Director

<p>Inspired his son's successful bookstore in Chicago, retired contractor Walter Powell opened this store in Portland in 1971. His son, Michael, bought the store in 1982 and by 1984 the company opened its first branch location near Washington Square. Powell's played an important role in the resurgence of independent bookstores across the country, opening a travel bookstore in 1985 and nearly one store per year for the next several years. Powell's began taking internet orders via email in 1993 and launched its own website by 1994. Today, Powell's is run by Walter Powell's granddaughter, Emily Powell. She says the goal of a bookseller should be to "connect the writer's voice with the reader's ear and not let our egos get in between," a sentiment instilled by her grandfather.</p>

"Portland City Walks: Twenty Explorations In and Around Town" by Laura O. Foster -- Please see the link below for more information.  

The Pillar of Books can be found at the northwest entrance and features eight best-selling novels and the phrase "Buy the book, read the book, enjoy the book, sell the book" in Latin.

Powell's became a Portland institution shortly after its opening in 1971.

More Info

Learn more from the Poets and Writers website

"Portland City Walks: Twenty Explorations in and Around Portland 

Book

C-SPAN Video about the history of Powell's

Video

Established in 1971, Powell's City of Books has become both a beloved Portland institution and the world's largest independent bookstore. Book lovers visiting the city often make room in their baggage for a cache of used books, and many first-time visitors consider a visit to Powell's to be something like a trip to a book-lovers mecca. The flagship store covers an entire city block in the downtown Pearl District with its own coffee shop and 68,000 square feet of bookshelves and spaces for reading. Together with its four other Portland locations, Powell's inventory includes more than four million titles and visitors purchase a total of several thousand books each day, in addition to the store's online sales. 

Powell's City of Books 

This tour starts at historic Pioneer Square and makes a loop through the northern half of Portland's downtown. The tour includes stops at several monuments, over a dozen historic buildings, museums, and iconic Portland institutions such as Powell's Books. 

Completed in 1875, Pioneer Courthouse is the second-oldest federal courthouse in the American West and has served as a symbol of the city of Portland for nearly a century-and-a-half.&nbsp;Daniel Lownsdale used a large supply of leather in exchange as he purchased the land where the courthouse stands from Portland founding&nbsp;fathers Asa Lovejoy and Francis Pettygrove in 1848. The federal government purchased the land two decades later for the purpose of building this courthouse and transferring the federal court in this area from Salem to Portland. Construction occurred between 1869 and 1875.<br><br>The building has been home to hundreds of important decisions in federal cases involving land and other property disputes, Native American treaties, railroads, laws regarding immigration and the infamous 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, mining, timber and forestry, and banking and commerce. One of the more interesting cases of the early 20th century heard at this courthouse, the Ninth Circuit judges found that students had a constitutional right to attend a parochial school in a 1923 case where leaders of the KKK attempted to abolish Catholic schools. Ten years later, this was the court where federal cases related to the exclusion of Japanese-American citizens and immigrants were heard. The court sent two cases to the US Supreme Court, which decided that the federal government could detain and relocate Japanese-American citizens in a pair of cases that have since been overturned.&nbsp;<br><br>Numerous U.S. Presidents have toured the building, including Benjamin Harrison, Theodore Roosevelt, and William Howard Taft. The building was supposed to be demolished and replaced by a newer structure in the 1940s. However, owing to the outbreak of World War II, the 1939 federal law authorizing the demolition of the courthouse and construction of a new facility was delayed and residents decided to preserve the building in the interim.&nbsp;

The Pioneer Courthouse is the oldest extant federal building in the Pacific Northwest. The planning phase for the building began in 1869 as architects E.B. St. John and John H. Holman worked together to design the structure. This Italianate courhouse was completed in 1875 and remains one of the most significant landmarks in the city of Portland.  

Pioneer Courthouse, Portland

<div>The Jackson Tower, circa 1912, harken back to an era when the newspaper industry enjoyed tremendous popularity. During the decades leading up to, and after, the turn of the 20th, in major cities and frontier lands, written in English and foreign languages for immigrants, newspaper companies appeared in droves. One of those papers, the <i>Oregon Journal,</i> built what became known as the Jackson Tower.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>On July 23, 1902, Sam Jackson purchased the rights to the <i>Portland Evening Journal</i> and merged it with a paper he already managed, the <i>East Oregonian</i>. He subsequently changed the name of the entire operation to the <i>Oregon Journal</i>. As per the norm in the early 20th century, newspapers engaged in competition with other publications Jackson's paper competed with the Oregonian and the Telegram.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The paper's front page, on October 22, 1911, reported its own plans to build the Journal Building (now known as Jackson Tower). One attractive feature involved a two-story-deep basement that housed high-speed presses viewable by onlookers walking by the building; the pressed printed nearly 72,000 newspapers per hour. The <i>Oregon Journal </i>obtained the building permit on December 13, 1911 and by August 19, 1912, the newspaper published its first edition from the new home.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The 1905 Lewis &amp; Clark Exposition had a profound effect on Portland's rise from frontier city to a major metropolis, but it also affected the city's architectural style. The Journal Building employed some of the features emanating from that exposition, notably the use of more than 2,400 25-watt light bulbs to illuminate the building. The most striking visual element to the outside decor involved the large clock tower that rang bells on each quarter hour. The clock remained mechanically operated until 1922 when the Standard Electric Time Company electrified the clock. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The newspaper remained in the building until 1948, when it moved to the larger Public Market Building located near the waterfront, though the building remained the property of the <i>Oregon Journa</i>l. In &nbsp;1951, the building was named Jackson Tower after its founder, C. S. Jackson. However, on July 1, 1958, the Jackson family sold the building to Theodore Bruno who modernized the building, investing over $300,000 in improvements. The renovations to Jackson Tower included updated tenant spaces, a newly designed lobby, a steam-cleaned exterior, and the construction of a 100-car garage in the basement, as well as the installation of high-speed elevators.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The 1970s saw changes to both the building and the newspaper -- the building was sold twice, as was the paper. The building went through several changes and updates throughout the 20th century, but the paper folded in the mid-1980s. The building reminds us all of a time when print newspapers were incredibly influential in American culture -- it was the heyday of print journalism. Today's era is much different, so one can only imagine what is being constructed today that will remains standing in 2117 as a reminder of the current digital news era.&nbsp;</div>

Named for Charles Jackson, the founder of the building's original tenant, the now defunt Oregon Journal, the building opened its doors in 1912. The newspaper remained in the building until 1948, when it moved to larger quarters -- the former Portland Public Market building on the Portland waterfront. The building's most striking feature is the impressive clock tower, a common feature of newspaper buildings of the early 20th century.  

