The 24 Hr Church of Elvis
by Joe Schofield
Title
The 24 Hr Church of Elvis
Artist
Joe Schofield
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
It was a time of weirdness in Portland. Wait a minute, it is ALWAYS weird in Portland. You hear that Austin? Portland invented weird.
For three decades, one of the best known and quirkiest Portland tourist attractions was the 24 Hour Church of Elvis. The creation of artist Stephanie Pierce in the mid-1980s, the sidewalk-facing exhibit helped establish Portland as the home of the weird and the offbeat.
Pierce moved to Portland to become an artist after earning a law degree from Georgetown Law School (1980) and practicing corporate law for three years with AT&T. In 1985, she leased a 10,000-square-foot space at 1109 Southwest Washington Street in downtown Portland for an art gallery called Where's the ART!! It was there that she created, in a window facing the street, what she said was the first 24-hour, coin-operated art gallery—a whirring and spinning machine that dispensed messages.After a six-year hiatus, Pierce announced that the 24 Hour Church of Elvis would reopen in a storefront window at 408 Northwest Couch Street. By August 2009, a new exhibit was operating using two of the Commodore 64 computers from the original coin-operated display. This incarnation lasted until March 2013, when the window was boarded up.
The struggles and demise of the 24 Hour Church of Elvis were much lamented. "The church flamed out faster than a hunka, hunka burnin' love,” the Oregonian's Steve Woodward wrote in a story about a tourist who was "all shook up" after coming all the way from Tampa, Florida, to visit the church only to find it closed. Karl Samson, author of Frommer's Portable Portland, described it as “just plain unique."
Sold 10-21-21; 9-30-21; 11-29-22; 02-23-23; 5-5-23; 6-5-23; 07-06-23; 09-03-23; 12-2-23
Uploaded
September 22nd, 2021
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Viewed 7,589 Times - Last Visitor from Cambridge, MA on 04/24/2024 at 1:24 PM
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Comments (38)
Joe Schofield
My sincere thank you to the art patron from Beloit, WI! ❤️ Elvis has left the building !
Christopher James
One of your peers nominated this image in the 1000 Views on One Image Group's Special Features Nominations For Promotion #24 . Please help your fellow artists by visiting and passing on the love to another artist in the the 1000 Views on One Image Group....L/F/Tw
Diana Mary Sharpton
Nominating this fabulous capture and description for special feature on the 1000 view group...t/p
Christopher James
Congratulation.....your wonderful work has been featured in the 1000 Views on 1 Image Group ..... Feel free to place your featured image in the Features Archive and any Genre specific Archive l/f/p
Gary F Richards
Magnificent capture, lighting, shading and artwork! F/L Congratulations on your features!
Cathy Cowherd
The 24 Hour Church of Elvis was a family favorite and we were happy to introduce Joe and clan to its magic. Thank you Joe for reminding us of such a special place! BTW, I have put several more Elvis items on my family wish list.
Joe Schofield
My sincere thanks to the art patron from Milwaukie, Oregon! (just outside of where else? Portland!)