H. Russell Albee House
3360 SE Ankeny Street, Portland
Entered into the NRHP 22 Oct 1992
Considered a Colonial Revival, it was designed by Albert E. Doyle and built in 1912.Zillow site (FOR SALE as of this writing - 31 Aug 2012 - for a cool $1,499,000!) http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3360-SE-Ankeny-St-Portland-OR-97214/53900120_zpid/
Comments regarding the property for the NRHP (taken from HERE)
The H.R. Albee House, built in 1912, is located on a commanding site at the north edge of Laurelhurst Park.
Designed by prominent Portland architect, Albert E. Doyle, in the Colonial Revival Style, the symmetrical front faces north while the more open and asymmetrical south facade takes maximum advantage of Park views. Framed in wood with some steel supports, the two story house is clad with brick and topped with hipped roofs. The front elevation of the central block, which is flanked by set-back wings at the east and west, has an axial pedimented portico, paired double hung windows and a full Doric entablature at the roof. Wings feature arched openings, brick pilasters and a modest wood entablature. A central stairway bay with Palladian window and the bow window at the living room dominate the south elevation. Colonial
Revival elements are continued in the well preserved interior: Ballustraded stairway, wall paneling, paneled doors, beamed ceilings, cabinetry and fireplaces, all finished with classical detailing. The only significant exterior alteration was the installation of windows in the arched opening of the east porch wing. At the interior, only the kitchen
has had major changes. All other exterior and interior elements are essentially as originally constructed.
SETTING
The Albee House was among the earliest and grandest to be built in Laurelhurst, the new planned subdivision that was carved out of W.S. Ladd's Hazelfern Farm. Ladd, who had acquired the property in 1874 for five dollars an acre, sold the 462 acre parcel to the Laurelhurst Company in 1909 for two million dollars. The Company was headed by Seattle Developers, F.F. Mead and Paul C. Murphy and included several Portland investors. Gently rolling hills and tall fir trees characterized the beautiful site which was surrounded by other residential subdivisions, all in the typical grid pattern. The designers of Laurelhurst chose to develop the property in the "naturalistic" manner, the emerging land planning approach where streets followed the land contours and landscaping was a prominent design element. Nearly square in shape, the plat was
divided into quarters by two "boulevards", Glisan Street and 39th Avenue, both of which aligned with the city grid. At the intersection of these boulevards is a traffic circle (now Coe Circle) which for several years was the site of the Laurelhurst Company's sales office. A secondary east/west boulevard was installed at Burnside. At the edges of the tract, streets conformed to the surrounding grid, but within the site they curved and radiated, conforming to the natural terrain and reserving many native fir trees. In the grandiose language of the promotion literature:
"Nature has bestowed upon this beauty spot her choicest favors with marvelous prodigality..."
and
"Nature itself is responsible for designing Laurelhurst, for nature provided the stately firs and ideal contour of ground for the landscape architect to work his wonders."
The site plan included all of the amenities that were then considered important to the development of a middle class subdivision: paved streets, concrete curbs and sidewalks, underground utilities, street lights and street trees. Classically detailed stone pylons were built at the south and west boulevard entrances to the development and a 25 acre parcel at the southwest corner was set aside for a park. Two million dollars was spent on site development, an unheard of sum at the time. However, the investment brought a handsome return. By the end of 1912, two thousand lots had been sold and 500 homes constructed with many more to be built in the ensuing years. In 1913, the City of Portland bought the park land, then known as Ladd Park and subsequently renamed it Laurelhurst Park. Designer of the park was Portland's Park Superintendent E.T. Mische who would also design Peninsula and Terwilliger Parks. Mische, a protege' of Daniel Burnham, was a talented landscape architect who had been recommended to the City by John C. Olmstead, nationally prominent landscape architect and son of Frederick Law Olmstead. Mische's design for Laurelhurst Park was in the English naturalistic style, following the concept of Frederick Law Olmstead's Central Park in New York. Centered in the park is a three acre artificial lake in a
naturalistic form that is surrounded by grass covered rolling terrain, tall fir trees indigenous to the site, curving paths and groups of shrubbery that define a varied spatial experience. Mische's design is considered to be among the finest in the
region.