The Jackson Tower Building

<p>The
Arlington Club was founded as an elite male society, inspired by the
gentleman’s clubs in vogue during the late 19th Century in London’s
West End. Portland was still a developing city, having only been established on
the western bank of the Willamette River by settlers of the Oregon Trail in the
early 1840s. By the 1859 – when Oregon was admitted into the Union – the city
had grown to a population of about eight hundred, at which point various groups
emerged differentiated by their wealth and social status. Up until the present
day, the clubhouse has served as a center for social gatherings between
bankers, lawyers, utility and business leaders, and railroad moguls.</p>

<p>The Arlington
society was first conceived by thirty five local business and community leaders
in December, 1867. They wished to create an all-male, socially segregated
institution at which the elite of Portland could socialize, relax, and
communicate with one another about the development of the city. Their first
meeting house was located at the J.C. Ainsworth House on Third and Pine, but in
1888 the members decided to fund a permanent club building. This was located at
West Park and Alder, and featured a four-lane bowling alley, coffee shop,
billiard room, and library.</p>

<p>The list of
founding members had around one hundred names, but by 1908 membership had grown
to more than four hundred. Using membership fees (amounting to $200 per
entrance, per night) the club funded the construction of a new, larger
structure at which they could hold their meetings. The building was designed by
Whidden &amp; Lewis, an architectural firm managed by William Marcy Whidden and
Ion Lewis, who are also well-known for having constructed the City Hall and the
Multnomah County Courthouse. Construction finished in 1910, at a cost of $254,000,
during the heyday of the Lewis and Clark Exposition period of development. The
building itself is four stories tall, made of brick and terra cotta. It was
constructed in a neo-classical style.</p>

<p>Membership
was strictly reserved for the city’s elite males. Although they were permitted
to bring female guests into the club each Wednesday evening in the month of
May, women were not allowed become members or be admitted to the building at
other times. However, as the city grew in size and demographic diversity the
Arlington Club began to invite more social groups to attend its social
gatherings. It was only in 1990 that members voted to allow women to join the
society, the first of whom was admitted in March the following year. In 2010
the first female president of the society was elected, in the build up to the
centenary celebration of the club’s founding.</p>

<p>Located at
the center of Portland’s cultural district, the Arlington Club continues to act
as a non-profit meeting place for the city’s most prosperous business leaders. The
mission of the society remains unchanged; it is a place where one can “fraternize
for mutual enjoyment and relaxation" and which provides a “meeting place
for discussing their own and Portland's destiny". Members visiting the
city can rent overnight accommodation at the clubhouse.</p>

This building housed an all-male private club established in 1867. Hundreds of the city's most prominent business owners and bankers were members during the first century of its operation, until it started expanding its membership criteria in the 1960s. The structure itself is a fine example of the Georgian Revival style, designed by local architects Whidden & Lewis. The Arlington Clubhouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in August 2010.

The Arlington Clubhouse

<p>The
automobile industry grew rapidly in Portland during the early years of the 20th
century, as elsewhere in the country ownership of vehicles grew from one
hundred and eighty thousand to more than four million. By the 1920s, those
living in the suburban neighborhoods of the city were becoming increasingly
affluent and in demand of vehicles. The Auto Rest Garage was founded in 1917 to
serve as a showroom and sales space for C. D. McPhail, and employee of Stutz and
Columbia Six Automobiles. The company was managed by Harry C. Stutz, a
self-taught engineer and car manufacturer born in Dayton, Ohio, in the late 19th
century. </p>

<p>The company
chose an irregularly-shaped plot of land at the commercial core of the city, between
10th and Salmond Streets, and commissioned Joseph Jacobberger to
design and build it. The complex consists of two almost-identical Commercial-style
structures occupying a total area of about one hundred by ninety feet; each is two-storied,
with a simple bow-truss roof, sharing a similar floor plan, and are both built
of heavy timber framing and red brick masonry laid in a common American bond
pattern. The primary access point was via 10th Avenue, as indicated
by the remarkable eastern façade of the building. Twin sets of three bays are
divided by brick strip pilasters climbing the entire height of the building,
each capped with a carved decorative triangular pediment. The second story is brightly
illuminated by a sequence of twelve large mullioned windows. At the base of
each of these bays was a sliding door, through which vehicles could be granted
access to the building. Inside, access to the second story was achieved from
the northern part of the building via a car ramp installed in 1930 – though
this has since been demolished. </p>

<p>At the
time, this neighborhood was occupied by dozens of automobile services,
including William Knighton's Packard building on NW 23rd Avenue. Nonetheless,
the Columbia Six automobile was quite popular. It was easily assembled, but was
considered extremely desirable for its cheap price and high quality interiors,
embellished with walnut dashboards, beveled windows and hassock. Eventually,
however, the invention of the Model T by Henry Ford forced the Auto Rest Garage
to go bust as a show- and sales-room. By the mid-1920s Ford motorcars accounted
for more than half of all automobile sales in the country.</p>

<p>Major
alterations were then made to the structure. From the mid-1930s it served as
the garage for the nearby Medical Arts Building. In 1962 parts of the building
were converted into offices used by Jaggar Sroufe Co. In 1987 the ground floor
began being divided&nbsp; into commercial
spaces, and the vehicular ramp to the second floor was removed the following
year. By 1991 almost the entire ground floor had been converted into use as
retail space, though the second story is still used for parking to this day.
Today almost all of the historic features inside the building have disappeared,
though the exterior is very well preserve. Furthermore, it serves as a fine
point of departure to visit the surrounding attractions, including the Medical
Arts Building, the Multnomah County Library, the Winters Apartment, the Bates
Motoramp, the Odd Fellows Building and Masonic Temple.</p>

The Auto Rest Garage is testament to the burgeoning automobile industry of suburban Portland in the early twentieth century. The building was used as the show- and sales-room of the Stutz and Columbia Six Automobiles company, until the rising popularity of Henry Ford's Model T forced the company to close. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in September 1996.

