DETAILS ARE BELOW.
Rebecca at the Well fountain - (1926) The museum worthy, elegant, diminutive Rebecca at the Well fountain, to our right, is from 1926. It was donated to the city by Joseph Shemanski, a local businessman, to add art and history to the Park Blocks. Made of bronze and sandstone, with 3 inner fountains for people, and 3 outer fountains for animals. It has a biblically inspired design. You can take a closer look and taste Rebecca's water, it's very refreshing.
Calumet (esquire) Hotel (620 SW Park Ave. @ Park Ave. Fine Wines) –1907- is the older of only 2 remaining examples in the city of the French Renaissance or “Edwardian Baroque” style applied to a hotel. It was erected during a time of rapid economic growth following the success of the Lewis and Clark exposition in 1905. It exhibits a highly textured and detailed front elevation: a rare feature in small-scale hotel construction of the period. It is now apartments.
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The Historic Cornelius Hotel (525 SW Park Ave. @ Hong Kong Tailors) May Soon Be Demolished.
The French Renaissance-style Cornelius Hotel, to the right, was designed by local architectural firm Bennes, Hendricks and Tobey. It opened May 18, 1908, when guests rented rooms for $1.50 a night, and it’s notable for its elaborate mansard roof. The Cornelius was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
While certainly never as large, or as grand, as the Portland Hotel, the Benson Hotel, or the Multnomah Hotel, the Cornelius has stood for more than 100 years as a testament to Portland’s aspirations as a growing city after the 1905 Lewis & Clark Exposition. After years of dereliction, the much larger Multnomah Hotel was rehabbed and opened once again as a hotel. Just down the street from the Cornelius, the Calumet Hotel (now known as the Esquire Apartments and home to Park Avenue Fine Wines, was rehabbed and reopened a few years ago. It would be wonderful to see something similar happen to the Cornelius rather than the proposed demolition. The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
The Masonic Temple (1924), to our right, is a foreboding, tomb-like building with historical associations, with its Greek cast-iron colonnade, window grilles and Byzantine central door with an exotic sunken ballroom. Now it's part of the Portland Art Museum.
Next door from the Masonic Temple, is the Portland Art Museum - (The Building is from 1930; but founded in 1892, making it the oldest art museum on the West Coast). It is listed as one of the 100 best designed American buildings, and is notable for its elegant, clean lines; pleasing combination of orange red brick and travertine marble; and lack of historic ornamentation. It was the first of local Pietro Bellushi’s buildings to receive national recognition, and was included in the 1938 Best Designs list compiled by the American Institute of Architects for the preceding 20 years. Though the massive brick building, with its Travertine trim, displays some aspects of the Roman architecture popular in the 30s, the clean delineation of form, unencumbered by the normal classical ornamentation, demonstrates Bellushi’s contemporary aesthetic.
Next door from the Art Museum is St. James Lutheran Church – 1891- It is a downtown landmark due to its stonework façade and tower. It was the first English speaking Lutheran Church in Oregon. It’s a rare late Gothic Revival architectural. style. The original wood frame was built in 1890, and was replaced by the current limestone in 1908. The large tower deteriorated and was removed from the building in 1951. In 1974, a new tower was built looking at old photos.
Rebecca at the Well fountain - (1926) The museum worthy, elegant, diminutive Rebecca at the Well fountain, to our right, is from 1926. It was donated to the city by Joseph Shemanski, a local businessman, to add art and history to the Park Blocks. Made of bronze and sandstone, with 3 inner fountains for people, and 3 outer fountains for animals. It has a biblically inspired design. You can take a closer look and taste Rebecca's water, it's very refreshing.
Calumet (esquire) Hotel (620 SW Park Ave. @ Park Ave. Fine Wines) –1907- is the older of only 2 remaining examples in the city of the French Renaissance or “Edwardian Baroque” style applied to a hotel. It was erected during a time of rapid economic growth following the success of the Lewis and Clark exposition in 1905. It exhibits a highly textured and detailed front elevation: a rare feature in small-scale hotel construction of the period. It is now apartments.
PAUSE
PAUSE
The Historic Cornelius Hotel (525 SW Park Ave. @ Hong Kong Tailors) May Soon Be Demolished.
The French Renaissance-style Cornelius Hotel, to the right, was designed by local architectural firm Bennes, Hendricks and Tobey. It opened May 18, 1908, when guests rented rooms for $1.50 a night, and it’s notable for its elaborate mansard roof. The Cornelius was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
While certainly never as large, or as grand, as the Portland Hotel, the Benson Hotel, or the Multnomah Hotel, the Cornelius has stood for more than 100 years as a testament to Portland’s aspirations as a growing city after the 1905 Lewis & Clark Exposition. After years of dereliction, the much larger Multnomah Hotel was rehabbed and opened once again as a hotel. Just down the street from the Cornelius, the Calumet Hotel (now known as the Esquire Apartments and home to Park Avenue Fine Wines, was rehabbed and reopened a few years ago. It would be wonderful to see something similar happen to the Cornelius rather than the proposed demolition. The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
The Masonic Temple (1924), to our right, is a foreboding, tomb-like building with historical associations, with its Greek cast-iron colonnade, window grilles and Byzantine central door with an exotic sunken ballroom. Now it's part of the Portland Art Museum.
Next door from the Masonic Temple, is the Portland Art Museum - (The Building is from 1930; but founded in 1892, making it the oldest art museum on the West Coast). It is listed as one of the 100 best designed American buildings, and is notable for its elegant, clean lines; pleasing combination of orange red brick and travertine marble; and lack of historic ornamentation. It was the first of local Pietro Bellushi’s buildings to receive national recognition, and was included in the 1938 Best Designs list compiled by the American Institute of Architects for the preceding 20 years. Though the massive brick building, with its Travertine trim, displays some aspects of the Roman architecture popular in the 30s, the clean delineation of form, unencumbered by the normal classical ornamentation, demonstrates Bellushi’s contemporary aesthetic.
Next door from the Art Museum is St. James Lutheran Church – 1891- It is a downtown landmark due to its stonework façade and tower. It was the first English speaking Lutheran Church in Oregon. It’s a rare late Gothic Revival architectural. style. The original wood frame was built in 1890, and was replaced by the current limestone in 1908. The large tower deteriorated and was removed from the building in 1951. In 1974, a new tower was built looking at old photos.