Overlooking this magnificent park was the house of H.R. Albee who had purchased his homesite in 1910. The original site, comprising eight lots, stretched 500 feet along a ridge parallel to the park and was bordered by Southeast Ankeny on the north and Southeast Ash on the west. (Ash Street was vacated in 1927 which allowed the Albee property to directly abut the park.) A.E. Doyle's linear design placed the 120 foot length of the house, pergola and garage along the ridge on the highest ground at the eastern portion of the site. This orientation and the layout of rooms maximized the views toward the park. (In the 1920s the westerly four lots were sold to Harry A. Green who commissioned Herman Brookman to design his house which is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.)The central front entry is basically on axis with Floral Street, the main approach to the property which runs north/south, perpendicular to Ankeny Street. A wide, slightly curving stairway flanked by brick walls leads up the sloping lawn to the porch which extends 50 feet across the front facade. A low brick wall, articulated with piers and capped with cast stone, surrounds the porch. At the west a curving driveway leads to a parking area and detached garage which was originally connected to the house by a pergola. To the south a narrow lawn area bordered by arbor vitae abuts the naturalistic plantings of the park. A few original trees remain: a large maple and
Japanese maple on the east and a cedar tree on the west near the garage. Several mature trees were lost in the 1962 Columbus Day storm.
PLAN AND STRUCTURE
The main entry to the house is through a small vestibule with a second door on the axis that leads to the large entry hall. With the grand stairway the entry extends to the full width of the house. The entry hall is the circulation hub for the entire house. To the east is the living room which also covers the width of the house and has a bow window at the south and paired windows on the north. Centered in the east wall is the fireplace. Also on the east is a glazed doorway that originally led to the east wing porch, now the enclosed solarium. At the south end of the entry hall under the stair landing is another vestibule with a doorway to the basement stairs, a small half bath (not original) and a rear porch and stairs that lead to the back yard. Wide sliding doors on the west side of the entry hall open to the dining room on the south and the library to the north. Adjacent to the dining room is the remodeled kitchen which occupies the west wing. A small breakfast room and back porch extend in projecting bays at the south. At the south wall of the kitchen is a stairway that leads to the basement and
second floor. The full width of the entry is maintained in the second floor stair hall. To the north is the master bedroom suite which includes a bedroom on the south overlooking the park, a sitting room to the north, closets and a bathroom to the west, and a sleeping porch in the east wing! On the north side of the stair hall is a narrow, winding stair that goes up to the unfinished attic. A hallway leading west from the stair hall serves a common bathroom, two bedrooms, the back stairway and originally, the maid's quarters which occupied the west wing.
The full basement, mostly unfinished, contains a laundry, storage rooms, boiler room and a half bath. The only finished space is a large game room which is located directly under the living room. Basement foundation walls and continuous footings are concrete as are the interior post footings and the basement floor slab. Walls are wood stud with diagonal sheathing and brick veneer on the exterior. Floors are supported by wood joists, and steel beams under the living and dining rooms and at the east and west ends of the central wing. The hipped roofs are framed with wood rafters at a 4/12 pitch.
EXTERIOR
The front elevation is symmetrical around the north/south axis. Framing the central entrance is a shallow portico designed in the Roman Doric style with plain pilasters at the wall and fluted columns at the front that support a full entablature and pediment. The frieze has the characteristic Doric elements: metopes, triglyphs and guttae. Under the molded horizontal cornice are block modillions that align with the triglyphs. Modillions continue at the raking cornice. Rough textured stucco fills the tympanum. The paneled wood entry door is flanked by 10 pane sidelights and framed at the head with a flat brick arch. Above and to each side of the portico are paired double hung windows, eight over one light. Molded wood window surrounds are recessed in the masonry openings which feature flat brick arches with keystones and projecting brick
sills.
The second story of the central wing is defined by a projecting soldier course. A Doric entablature, larger in scale than the portico is repeated at the roof line. Above is the shallow hipped roof, originally covered with wood shingles - now clad with
composition shingles.East and west wings are nearly identical. Lower than the central wing, the hipped roofs terminate under the central block cornice. The wood entablature is simplified and scaled to the wings. A molded wood belt course and projecting brick header course divide the first and second floors. Openings at the first floor are round brick arches with keystones in recessed panels framed by brick pilasters with simple capitals. At the second floor, square openings are identical but the sash differs. West windows are double hung and similar to sash in the central wing. East windows are
paired casements with four lights over one which provide maximum ventilation to the sleeping porch. Arched openings at the west have double hung sash with a single lower light and a fan light in the upper sash. Sills are higher to accommodate kitchen counters. Originally the east archways were open to the floor with balustraded railings. While the balusters remain the openings have been filled with paired casement sash and fan light transoms in the arches. East and west ends of the wings are basically the same as the front elevations.The symmetry and simplicity of the front (north) elevation is absent at the south where asymmetry and complexity of form and detail prevailed. Most prominent is the entry/stairway bay that projects out from the central wing. Centered at the first floor are stairs and a doorway with a paneled door and sidelights similar to the front. Above, at the main stair landing, is a richly detailed Palladian window framed with brick pilasters.