The Auto Rest Garage

<p>More than three thousand eight hundred Elks members existed
in Portland during its peak, and in 1921 a purpose built temple was required to
meet the demands of their growing membership. Architects Houghtaling &amp;
Dougan were commissioned to design the meeting hall for the society. They began
construction in December 1922, and it was completed in December the following
year at a cost of more than one million dollars.</p>

<p>The Portland Elks Temple was designed in a late 19th
and 20th century Revivalist style. An elevator provided access to
the upper floors. The structure contained a gymnasium and swimming pool for the
Elks members, in addition to a seven thousand five hundred square foot ballroom
embellished with Corinthian columnns on the fourth floor. A dining room and
additional, smaller ballroom were located on the third floor, the former of
which was decorated with comical frescoes of former Elks members. Most of the
Elks’ activities occurred on the second floor of the building; financial
matters were handled in the Vault Room, whilst female visitors to the building
were allowed to access only the Fireside Room on the west side of the floor.
There was also a beautiful library on the second story, with a splendid
coffered ceiling decorated gold-leaf. A room nearby was used for billiards, and
another for playing cards, the latter being decorated with a frieze depicting a
“Chippendale Chinese” dragon and a magnificent tiled floor depicting every card
in a deck. The Billiard Room was similarly decorated, with a plaster frieze of
tropical plants, winged cobras, and birds of paradise. Of all the rooms in the
structure, however, the so-called Lodge Room is the most enigmatic. It
contained a bar made of Black marble, arches and spiralling columnns, and ornate
plasterwork depicting birds and male faces (likely those of former Elks
members).</p>

<p>The building was used by the Elks society until only 1932,
when membership sharply declined as a result of the stock market crash three
years earlier. The Portland Elks announced their bankruptcy in 1932, and were
forced to leave the building. It remained vacant for a number of years, until
the Works Progress Administration occupied it in 1939. During the Second World
War it was used as the Oregon Recruitment Office for the U.S. Army. It also
contained a number of athletics clubs. A building was once more left vacant
from 1959 until extensive renovations began in 1973. It was renamed as the
Princeton Building in 1985, from which point it was used as an office building.</p><p></p><p>The Elks Temple is located in the west wing of the Governor
Hotel. Formerly known as the Seward Hotel (it was renamed in 1932), the
earliest part of this building was erected in 1909, designed by William
Christmas Knighton. The building has a splendid fusion of Early Modern and Arts
and Crafts architectural styles, inspired by that found in Vienna, Austria Of
particular note are the massive stained glass dome (restored and renovated in
1990) and the unusual architectural embellishments used on top of the building,
which have been described as anthropomorphic “robots”. In 1992 the Elks Temple
was joined with the Governor Hotel when the latter was being enlarged.</p><p></p><p>The Elks Temple has experienced much internal and external
modification throughout its existence, reflecting the changing functions of the
structure. Three mezzanines were added during renovations in the early 1980s. Some
parts of the exterior of the former Elks Temple changed during the merger in
the 1990s. The top two floors of the old Elks Temple were converted into one
hundred hotel rooms, including twelve penthouse suites. During these
renovations the old Heritage Ballroom was rediscovered on the fourth floor,
which had been obscured by the offices that were established in the 1980s. In
2004 the main entrance was moved to the façade of the Elks building from its
former position on the Governor building, and one decade later the lettering
was restored above the main entrance.&nbsp;</p>

It was the largest Elks Temple in the country at the time of its construction and use, and is considered one of the best examples of early 20th century Italian Renaissance architecture in the country. The building was listed a Portland Historic Landmark in 1970 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Elks Temple

<div>The 100-square-foot, three-story, Telegram Building, consists of brick on top of a basement and concrete foundation that resembles Liberty Hall in Philidelphia. The building opened its doors in 1922, serving as the <i>Portland Evening Telegram's</i> headquarters and production plant. Though the paper began in Portland in 1877, it existed as the third-ranked paper among the city's four daily newspapers in the 1920s. Most consider the <i>Portland Evening Telegram</i> a Republican-leaning publication. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The building's investor was J. N. Barde, his first venture in the real estate market. Before that, he enjoyed financial success in the scrap metal business, notably after brokering government surplus steel, ships, and munitions at the end of World War I. Although much of the building has been altered over the years to accommodate new ownership and modern inventions, items such as the press pits which remain in the basement but are boarded over. Column cap moldings, wall paneling and a curvilinear staircase with wrought iron railing have survived in the place where the <i>Telegram</i>'s business office occupied the center of the main floor. As well, the paper's art department utilized a room in the brick base of the clock tower, which is arguably the building's most noticeable feature.&nbsp;<br><br><div>The <i>Portland Evening Telegram</i> had been founded in 1877 by Henry L. Pittock, who was also the owner of the leading daily paper, the Oregonian. In 1914, he sold <i>The Evening Telegram</i> to lumberman John Wheeler, who orchestrated the construction of The Telegram Building, which opened 1922. &nbsp;In 1931, after the stock market crash that marked the beginning of the Great Depression, new owner E. W. Scripps merged it with the News and consolidated operations of the <i>News-Telegram</i>, which, for a time, stabilized the operation during tough economic times. However, by 1939, The News-Telegram finally ceased publication; the Great Depression proved too daunting of an economic climate for the paper to survive.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Telegram Building remained vacant until 1938 when radio station KLX moved into the facility -- they occupied the building for three years. The building host numerous retail outlets for much of the twentieth century and now, today, exists the building is home to a local bank.</div></div>

Opened in 1922, the Telegram Building served as the Portland Evening Telegram headquarters and production plant. The Telegram began operations in 1877 and was one of the four major Portland newspapers at the time of the building's completion. The Great Depression significantly affected the newspaper, resulting in fewer advertisers and subscribers. The Telegram merged with another Portland newspaper during the Depression but this measure was not enough to reverse the fortunes of the Times-Telegram. The new paper ceased operations in 1939. The building was vacant for much of the 1930s but was also home to a number of businesses during that decade and the post-war period. The building has been well-preserved and is now home to a bank.

