The Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church stands at 1729 Harvard Ave

On a recent Sunday, the large brick building that previously housed Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church was quiet and still. Two black couches with flaking upholstery sat in a small courtyard facing the vacant parking lot. Although a sign at the entrance advertised Sunday worship below the cheery words “visitors welcome,” the only passersby were dog owners taking their pets on a morning constitutional.

Located at the corner of Harvard Avenue and Howell Street, CHPC held its final service on June 24 at 9:45 AM after over a decade of Sunday services. Church leadership cited the inability to afford a seismic retrofit on the nearly century-old building and decreasing church membership as reasons for Capitol Hill Presbyterian’s closure. According to CHPC data from 2007 to 2017, attendance dropped from 161 to 45 members in a decade.

The church’s dwindling attendance followed regional trends: Between 2013 to 2017, the Seattle Presbytery closed six churches as its total membership fell from 17,113 to 12,762.

Since the final service, the Capitol Hill building has remained under the ownership of Seattle Presbytery — a religious organization that oversees more than 40 Presbyterian churches in the region. Presbytery staff occasionally use the building for office hours, or to hold preliminary conversations with groups interested in acquiring the property. Otherwise it remains vacant. Continue reading →