At the spring line of the arched window is a wood architrave, frieze and cornice with a dentil course. Originally, the central fixed sash, arched transom and casement sidelights all had stained glass. Sidelights were changed to clear glass by a previous owner. The stained glass in the main window features a cable border, a central oval of clear glass with a cornucopia below and a festoon above. At the roof line of the bay the Doric entablature of the front elevation is continued.
East of the entry bay is the living room bow window with three double hung sash that match the front. Crowning the one story bay is a wood entablature and balustraded railing. To the west of the entry bay is a small, one story projecting bay at the center of the dining which features a high stained glass window and an entablature and balustraded railing that matches the details at the bow window. A similar one story projecting bay houses the breakfast room on the west. Between the breakfast room bay and the west wing is the one story back porch, originally enclosed with wood lattice and screening now clad with beveled wood siding, a corner pilaster and an entablature at the flat roof. A 12 light door is centered on the south and a fan light window faces west.
The brick, two car garage, located west of the house, continues many features of the house: hipped roof, multi-paned windows and the Doric entablature. A pergola which once connected the garage to the house was removed many years ago. In 1984, an ornamental wrought iron fence and gate was installed across the parking area between the house and garage. Except for the back porch enclosure, all exterior walls are faced with common red brick veneer which is laid in common bond. Brick chimneys are located near the east and west ends of the central wing. At the top, each has a corbelled course and a plain, sloped stucco cap. At the first floor line is a stuccoed belt course, bevelled at the top and painted red. Below the belt course the original smooth stucco on the basement walls has been overcoated with a rough stucco. Exterior wood doors are painted dark blue-green. Sash, belt courses, balustrades, entablatures and all other exterior wood
trim are painted in the original white color.
INTERIOR
Symmetrical organization of individual rooms and classical detailing continue the Colonial Revival on the interior. Typical walls and ceilings are smooth plaster. Magazine photographs from 1916 indicate that walls in the main first floor rooms were
covered with wallpaper. Except for mahogany in the dining room, woodwork at the first floor and stairway is oak, most with a natural varnish finish. Flooring in typical rooms is tongue and groove oak with a spaced pair of one inch wide walnut border strips. Oak baseboards are nine inches high with shoe and cap moldings. Ceilings are 10'-0" high at the first floor and 8'-10" at the second. Flooring in the small entrance vestibule is white hexagonal tile with a green square tile border. Walls are covered with painted grass cloth and topped with an oak crown molding. A window seat is located at the east wall. The door leading to the entry hall has a large, single pane of plate glass with a bevelled edge. Flanking the door are 10 light sidelights, with bevelled glass that match those on the exterior. Plaster walls in the stair hall are covered with wallpaper. The ceiling is plain plaster surrounded by an oak crown mold. Three sliding door openings lead to the living room, dining room and library. Doors are oak with a single panel and are surrounded by a molded oak casing and cornice molding at the head. Door trim is typical throughout the house. The stairway to the second floor begins in the southeast corner with oak treads and risers, shaped railing, turned balusters and a turned newel post at the first floor that receives the spiral rail terminal. Newel posts at the landing and second floor are square with cap moldings. Plaster with gold leaf wall sconces in the stair hall are original.The elegant wood detailing in the living room to the east has paint finishes. Door and window trim is typical. Beams, trimmed with classical moldings, divide the ceiling into three bays. Below the beam line is a crown molding with a dentil course. A slightly projecting bay, centered on the east wall contains the fireplace. The surround at the opening and the hearth is marble tile that replaced the original simulated plaster tiles. Classical woodwork completes the fireplace design: paneled pilasters with molded capitals, oval rosettes, a paneled frieze and a molded cornice with a dentil course at
the mantel. Original alabaster ceiling lights with bronze stems and plaster wall sconces are intact. An 18 light wood framed door leads to the east wing solarium. Walls are the original exposed brick. Panels below the infill windows have vertical tongue and groove, Vgroove boards. The baseboard and panel trim are plain fir boards, painted white. Original quarry tile flooring has been replaced with marble tile. At the northwest corner a pair of multi-light French doors open to the front porch. Oak paneling, moldings and cabinetry characterize the library. On the south and east walls, two tier cabinets have a lower unit with paneled "hopper" doors and an upper section of book shelving with glazed casement doors. Glazing is bevelled glass in lead cames with a small stained glass panel in each door. Other walls are panelled and align with the 5'-6" height of the shelving cabinets. Between the cabinet top and the continuous trim at the door and window heads is a band of wallpaper. Above the door trim is another wallpaper frieze and the crown molding that frames the plain plaster ceiling.