Telegram Building, Portland

<div>Henry Weinhard's City Brewery, now part of a modern day five-block shopping and professional district in Portland’s &nbsp;Pearl District, existed as a prominent 19th-century brewery operated by longtime Portland businessmen Henry Weinhard, and later by Paul Wessinger. Weinhard, a German immigrant, arrived in the U.S. in the 1850s and started a brewery in 1862 that quickly succeeded and rapidly expanded. Upon his death in 1904, Paul Wessinger took over the operations of the brewery and carried out plans to build the Weinhard Brewery Complex as part of the brewery's last significant expansion -- that is the building that remains today. The building represented the brewery's 19th-century success, but also the peak of its prominence. By 1928, the brewery merged with the Blitz Brewing Company (just before Prohibition). The rise of the brewery is not unlike many Gilded Age stories, filled with innovation, skill, good timing and shrewd business tactics.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The complex consists of five distinct buildings that are connected by one common architectural style - the brick industrial construction and Romanesque style commonly found in Portland buildings after the city's successful Lewis and Clark Exposition.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Henry Weinhard emigrated to the U.S. as a 27-year-old from Lindenbronn, Werternberg, Germany in the 1850s and eventually amassed a fortune with the formation of his Pacific Northwest brewing business. Before arriving in the region, Weinhard worked as a brewing apprentice in his German homeland and worked at a brewery in Cincinnati, Ohio and then moved to San Fransisco in 1856. He later moved to Vancouver, Washington where he took a job a Meunch Brewery. He used his life savings to purchase that brewery. Also while in Vancouver, Weinhard met his wife, Louisa Waggonblast, who was also from Werternberg, Germany. The two wed on January 27, 1859, and went on to have five children. Similar to other couples at the time, only two of the children survived to adulthood.</div><div><br></div><div>In 1862, the U.S. Civil War affected business for Weinhard's Vancouver brewery as the soldiers that had previously been stationed at Fort Vancouver left to fight the war. Weinhard sold his Vancouver brewery to Anton Young, also a German native, and moved to Portland, Oregon in search of thirsty customers. Weinhard and other entrepreneurs recognized that Portland was growing rapidly. Weinhard first purchased the Saxer's Liberty Brewery and then, one year later, the Bottler Brewery, eventually renaming the operations, "City Brewery." Along with his partner William Dellinger, the company advertised not only its lager beer but also malt, hops, Irish moss, barley, shovels, barrel brushes, brass and wood facets. Rapid success resulted in quick expansion, which continued through the 1890s -- Weinhard shipped beer to Eastern Oregon, Washington, and Montana, and all along the West Coast. The brewery quickly became one of the leading businesses in the Portland area.</div><div><br></div><div>Weinhard's success and concurrent financial gain offered him the opportunity to explore other business ventures, such as building the Grand Central Hotel Weinhard and Arion Hall in 1889 (demolished in 1930) which was Portland's only concert hall for many years. Typical of the 1890s, brewery owners, restaurant ownership, and saloon operations went hand-in-hand, and didn't always involve noble business tactics, Always the shrewd businessman, Weinhard offered loans to those starting new restaurants, and those establishments would then send Weinhard's brew. In other words, the loans served as investments.</div><div><br></div><div>Moreover, In 1903, Weinhard also financed the construction of a business block in downtown Portland called the Weinhard Block and managing numerous saloons, rumored to offers many "vices." Not atypical of the day, saloons often offered various "services," as a means of drawing clientele and allowing for increased beer sales. In fact, many private saloon owners felt pressure from brewing entrepreneurs to sell substantial amounts of beer. Thus gambling and prostitution proved to be a smart (if not necessary) ploy to gain clientele. Indeed, the city's vice committee included him on an unpublished list of offenders. The Oregonian never published the list because with fifty prominent Portland businessman's name included, the editor felt it would not be good for the city's success. Newspapers of this era often served as public relation firms for the cities they served, including protecting businesses. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Henry Weinhard died on September 20, 1904, at the age of 74 of a heart attack.Weinhard passed the family business to Paul Wessinger, his son-in-law, who continued to operate the business for the next 20 years.</div><div><br></div><div>The City Brewery's initial growth and expansion through the 1890s coincided with Portland's growth, which saw an even bigger boom in the first two decades of the 20th century. Portland's population more than doubled from 8,300 in 1870 to 17,600 in 1880. As the 2nd Industrial Revolution emerged, so did improved forms of communication and transportation (and shipping), allowing for an expanded marketplace and greater ease for which to market one's product. The City Brewery resembles that aspect of American, and Portlandian, life, as it does the brewing prowess of Weinhard. The building that stands reminds us of that era where immigration, migration, industrialization, commercialization, consumption and transportation transformed the country into a lifestyle that dominated much of the 20th Century.&nbsp;</div>

This historic five-building complex once housed the Weinhard City Brewery (or Weinhard Brewery). A German Immigrant with a brewing background, Henry Weinhard arrived in the U.S in the 1850s. By the turn of the 20th century, had amassed a fortune selling beer in the Pacific Northwest. Weinhard established his brewery at this location in 1862. The brewery merged with the Blitz Brewing Company in 1928. Today, part of the complex is once again home to a local brewery. 

Henry Weinhard Brewery/Blitz-Weinhard Brewery (Portland Brewery Blocks)

<div>The six-story The Imperial Hotel (1894) is one of sixteen Richardsonian Romanesque/Sullivanesque buildings constructed in Portland between 1889 and 1895. The building's construction started prior to the economic "Panic of 1893" and the building was completed during the recession. By the turn of the century, the hotel served as the epicenter for many local, state, and national politics.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Built on what was the edge of town during that era, the Imperial's main entrance faced south towards a street carrying two street car lines, which proved different than buildings near the river in Portland's business district at that time with entrances facing east or west. The buildings aesthetics impressed, with its first and second story stonework and the rest of its terra cotta exterior.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>With the U.S. in the midst of a Depression, the city and papers described the opening of the hotel in 1894 as a sign of the city's growth; the sheer size and lavishness of the hotel served as a visual symbol of optimism.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Thomas Guinean served as the Imperial's first manager from 1894 to 1899 when Phil Metschan, Sr. and his son took control, and they helped the hotel gain its greatest fame. &nbsp;The story of the Metschans is a familiar one. Born in Germany in 1840, Metschan Sr. left Europe for Cincinnati -- a place with many German immigrants at that time -- in 1854. Six years later, he did what many did -- he took a trip to San Fransisco to find gold. And, like most who attempted to find riches sifting through dirt, riches eluded Metschan. Without a fortune in gold, he picked up and left for Portland in 1862.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>But, his mining days were not over.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>A year after arriving in Portland, gold was discovered in Canyon City, a town 45 miles away from the nearest train station. Metschan, along with 1,200 other gold-seekers populated the city by the mid-1860s. With an influx of people and better-constructed roads in town, Metschan, Sr. stopped mining and, instead, opened a butcher shop, followed by a general store. However, a fire in 1870 destroyed his store, but this time Metschan decided to remain in place and start a family.</div><div><br></div><div>His next step involved politics, serving as a judge, and eventually getting elected as the State Treasurer in 1890, at the age of 50. By that time, most of the gold mines in Canyon City had been vacated and the town's populace shrunk to less than 400. &nbsp;Hence, after 27 years in Canyon City, Metschan, Sr. and his wife left for Salem, where they lived for eight years -- Metschan continued to serve as the State Treasurer during that time.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Finally, at the age of 59, the end of his second term as Treasurer, Metschan purchased the lease and furnishings of the Imperial Hotel and subsequently returned to Portland. The hotel grew to become a popular place for politicians, and political parties, to establish headquarters. &nbsp;However, in 1910, the "New Imperial Hotel" was constructed adjacent to the 1894 building, and took over as the epicenter for politics; the old hotel transitioned to more traditional hotel functions. In 1920, &nbsp;Phil Sr. died and left the hotel to his sons, including Phil. Jr, who went on to his own successful political career.</div>

This historic hotel was built from 1892-1894. Although construction began during a period of rapid growth, the hotel opened during a recession. By the turn of the century, a German immigrant and two-time Oregon State Treasurer purchased the lease of the Imperial Hotel. As the city and national economy recovered, the Imperial Hotel became the center Oregonian society and politics. The building was acquired by Kimpton Hotels in 1989.

