The historic houses of worship in Portland date back to 1850 with the creation of the city's first church, First Methodist. The Portland community embraced not just faith and values but also their aesthetic priorities as a society. Working in diverse styles such as Gothic Revival, Italianate, Romanesque Revival, and Modernism, architects Warren Williams, A.E. Doyle, Pietro Belluschi, and a host of others helped forge Portland's architectural identity. While Portland's earliest houses of worship are gone, a nearly complete photographic record of their existence remains. Portland's religious communities have a long history of diversity, and the inclusion of as many faiths as possible has been a priority in the creation of this book. John Doyle has been a lifelong student of history, architecture, and art history.

After earning his master's of art in art history from Tufts University, Doyle lectured at the Met Cloisters and then lived and traveled overseas for several years. He has lived in Portland since 1997 and has been a docent for the Architectural Heritage Center and a private tour guide since 2010. Doyle has devoted hundreds of hours to the study of Portland and Oregon history at the Oregon Historical Society, from whose collection most of the photographs in the book were obtained.