A pair of sliding doors with large stained glass panels separate the library from the dining room. The dining room is richly paneled and trimmed with several varieties of mahogany. Typical wall paneling is 7'-0" high with a band of wallpaper between the panel cap and the crown mold at the ceiling. The recessed bay centered on the south wall is fully paneled and features a bevelled clear and stained glass window in an Art Nouveau pattern. The plaster ceiling is divided into five bays by oak beams supported by brackets at the crown mold.
The west wing contains the kitchen which was remodeled in 1973 and again in 1990. Alterations included removal of the original pantry, new cabinets, lighting and appliances. At the southeast corner are doorways to the breakfast nook and to the
basement stairs. Doors lead to the back porch and the stairway to the second floor at the southwest corner.The width of the entry hall is maintained up the stairway to the second floor stair hall where the balustraded railing returns to the east wall. Plaster walls, ceilings and wood detailing is similar to the first floor except that woodwork is painted. The sitting room in
the master suite has a fireplace on the east wall directly above the living room fireplace. Classical detailing is also similar to the first floor: marble surround and hearth; the opening framed by wood pilasters with paired brackets supporting a plain
architrave and frieze; and a cornice with a dentil course at the mantel. Pewter wall sconces in the master bedroom and sitting room are original. Bathrooms have original ceramic tile floors, wainscoting and tub surrounds.
UTILITIES
The original gas-fired steam boiler in the basement is still in use and it supplies steam to original cast iron radiators throughout the house. Most wiring is original but some circuits have been upgraded to serve modern appliances. In addition to the light
fixtures noted above, original plaster sconces with gold leaf trim are intact in the entry hall, dining room and library. At the second floor there is an original pendant fixture in the southwest bedroom and original pewter sconces in the master bedroom suite and at the northwest bedroom. Newer light fixtures have been selected to be compatible with the historic character. A few light switches and bevelled brass switch and outlet plates remain.
SUMMARY OF ALTERATIONS
Casement windows were installed in the arched openings of the east wing
porch - prior to c. 1940.
Half bath at the south entrance vestibule -1939.
Enclosure of the back porch with wood siding.
Kitchen remodeling - 1973 and 1990.
Stained glass in the stair landing sidelights was replaced with clear glass.
Scored plaster fireplace surrounds were replaced with marble tile.
Marble tile installed on floors in the east wing solarium and the south vestibule.
Skylight was installed in the roof.
Composition roof shingles replaced wood shingles.
Pergola between house and garage was removed.
SHPO SUMMARY
The H. Russell Albee House meets National Register Criterion C as an outstanding and well preserved example of its stylistic type (Colonial Revival) in the body of work by Albert E. Doyle, a leading Portland architect of the early 20th Century. It is considered eligible also under Criterion B as the property most importantly associated with industrialist H. Russell Albee (1867-1950), a figure of outstanding importance in Portland civic history as the mayor who instituted the city's charter form of government. Albee's exemplary term as mayor (1913-1917)—notable also for promotion of public docks development and measures to expand the city park system—exactly coincided with Albee's first years as resident of the house. Upon retiring from his machinery business in 1939, Albee was invited by the Portland City Council to serve as advisor and assistant
to the Superintendent of Parks. He pursued his abiding interest in the Olmstead Brothers park plan for the city while holding the title of Parks Bureau supervisor of land acquisition and development—a position he held to the time of his death in 1950 at the age of 83.
THE COLONIAL REVIVAL AND A. E. DOYLE
By the early 1870s a reaction to the excesses of the Victorian Styles was becoming evident - the historic swing from Romantic to Classical was underway. At the same time, a new scholarly interest in America's Colonial history was evolving which was presented to popular culture at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. During the following summer, architects Charles Pollen McKim, William R. Mead and their young assistant, Stanford White went on a well publicized walking tour of New England where they sketched and photographed the houses of the country's English Colonial past. That interest in Colonial architecture would result in what is generally accepted as the seminal building of the Colonial Revival, the H.A.C. Taylor house in Newport, Rhode Island. Designed by McKim, Mead & White in 1882, the wood sided house displayed most of the elements associated with the 18th century Georgian and Federal houses located in the Newport area: symmetry of plan and front elevation of the main wing, hipped roof, prominent chimneys, classical entrance portico, entablatures and double-hung windows. McKim, Mead & White would become the foremost apostles of the Colonial Revival and their designs would have influence throughout the country. Other young architects that embraced America's architectural legacy included Arthur Little, Herbert Browne, and Robert Peabody and John Stearns who headed the Boston firm, Peabody & Stearns.In Portland, the Colonial Revival had a direct relationship with the east coast pioneers of the movement. William M. Whidden and Ion Lewis, both from New England, were classmates at the MIT School of Architecture. After graduation, Whidden spent four
years at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris while Lewis entered the office of Peabody & Stearns. Upon his return from Europe, Whidden joined McKim, Mead & White in New York. In 1882 Whidden was sent to Portland to complete the plans and oversee construction on Henry Villard's Portland Hotel, a project that had been designedly McKim. After Villard's financial collapse during the following year, Whidden returned to the east. New owners of the hotel invited him back to Portland in 1888 to again supervise the construction. This time he stayed and opened a permanent office. Ion Lewis visited his schoolmate during the following year and Whidden persuaded him to join him in partnership. That same year the firm designed the region's first Colonial Revival house, a smaller and simplified version of McKim, Mead & White's Taylor House for Judge Charles B. Bellinger. During the 1890s when the Queen Anne and other Victorian Styles prevailed, Whidden & Lewis was the only architectural firm designing houses in the Colonial Revival Style. The firm went on to introduce the Renaissance Revival to Portland and would design more than 30 Colonial Revival houses. Whidden & Lewis dominated the Portland architectural scene for two decades. Joining the firm in 1891 was 14 year old apprentice, Albert E. Doyle who would become the preeminent architect of the second two decades of the 20th century.