Imperial Hotel  (Kimpton Hotel Vintage Portland)

<div>The Benson Hotel, a twelve-story building, located at 309 SW Broadway in Portland, &nbsp;Oregon, was first known as the New Hotel Oregon when its doors opened in 1913 as an addition to the adjacent Hotel Oregon of 1905.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Intended to function as a high-end hotel in downtown Portland, the Benson, architect A.E. Doyle modeled the Benson after Chicago's Blackstone Hotel. Doyle's design incorporated Baroque Revival Style elements in a grand manner, sheathing the twelve-story building in red brick and cream-colored, glazed terra cotta. The expansive mansard roof is covered in copper and green terra cotta and pierced with pediment dormers.</div><div><br></div><div>The opulent interior included a lobby that featured rare Circassian walnut woodwork from Russia, Italian marble floors, and Austrian crystal chandeliers. Orange plaster coated the ceiling with designs comprised of acanthus, rosettes, egg-and-dart, and other classical motifs. Moreover, the $1 million, 200-room hotel offered guests the latest in modern conveniences, such as private baths, automatic door switches, electric lights, and telephones in each room.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;Most impressive are the hotel's lobby, mezzanine, original ballroom, and banquet room, which remain ostensibly unaltered. The rooms are elaborately finished in Circassian mahogany, walnut, marble, and ornamental plaster and are furnished with bronze fixtures. Included&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The hotel symbolizes the correlation between Pacific Northwest lumber and the earth 20th-century California population (and subsequent construction) boom. &nbsp;Simon Benson (1852-1942), a lumberman and philanthropist, existed as the hotel's backer and served as an early manager of the hotel. Benson, after accumulating a fortune from shipping large quantities of lumber to Southern California, sold his holdings in 1910, invested in real estate, and then built the hotel that bears his name.</div><div><br></div><div>Under the supervision of Simon Benson, the hotel quickly set a standard for excellence unrivaled by other hotels in Portland. The hotel has been well maintained over the years, receiving a thorough rehabilitation in 1991. The Benson Hotel has always sought to attract a high-end clientele, which included show business celebrities, business leaders, politicians, and many U.S. presidents. <br><br>As much as it is a part of history, it also symbolizes the move by Americans to California and the entire West Coast. To do so, Americans had to reallocate natural resources, such as water and timber, to a place enjoying temperate weather, but lacking those basic societal necessities, which allowed Benson to make his fortune..&nbsp;</div><div><br></div>

The Benson Hotel, built in Portland by lumberman Simon Benson in 1913, who capitalized on the California population and building boom by supplying timber to the state. The hotel was constructed as an annex to the adjacent Oregon Hotel (since demolished)  to the south and originally called the New Oregon Hotel.  

Conceived as a high-end hotel in downtown Portland with an opulent interior, The $1 million, 200-room hotel boasted the latest in modern conveniences, including private baths, automatic door switches, electric lights, and telephones in each room. Over the years, the hotel has been home to celebrities, business leaders, politicians, and many U.S. presidents.



The Benson Hotel (formerly New Hotel Oregon)

<div>Built in 1907, the twelve-story Wells Fargo Building consists of steel-framed masonry construction, showing the direct influence of Chicago School architecture. It remains today as one of Portland's best-preserved skyscrapers. At the time, the Wells Fargo building demonstrated Portland's growth, as well as the power of banks coming out of the Gilded Age, especially due to the success of the Lews and Clark Exposition of 1905, which spurred tremendous economic growth, increased population, and a construction boom.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Not only did Wells Fargo do business in the building, but other notable, successful business of that time also called the building home, too, such as the Southern Pacific Railroad, and the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Following the Lewis and Clark Exposition of 1905, the city's growth coincided with a shift in its economic center from the riverfront to the location where the Wells Fargo stands. The transformation of the area west of the river resulted in the replacement of Victorian-style mansions with warehouses and skyscrapers.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The history of Wells Fargo &amp; Company in Portland and the state of Oregon speaks to the broader historical narrative of the era. Numerous private express companies grew eager to serve miners in Oregon during the gold-mining boom of the 1850s. Given that the principal goal of express companies involved receiving and forwarding gold dust and other valuables, many of them sought agencies for purposes safely storing its deposits. &nbsp;Hence, when the San Fransisco based Wells Fargo opened a branch in Portland, it quickly grew to become a dominant financial force that contributed heavily to railroad development and industrial growth.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>As the Wells Fargo continued to expand during the late 19th century, it bought smaller companies and other competitors until it owned or controlled all of the stage lines from the Missouri River to California. Later, Wells Fargo adapted to changing trends and began investing in the railroad industry, which also allowed it to extend its influence eastward in the U.S., thus thrive financially. During Wells Fargo's peak, the company controlled more than 80,000 miles of railroad in addition to its local staging and water transport.<br><br>At the turn of the 20th century, Wells Fargo &amp; Company didn't just find immense success locally and nationally, the company had bank branches in Asia, Europe and South America. &nbsp;By the time the building opened in 1907, Wells Fargo could boast of operating more than 100 branches in Oregon, aided substantially by the successful Lewis &amp; Clark Exposition &nbsp;However, like many businesses during the turn of the 20th century, when Gilded Age laissez faire philosophies gave way to more progressive ideologies, Wells Fargo was split into two companies, the Wells Fargo Bank and the Wells Fargo Express. In 1905, as part of the reorganization of the company, the Portland Branch of the Wells Fargo Bank was sold to the U.S. National Bank. In that same year, the company purchased the land to build the Wells Fargo Building for its Express Department, which was disclosed in court when the sale was being reviewed.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Plans went ahead for the building of the Wells Fargo tower, which became Portland's first skyscraper. In many ways, the building was both a blessing and a curse. The building marked Wells Fargo's long success, but the company's size and wealth also declined quickly after that. &nbsp;Shortly after the United States entered the First World War, the government took over control of the railroads and combined the nation's major express companies into one governmental agency with the name American Railway Express. Those government actions hurt Wells Fargo badly -- the company ceased to exist.&nbsp;<br><br></div><div>In 1922 the building was purchased by Andrew Porter, a prominent Portland investor, lumberman, and director of the U.S. National Bank. The building has seen numerous ownership changes since then.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Everything from westward migration, hopes of striking gold, Gilded Age and Progressive Era politics, the importance of banks and the railroad, the success of the Lewis and Clark Exposition, and World War -- to name a few -- are attached to the history of the Wells Fargo Building. It's as much a monument as it is a historical building.</div>

Built in 1907, the twelve-story Wells Fargo Building remains today as one of Portland's best-preserved skyscrapers. At the time, the Wells Fargo building demonstrated Portland's growth, as well as the power of banks coming out of the Gilded Age, especially due to the success of the Lewis and Clark Exposition of 1905, which spurred tremendous economic growth, increased population, and a construction boom. 


