The Cumberland Church sits ready for steeple removal and its move scheduled for September 16, 2021. 

Crews worked to prepare the steeple in the weeks leading up to its removal. 

On September 1, 2021, the Cumberland Church’s steeple was removed in preparation for the building’s move to its new location down the street. 

Albany’s historic Cumberland Church, also known as the Cumberland Community Center, will finally take its long-awaited trip down the street to its new location on Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021.

Efforts to save the church and turn it into a community center began in earnest in 2018 with the formation of the Save Our Cumberland Association. In 2019, the church was added to Restore Oregon’s Most Endangered Places list and since then the project has made significant progress. Through fundraising, the group was able to work out a deal with the City of Albany to purchase the new property, move the building, and ultimately purchase it outright. Fundraising continues in hopes of turning the building into a community center for weddings and other gatherings.

The structure, built in 1892, is Albany’s second-oldest church and the only church in Albany built in the Queen Anne Style. The Church’s steeple was removed on Sept. 1 and is being refurbished separately and replaced, along with the church’s original bell, which also is being restored.

Emmert International Moving Company of Portland will be moving the building, which will be transported about 1,200 feet from the corner of Main Street down Santiam Road to its new location on Pine Street, near Eleanor Hackleman Park. The move is scheduled to begin at approximately 8 a.m., and could take 6 to 7 hours.

The public is welcome to attend the move but is asked to remain a safe distance from the site. Activity can be viewed early in the day near the northwest end of the Carriage House Plaza Shopping Mall as the building is lifted from its foundation, or later from Eleanor Hackleman Park as the church approaches its destination. Spectators are asked to walk to the site, as parking is limited in the area. 

For those not able to witness the event, the Cumberland Community Center will hold a short celebration at 6:30 p.m. later that day in the parking lot of the nearby Habitat for Humanity ReStore, 1225 6th Avenue SE.

For more information about the Cumberland Community Center and their fundraising efforts, please visit: https://restoreoregon.org/most-endangered-places-2018/cumberland-church/