Albert E. Doyle was born in Santa Cruz, California in 1877, the oldest of four children of James and Mary Doyle. The family moved to Portland in c. 1881 where the senior Doyle continued his career as a building contractor. Young Albert learned the building trades in his father's shop and when he completed the eighth grade at Park School he entered the office of Whidden & Lewis.
During his tenure with Whidden & Lewis, Doyle undoubtedly worked on many of the firm's Colonial Revival houses - more than a dozen were designed before Doyle went east to school. In 1901, he enrolled at the Columbia University School of Architecture and entered the atelier of Donn Barber. Doyle also worked part-time in the office of Henry Bacon, an early employee of William Whidden, who would later design the Lincoln Memorial and become the AIA Gold Medalist. Doyle stayed at Columbia for two years, returning to Portland and the Whidden & Lewis office in 1903 where he worked on the design for the Forestry Building at the Lewis & Clark Exposition. Late in 1905 Doyle was awarded a traveling fellowship by the American School of Archaeology in Athens. In April the following year he sailed for England and spent the next six months traveling and sketching in France, Italy, Greece and Asia Minor. Doyle returned to Portland in November and in January, 1907 he opened his own office.Like most young architects, Doyle's earliest projects were remodelings, small commercial buildings and new houses. By mid-year he secured his first major commission, the 10 story Annex to the Meier & Frank store. In 1908, Doyle took on a partner, construction supervisor, William B. Patterson. Doyle & Patterson continued until 1911 when engineer, James G. Beach who had been with Doyle since 1908, became a partner. Beach left the firm in 1912 and Patterson retired in 1915. Doyle continued the office under his own name.
By the end of the Colonial Revival era in 1915, Doyle had designed 20 houses. Several were in the Arts & Crafts and Craftsman Styles but more than half were in the Colonial Revival mode. During his first two years of practice, he designed seven homes in the Colonial Revival style. Of particular note were the Louis Burke House, Herbert Nichols House and the Edward L. Harmon House, all National Register properties. The latter was one of three that would be fully clad with brick. In 1910, Doyle was commissioned to design a double house for brothers, Henry L. and Elliot R. Corbett. The Georgian design featured two identical wings with pedimented fronts that were connected by a wide porch articulated with a two story Corinthian collonade. Unfortunately, what would have been Portland's largest and most imposing house was
not built.