Wells Fargo Building 

<div>Opened in 1912, the Multnomah Hotel stood as the city's largest for half of a century and hosted nine U.S. Presidents, including John F. Kennedy who gave a speech from a hotel balcony, as well as Queen Marie of Romania, &nbsp;Charles Lindberg, Jimmy Stewert, Bing Crosby, and Elvis Presley.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>As a sign of Portland, and the entire Pacific Northwestern Coast's growth plans to build the 750 Multnomah Hotel and the nearby Oregon (Benson) Hotel occurred nearly simultaneously. Far removed from the region's former frontier days, money and wealth, as well as new residents, poured into the area via mining, shipping, and the timber industries</div><div><br></div><div>When the hotel opened, 8,000 visitors paraded through the establishment on the first day and more than 1,200 persons dined in one of its nine banquet and dining halls. Visitors witnessed lavish decor and a host of new technology, all symbols of the overall trend in technological advancement associated with the 2nd Industrial Revolution. For instance, guests would have seen exotic wood furniture, 70,000 square yards of carpeting, and plenty of decorative motifs &nbsp;Moreover, the hotel offered an early form of air-conditioned, cooler air provided by a system from which ice water was routed through the steam heating system in the summer.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The bells and whistles spoke to the hotel's design as a high-end business seeking to cater to socialites. As such, the Multnomah existed as a popular place to book meetings, social gatherings, and eventually play home to world leaders, dignitaries, and entertainers, ranging from Teddy Roosevelt to Elvis Presley. However, one of the more entertaining events occurred a few months after the hotel opened: 50,000 people witnessed a man fly a bi-plane off of a 150-foot wooden runway that had been constructed on the hotel roof.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Panic of 1913 and World War created some havoc for the hotel, including a need to lay off nearly 200 workers by 1916 and temporarily closing. However, Railroad Contractors Eric V. Hauser and Grant Smith -- a man whose companies helped build the Great Northern and Northern Pacific Railroads - purchased the property for $700,000 and, after doing some renovation and updating the kitchens, re-opened the hotel in 1916 with an elevated dinner party to mark the occasion. As a result, the hotel returned to prominence once again.</div><div><br></div><div>Hauser and Smith's company leased the hotel to Western Hotels in 1931, and the new managers subsequently spent $14,000 on lobby renovations that included colorful walls and ceilings, new rugs, and modern lighting systems. Most notably, though, the hotel received the country's largest neon sign (39 feet high by 156 feet long).&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>By the 1950s, the hotel was synonymous with Portland, itself. The hotel evolved into the city's main convention center and hosted a myriad of large events, this despite the fact that Portland's main downtown center moved away from the actual location of the hotel over the course of the 20th century. Indeed, today's Multnomah now exists within the Portland Old Town and Skid Row neighborhood.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>During the 1960s and 70s, the hotel fell on hard times. By 1963, plans to change it into a Lutheran Homes Hospital failed to materialize, but by late 1964, the Internal Revenue Service and Forest Service made bids to move into the building with the Forest Service remaining in the building for many years. The hotel had to be changed for a commercial property, although the first floor and exterior mostly resembled its glory days. From 1965 to 1992, the hotel remained a home for government offices, but in 1996 the Embassy Suites purchased the property and restored it to its original purpose. The hotel reopened in 1995, but with 276 suites instead of the hotel's original 700 rooms.&nbsp;</div>

One of Portland’s most prominent hotels, the Multnomah Hotel (now Embassy Suites), existed as the city's (and one of the region's) largest hotels until the early 1960s. During its heydey, the hotel played home to numerous events, hosted nine U.S. Presidents, Queen Marie of Romania, Charles Lindbergh, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Elvis Presley in 1957. 

Multnomah Hotel

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Sherlock building was initially constructed by the
Forbes &amp; Breeden furniture firm – the largest furniture retailers that
existed west of the Mississippi River – together with the Northwest Loan &amp;
Trust Company. Construction began in 1893, just before the so-called Panic of
that year decimated the nation’s economy. Many railroads went bankrupt, more
than fifteen thousand businesses were forced to close, and over five hundred
banks went bust, causing the stock market to crash. Approximately three million
people lost their jobs as unemployment shrank to twenty percent. The Panic
resulted in the closure of four major banks in Portland. Construction halted,
and much like approximately half of the other properties in the city the plot
and semi-finished building was sold. Although the name “Forbes &amp; Breeden”
is still visible above the entrance, they never in fact made use of it. </p>

<p>An Irish immigrant, William Sherlock, acquired the building
when it was sold in 1893. Sherlock had arrived in the USA in the 1840s,
settling first in Illinois. Together with his family he moved to Swan Island,
Portland, in 1850. There he occupied himself with cattle breeding, and
eventually opened a successful uniform-manufacturing business in the city. With
his success, Sherlock began to purchase properties around the city that had
been made cheap by the economic depression. The most famous of these was the
thirty eight block industrial and residential district near Guild’s Lake, known
as “Sherlock’s Addition.” </p>

<p>Sherlock funded the completion of the semi-finished
building, and gave it the name by which it is known today. The six-story structure
was built in the Sullivanesque style by an anonymous architect. Although it has
been associated with the work of the famed Portland architect Louis Sullivan, more
recent comparative studies indicate that it might be the work of Isaac Hodgson
Jr. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Hogson was in Portland at the time of the Panic,
and the Sherlock building displays many similarities with other homes he
designed in the Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, and Richardsonian Romanesque
styles around the city. The timber and masonry structure follows a mill
construction form of five twenty square foot bays. Massive brick piers support
the upper stories, set upon solid foundations of basalt. It has a flat roof,
with a cornice made of sheet metal decorated with a wave scroll design.
Although plain today, the frieze that encircles the building was once used to
advertise the stores located below. </p>

