In the downtown district of Portland, an old pioneer’s estate was for sale – a quarter block 100 x 100 feet at the intersection of two busy streets, Sixth Avenue and Burnside Street, and an adjoining lot on the north, 60 x 100 feet, facing Couch Street. It was an ideal location, halfway between the uptown business section and the lower slum district, a most desirable site on which to build a soul-saving station.