During the following year, H.R. Albee asked Doyle to design a house for him on his Laurelhurst property. Albee and Doyle had become friends several years earlier through their association with Westminster Presbyterian Church where both were
active in church affairs.Four more Colonial Revival houses would be designed by Doyle: a home for his partner, J.G. Beach; the Agustus Oberdorfer house on Portland Heights; and a "farm house" for Winslow B. Ayer in Carlton, Oregon. In 1914, Doyle prepared preliminary design sketches for a Colonial Revival house for his family on a hypothetical site on Portland Heights. It was not built. Doyle's fondness for Colonial design continued into the era of Period Styles. During the years 1919-1926, he designed eight more Colonial houses including the W.R. Bowles and Spencer Biddle homes and the L.R. Fields Ranch House on Bull Mountain. While Doyle and Whidden & Lewis were the foremost advocates of the Colonial Revival, other architect's mostly from the younger generation, were designing homes in the style. Among significant examples are the David Honeyman House (1908) by D.C. Lewis; the James E. Wheeler House (1910), John L. Bowman Residence (1912), and the Riverview Cemetery Gatekeeper's House (1914), all designed by Ellis F. Lawrence; David L. Williams', Lytle House (1912); the A.S. Nichols home (1913) next door to Doyle's Oberdorfer house by Edward T. Foulkes; and the O.B. Stubbs House
(1915) in Colonial Heights by architects Whitehouse & Fouilhoux.Doyle designed houses throughout his 20 year career. Between 1907 and 1926 the office designed 60 houses, more than a third in Colonial forms. But the Doyle firm was also involved with important commercial and institutional projects and with the design of several vacation cottages that would have a significant influence on the next generation of architects. By 1910, Doyle had the largest and most prestigious
architectural practice in Oregon. His clients included most of the city's leading developers, many of whom had previously used Whidden & Lewis as their architects. In addition to the Meier & Frank Store, Doyle's most prominent works included the
Selling Building, Central Library, Northwest Bank Building (now the American Bank Building), Reed College, Benson Hotel, U.S. National Bank Building, Public Service Building and the Pacific Building where he moved his office in 1926. Shortly before his untimely death in January, 1928 (age 50), Doyle reorganized the business so that the firm would continue under the direction of his associates, among whom was Pietro Belluschi who joined the firm in 1925 and had been elevated by Doyle to the position of chief designer in 1927. By 1934 Belluschi had bought out the other associates and in 1942 he changed the firm name to Pietro Belluschi, Architect.
H. RUSSELL ALBEE
In May, 1913, Portland belatedly embraced the precepts of the Progressive Era when it abandoned the ward system and adopted the commission form of government. One month later, H.R. Albee was elected to be the first mayor to lead the city under the new system.
Harry Russell Albee was born in Rockford Illinois on 8 September 1867, the only child of Harry C. and Nellie Albee. He spent his early years in Chicago and Detroit. At age 17, Albee moved to Bay City, Michigan and took a job in a hardware store. Later he became a clerk with the Michigan Central Railroad. By 1890, when he married June Lewis, Albee had joined Bay City Lumber Company, a business that he would soon own. In 1895 he sold the business and accepted a position with ST. Lockwood & Son, General Agents for the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company in Portland.Albee's father had moved to Portland in 1891 where he became a partner in a machinery business, Dana, Albee & Walker. Two years after H.R. arrived in Portland he bought out his father's partners and reorganized the firm as the H.C. Albee Co. with himself as president and his father as secretary and manager of day to day operations.
Albee, a liberal Democrat, first entered politics in 1903 when he won a seat on the Portland City Council. At the end of his term two years later, he ran for mayor but lost to Harry Lane. In 1910, Albee was elected to the Oregon State Senate where he served until 1913. That year he again ran for mayor - this time he was successful. The years immediately following the 1905 Lewis & Clark Exposition were the period of Portland's most rapid growth in both population and investment. This growth increasingly stressed the capacity of the city's part-time mayor and city council to deal with the emerging urban problems. Progressive citizens were calling for changes in government. Oregon Journal publisher, C.S. Jackson, formed a committee of leading citizens whose goal was to establish a bureau of municipal research for Portland. As a first step they contracted with the highly respected New York Bureau of Municipal Research to perform a survey and evaluation of Portland's governmental organization and business methods. Their report, which was published shortly before the election
on a new city charter, was extremely critical of all aspects of city government. The report also became a stimulus for the supporters of the new city charter which would abolish ward representation and all city boards and would establish a full time mayor and city council who would be both legislators and administrators of city bureaus. The mayor and council would be equals except that the mayor would make the bureau assignments.
Political division on the charter crossed party lines and the usual alliances. "White collar" democrats led by C.E.S. Wood and H.R. Albee were active proponents while the blue collar Democratic Labor Press was opposed. The State's leading suffragist, Abigail Scott Duniway, strongly opposed the measure that had been drafted by an all male charter commission. Conservative Republicans and the Oregonian were opposed while liberal republicans like W.B. Ayer and William M. Ladd joined Journal publisher Jackson in strong support. The ballot on 3 May 1913 was very close with the new charter passing by a mere 722 votes. The same coalitions that were for and against the new charter were maintained in the mayoral election held a month later. Charter opponents backed incumbent mayor, A.G. Rushlight while the supporters favored Albee. Albee won handily with 58% of the vote.