<p>The interior floor plan remains quite unchanged from the
time of William Sherlock, though the stores themselves were remodelled in the
1930s. Entrance is via an enormous twenty foot wide recessed glass and oak
doorway, which leads into a central gallery that extends across the centre of
the building. Visitors would browse through a number of stores that flanked
this gallery, which were handsomely made with large glass windows and central
recessed glass and wood doors. The upper stories were occupied by the services
department, restrooms, and office spaces. These and the basement were all
accessed by elevators from the main gallery, as well as a freight elevator. </p>

<p>The building was owned by the Sherlock family for seventy five
years between 1869 and 1944. The interior remained in a fine state of
preservation for much of the later twentieth and early twenty first centuries,
during which it was used by a variety of restaurants and businesses – including
a blueprint manufacturer. Of particular note were the original floor made of
one-inch wide green and white ceramic tiles laid in a fret pattern, formidable
visible timber beams in the upper floors, the original fire safety system, and
small terra cotta medallions depicting a “Sullivan” design set into the arch
spandrels of the fifth floor. The Church of Scientology purchased it in 2010,
after their first Portland headquarters – the Stevens Building on 812 SW
Washington Street – became too small for their chapter. They have carried out
extensive renovations of the interior.&nbsp;</p>

Built in 1893 near the historic Old Town district, the magnificent six story Sherlock Building has a fascinating biography. From its mysterious origins, the building acquired more quotidian functions as retail space, but remains one of the finest structures designed by the Portland-based architecture firm, McCaw, Martin and White. Today it serves as the headquarters for the Portland Church of Scientology. The building was added to the National register of Historic Places in October 1977.

Sherlock Building and Church of Scientology

<p>It is believed that the San Franciscan architect P. Heurn
designed the building. Also known for designing the nearby Roman Catholic
Cathedral in 1878 – the first of the city – Heurn designed the Bishop’s House
in a Victorian Gothic style. Construction was completed in 1879. The three
story structure is made of brick and cast iron, with narrow pointed arches,
intricate window tracery, and an emphasis on the use of tall, vertical,
straight lines in the façade. It has a sharply pointed gable roof (some have
compared it with a bishop’s mitre). The third floor has a magnificent
cathedral-style window, which lights a large meeting hall within. </p>

<p>Originally adjacent to the Roman Catholic Cathedral, the
building initially served as the home and office of Archbishop Francois
Blanchett. It served as the chancery office for more than thirty years, and
housed an insurance agency on the ground floor. It also hosted the Young Men’s
Institute and Catholic Library, and later the office of the <i>Catholic Sentinel</i> newspaper. The
Cathedral was demolished in 1894 for being too remote for its parishioners, and
the Bishop’s House was sold soon after. From that point the Bishop’s House was
occupied by a wide variety of tenants. During the prohibition the Bishop’s
House was used as a speakeasy (the peep holes of which can still be viewed
today). </p>

<p>Portland’s Chinatown was formed in the 1880s, and grew to
become the largest in the country despite the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. By
the end of the nineteenth century the waterfront and Chinatown neighbourhoods
were ridden with crime. Illegal opium and gambling dens were disguised as
legitimate businesses, and underground parlours were rife with prostitution. Much
of this illicit activity was organised by Chinese tongs – secret societies and
brotherhoods, some of which had links to gangs that existed in contemporary
China. There were many different tongs in Portland, and their relationships
between one another were not always amiable, as demonstrated by the violent
Tong Wars of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A network of
underground passages allowed them to flee from the occasional police raid. The
Bishop’s House is believed to have been used by one such Tong. A direct
telephone line connected the tong building with the Police Department (Rees,
1989).&nbsp; </p>

<p>The building remains in a terrific state of preservation.
Some modifications were made in 1965 by William Roberts, who installed a fire
escape and who replaced the original cross and finials used to decorate the
gabled roof. The building currently serves as office spaces and as Al‑Amir,
a Lebanese restaurant. It makes a fine spot from which to visit a number of
other interesting nearby buildings: the Bickel Building, Chown Building,
Haseltine Building, Oregon Marine Building, “Old Spaghetti Factory”, and many
more.</p>

Initially residential quarters of the archbishop of Portland, the building has a long and fascinating biography, serving at different times as a speakeasy, the meeting hall of a Chinese Tong, and an architect’s studio. It is one of the best-preserved Victorian Gothic residences in the state of Oregon.

Bishop's House

<div>Frank Dekum, a German immigrant who arrived with little wealth, made his fortune and rose to prominence in the city of Portland. Originally born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1829, the Dekum family immigrated to the U.S. in 1837. The family settled in Illinois and in 1852, Frank and his family moved to San Francisco. The following year they moved north the Portland. Frank found work as a worker in a bakery before opening his own business and working as both a realtor and banker. He later worked in insurance before securing a position as a railway executive. He constructed this building towards the end of his life in 1892.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Dekum was born in Palatine, Bavaria, on November 5, 1829, a city from which his family resided for several generations. However, in 1837, &nbsp;the Dekum family, including all seven children, emigrated to America and settled on an Illinois farm. Indeed, the family was among nearly 10,000 new German immigrants to the U.S. &nbsp;<br><br>Nearly a decade later, at age 17, Frank Dekum left his family and moved to St. Louis where he apprenticed with a confectioner, earning three dollars per month (roughly $90/month in 2017 dollars). Hence, nearly three years later, in February 1852, Dekum -- like many people of that era -- left Missouri for California. He took a steamer with his friend Fred Bickel via the Panama Canal, arriving in San Francisco four months later, in mid-June. As did many after the 1849 Gold Rush, Dekum engaged in gold mining, both in French Gulch and Middletown. However, after a year, he returned to San Francisco. One year later, he sailed to Portland, which at the time was nothing more than a small river town comprised of 1,500 inhabitants.</div><div><br></div><div>With gold mining behind him, Dekum went back to his confectionary roots and found employment at a baker. A few months later, &nbsp;he sent for Fred Bickel and together they established Dekum &amp; Bickel in 1855, Portland's first confectionery business, which also included the sale of fruit and a restaurant. The business proved highly successful, remaining in business for 25 years before Dekum sold his interest to Bickel and retired from the firm.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Roughly nine years before retiring from Dekum and Bickel, in 1871, Dekum built the first Dekum Building on the northwest corner of Front and Washington Streets. It was one of a series of real-estate construction projects he headed. Dekum also served as a banker, became involved with was also involved in Portland's banking, including serving as president of Portland Savings. He was also an original stockholder in the local syndicate that completed the Portland Hotel.</div><div><br></div><div>In addition to his business ventures, Dekum served as the German Aid Society's charter member, found in 1865, and later its president. &nbsp;In 1878 he helped organize the Mechanics' Fair Association, including spearheading the development of its Exposition Building. Lastly, Dekum was heavily involved in conservation and environmental protection, including forming the German Song Bird Society.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Towards the end of his life, Dekum put his time and effort into building the Dekum Building, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Dekum spared no expense in building his prized skyscraper, which opened in 1892. Unfortunately, he died two years after its completion, dying at the age of 64 in 1894.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The eight-story building's rough cut stone at the base, red brick in the upper stories, terra cotta ornamentation, and reliance on large, stone block arches proved to be a favorite type of architectural design in Portland from 1889 to 1895. The style, known as the Richardsonian Romanesque style, was the creation of a popular Portland architectural firm, McCaw &amp; Martin.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>When the Dekum Building opened in 1892, the department store Lipman, Wolfe &amp; Co. occupied the first two floors while the remaining largely served as offices for physicians, dentists, and lawyers. Over the years, the building went through many ownership changes and renovations. Today, the Dekum Building stands as one of the oldest buildings still standing on Southwest Third Avenue. When compared to the Hamilton Building, located next door and built only one year apart, one is easily able to ascertain the shift in architectural style in Portland from Richardsonian Romanesque and toward classic detailing.</div>

