildings near Group Health Hospital no longer hold congregations. The First Methodist Protestant Church of Seattle, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was remodeled and is now occupied by an interactive design and marketing firm. As of 2007, the former First Church of Christ Scientist is being remodeled into condominium apartments.

There are no remaining Jewish synagogues on Capitol Hill as such; Reform Jewish Temple De Hirsch Sinai, whose Alhadeff Sanctuary was designed by B. Marcus Priteca, among others, is just south of Madison, and therefore technically in the Central District.