Implementing and administering a new form of government was no small task. There was a scramble for the many new jobs that were created in the charter and the inertia of the old bureaucracy proved to be a substantial hindrance to the progress promised by the new government. The new organization and new programs instituted by Albee ruffled many feathers. A year and a half after the mayoral election Albee's political foes organized a recall drive against the mayor and two councilmen. The ostensible reason was his alleged conflict of interest. Albee refused to sever his relationship with the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. where he had been General Agent since 1907. However, most observers judged the motives to be pure politics with his opponents trying to take advantage of the dissatisfaction that resulted from transition to the new charter. The recall was defeated by a 2 to 1 margin.In addition to overseeing the reorganization of the city, Albee's administration was active in several progressive efforts: The development of public docks which included
acquisition of Swan Island and Mock's Bottom on the Willamette River; selecting a site, developing plans and construction of the Civic Auditorium which was completed in 1917, Albee's last year as mayor; and strongly supporting Park Superintendent, E.T. Mische and his efforts to implement the Bennett Plan and expand the city's park system. Albee's interest and efforts in park development would continue for the rest of his life.
Historian, E. Kimbark MacColl ranked Albee among the best of the 37 mayors who had served the city since incorporation in 1851. "In 65 years (before 1916) Portland had only four public spirited mayors who placed the peoples welfare foremost: Henry Failing, William S. Mason, Harry Lane and H. Russell Albee." 1 - Albee, who did not seek reelection in 1917, returned full time to his insurance business. In 1939, after his retirement from business, Albee returned to public service when the City Council invited him to accept the temporary post of advisor and assistant to the Superintendent of Parks, a position that was established in connection with a new park development program. The position was made permanent in 1940 and Albee was given the title of Supervisor of Land Acquisition and Development for the Bureau of Parks. He continued in that position until his death at age 83, on 31 December 1950.
OWNERSHIP HiSTORY
1912-1918 H. Russell Albee
1918- 1951 J. P. Brix
1951 - 1959 Anthony Radmilovich
1959 - 1973 Kenneth Jones
1973 - 1990 Viola Munger
1990 - Present Park Bailey
Considered a Colonial Revival, it was designed by Albert E. Doyle and built in 1912.Zillow site (FOR SALE as of this writing - 31 Aug 2012 - for a cool $1,499,000!) http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3360-SE-Ankeny-St-Portland-OR-97214/53900120_zpid/
Comments regarding the property for the NRHP (taken from HERE)
The H.R. Albee House, built in 1912, is located on a commanding site at the north edge of Laurelhurst Park.
Designed by prominent Portland architect, Albert E. Doyle, in the Colonial Revival Style, the symmetrical front faces north while the more open and asymmetrical south facade takes maximum advantage of Park views. Framed in wood with some steel supports, the two story house is clad with brick and topped with hipped roofs. The front elevation of the central block, which is flanked by set-back wings at the east and west, has an axial pedimented portico, paired double hung windows and a full Doric entablature at the roof. Wings feature arched openings, brick pilasters and a modest wood entablature. A central stairway bay with Palladian window and the bow window at the living room dominate the south elevation. Colonial
Revival elements are continued in the well preserved interior: Ballustraded stairway, wall paneling, paneled doors, beamed ceilings, cabinetry and fireplaces, all finished with classical detailing. The only significant exterior alteration was the installation of windows in the arched opening of the east porch wing. At the interior, only the kitchen
has had major changes. All other exterior and interior elements are essentially as originally constructed.
SETTING
The Albee House was among the earliest and grandest to be built in Laurelhurst, the new planned subdivision that was carved out of W.S. Ladd's Hazelfern Farm. Ladd, who had acquired the property in 1874 for five dollars an acre, sold the 462 acre parcel to the Laurelhurst Company in 1909 for two million dollars. The Company was headed by Seattle Developers, F.F. Mead and Paul C. Murphy and included several Portland investors. Gently rolling hills and tall fir trees characterized the beautiful site which was surrounded by other residential subdivisions, all in the typical grid pattern. The designers of Laurelhurst chose to develop the property in the "naturalistic" manner, the emerging land planning approach where streets followed the land contours and landscaping was a prominent design element. Nearly square in shape, the plat was
divided into quarters by two "boulevards", Glisan Street and 39th Avenue, both of which aligned with the city grid. At the intersection of these boulevards is a traffic circle (now Coe Circle) which for several years was the site of the Laurelhurst Company's sales office. A secondary east/west boulevard was installed at Burnside. At the edges of the tract, streets conformed to the surrounding grid, but within the site they curved and radiated, conforming to the natural terrain and reserving many native fir trees. In the grandiose language of the promotion literature:
"Nature has bestowed upon this beauty spot her choicest favors with marvelous prodigality..."
and
"Nature itself is responsible for designing Laurelhurst, for nature provided the stately firs and ideal contour of ground for the landscape architect to work his wonders."