The Dekum building was completed in 1892 by Fank Dekum, an immigrant to the United States who had lived and worked in a variety of US cities before making his fortune in Portland. Dekum arrived as a child in Bavaria in the 1830s and his journey provides a window into the lives of many other immigrants as well as the San Francisco Gold Rush, the establishment of German bakeries throughout the US, and the way many business leaders found success through finance, real estate, and the railroad industry.  

Dekum Building, Portland (1892)

<div>Before the Hamilton Building opened its doors, Portland's business center consisted of office buildings built in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, a more ornate type of architecture, such as with the Dekum Building, located next to the Hamilton and&nbsp;built only months earlier. Changing technology, the "Chicago School of Architecture," the Industrial Revolution, Neo-Classic influence, and the maturity of Portland all led to a change in the manner for which architects designed skyscrapers, notably considering what purpose they served.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Classical treatment of the Hamilton set a new trend in commercial construction for Portland, which coincided with a trend seen in the U.S. and throughout the world. Indeed, the Chicago World's Fair (The World’s Columbian Exposition), held from May 1 until October 30 of 1893, arguably set the tone for Greek revival architecture's heavy influence on the world for the following thirty years. Daniel Burnham, a Chicago architect integral in the design of the modern skyscraper, led a team of World’s Fair architects who designed the World's Fair pavilions consisting of classic temples that resembled those seen in ancient Greece and Rome. &nbsp;The Hamilton arrived that same year, in 1893, with that same Classical Greek appearance. However, it is important to understand that the Hamilton's design and construction began prior to the Chicago World's Fair. Thus, the trend towards Classic Revival was in motion just as the Hamilton was conceived. &nbsp;</div><div><br>While banks, government buildings, and museums often enjoyed the full Greek-treatment, with lavish columnns and immense ornate detail, commercial buildings tended to be less gaudy, allowing for more function. &nbsp;The Hamilton, compared to buildings on the same block, looks more simple upon first look, but the columnns at the building's base show Greek influence. As well, the move towards commercial building and, eventually, Chicago School skyscraper design was already being seen in buildings such as the Hamilton.&nbsp;</div>

Built in 1893, the stylish, commercial Hamilton Building existed as one of Oregon's first buildings constructed in the Classical Revival form. The building was home to offices of many local companies as well as physicians and other professionals. At the time of its completion, the Hamilton building was just north of the city's early masonic hall. That building was demolished in the 1920s. 

Hamilton Building, Portland

<div>Currently known as the 620 Building, the 12-story building emerged during Portland's rapid expansion following the success of the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, which celebrated the 100th anniversary of the famous exploration team's arrival. Originally erected as a six-story building in 1907, six more stories were added in 1913. Its presence within Portland's modern landscape stands as a reminder of Portland's 1905-1915 economic book, as well as the prominence of its namesake, the Failing family.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition attracted 1,588,00 people to Portland and added $8 million to the economy, which roughly equates to $215 million in 2017 when adjusted for inflation. &nbsp;More significantly, the exposition inspired investors to gamble on Portland business opportunities, made easier by the influx of population, which also received a boost from the Exposition. In fact, Portland's population swelled from 110,839 in 1905 to 207,214 in 1910, a number on surpassed in the U.S. by Portland's neighbor to the north - Seattle. &nbsp;By 1915 the number of Portland's residents neared 260,000.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>As is the case with San Fransisco and Seattle, Portland reaped the benefits of its access to the Pacific Ocean, which grew more significant after coast-to-coast railroads allowed trade to Asia and other new markets possible. Moreover, the enormous availability of lumber helped boost the region's economy, including in Portland. &nbsp;Indeed, more timber industries netted more than $10 million dollars in revenue annually for Portland, which increased the city's overall manufacturing boom that pushed 1905 totals of $28,651,00 to $46,861,000 by 1910.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Failing Office Building exists as a living monument to Portland's early twentieth-century economic boom. By 1910, railroads and the Northern Pacific Terminal Company owned more than half of the city's waterfront property. &nbsp;Henry Failing served as both the city's fifteenth executive, and, ten years later, Portland's mayor, a position once held by his father, Josiah Failing. Fortune found the family through their first business, a general store built in 1868, which transitioned to a hardware store. Meanwhile, &nbsp;in 1869, the family -- along with the family of Emily Corbett, with whom Henry married in 1858, bought a controlling interest in Oregon's first bank formed under the National Banking Act. Shortly thereafter, the family established the hardware business known as Corbett, Failing, and Co.</div><div><br></div><div>The site of the Failing Office Building at the corner of Southwest Sixth and Southwest Alder initially served Henry Failing as his residence. When he passed away in 1898, he left the property to his three daughters who later seized on the opportunity to take advantage of Portland's booming economy and consequently financed the construction of the Failing Building that remains in its original location today. Although the original plans allowed for only six stories, the eventual remodel a few year later allowed for other tenants to occupy space within the Failing Building. Such businesses included The Gevurtz Furniture Company and Portland Gas &amp; Coke Company. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div>

Currently known as the 620 Building, the 12-story building emerged during Portland's rapid expansion following the success of the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition. Originally erected as a six-story building in 1907, six more stories were added in 1913. Its presence within Portland's modern landscape stands as a reminder of Portland's 1905-1915 economic book, as well as the prominence of its namesake, Henry Failing and the Failing family

Portland Oregon Historical Walking Tour

Powell's City of Books

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information