The site plan included all of the amenities that were then considered important to the development of a middle class subdivision: paved streets, concrete curbs and sidewalks, underground utilities, street lights and street trees. Classically detailed stone pylons were built at the south and west boulevard entrances to the development and a 25 acre parcel at the southwest corner was set aside for a park. Two million dollars was spent on site development, an unheard of sum at the time. However, the investment brought a handsome return. By the end of 1912, two thousand lots had been sold and 500 homes constructed with many more to be built in the ensuing years. In 1913, the City of Portland bought the park land, then known as Ladd Park and subsequently renamed it Laurelhurst Park. Designer of the park was Portland's Park Superintendent E.T. Mische who would also design Peninsula and Terwilliger Parks. Mische, a protege' of Daniel Burnham, was a talented landscape architect who had been recommended to the City by John C. Olmstead, nationally prominent landscape architect and son of Frederick Law Olmstead. Mische's design for Laurelhurst Park was in the English naturalistic style, following the concept of Frederick Law Olmstead's Central Park in New York. Centered in the park is a three acre artificial lake in a
naturalistic form that is surrounded by grass covered rolling terrain, tall fir trees indigenous to the site, curving paths and groups of shrubbery that define a varied spatial experience. Mische's design is considered to be among the finest in the
region.
Overlooking this magnificent park was the house of H.R. Albee who had purchased his homesite in 1910. The original site, comprising eight lots, stretched 500 feet along a ridge parallel to the park and was bordered by Southeast Ankeny on the north and Southeast Ash on the west. (Ash Street was vacated in 1927 which allowed the Albee property to directly abut the park.) A.E. Doyle's linear design placed the 120 foot length of the house, pergola and garage along the ridge on the highest ground at the eastern portion of the site. This orientation and the layout of rooms maximized the views toward the park. (In the 1920s the westerly four lots were sold to Harry A. Green who commissioned Herman Brookman to design his house which is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.)The central front entry is basically on axis with Floral Street, the main approach to the property which runs north/south, perpendicular to Ankeny Street. A wide, slightly curving stairway flanked by brick walls leads up the sloping lawn to the porch which extends 50 feet across the front facade. A low brick wall, articulated with piers and capped with cast stone, surrounds the porch. At the west a curving driveway leads to a parking area and detached garage which was originally connected to the house by a pergola. To the south a narrow lawn area bordered by arbor vitae abuts the naturalistic plantings of the park. A few original trees remain: a large maple and
Japanese maple on the east and a cedar tree on the west near the garage. Several mature trees were lost in the 1962 Columbus Day storm.
PLAN AND STRUCTURE
The main entry to the house is through a small vestibule with a second door on the axis that leads to the large entry hall. With the grand stairway the entry extends to the full width of the house. The entry hall is the circulation hub for the entire house. To the east is the living room which also covers the width of the house and has a bow window at the south and paired windows on the north. Centered in the east wall is the fireplace. Also on the east is a glazed doorway that originally led to the east wing porch, now the enclosed solarium. At the south end of the entry hall under the stair landing is another vestibule with a doorway to the basement stairs, a small half bath (not original) and a rear porch and stairs that lead to the back yard. Wide sliding doors on the west side of the entry hall open to the dining room on the south and the library to the north. Adjacent to the dining room is the remodeled kitchen which occupies the west wing. A small breakfast room and back porch extend in projecting bays at the south. At the south wall of the kitchen is a stairway that leads to the basement and
second floor. The full width of the entry is maintained in the second floor stair hall. To the north is the master bedroom suite which includes a bedroom on the south overlooking the park, a sitting room to the north, closets and a bathroom to the west, and a sleeping porch in the east wing! On the north side of the stair hall is a narrow, winding stair that goes up to the unfinished attic. A hallway leading west from the stair hall serves a common bathroom, two bedrooms, the back stairway and originally, the maid's quarters which occupied the west wing.
The full basement, mostly unfinished, contains a laundry, storage rooms, boiler room and a half bath. The only finished space is a large game room which is located directly under the living room. Basement foundation walls and continuous footings are concrete as are the interior post footings and the basement floor slab. Walls are wood stud with diagonal sheathing and brick veneer on the exterior. Floors are supported by wood joists, and steel beams under the living and dining rooms and at the east and west ends of the central wing. The hipped roofs are framed with wood rafters at a 4/12 pitch.
EXTERIOR
The front elevation is symmetrical around the north/south axis. Framing the central entrance is a shallow portico designed in the Roman Doric style with plain pilasters at the wall and fluted columns at the front that support a full entablature and pediment. The frieze has the characteristic Doric elements: metopes, triglyphs and guttae. Under the molded horizontal cornice are block modillions that align with the triglyphs. Modillions continue at the raking cornice. Rough textured stucco fills the tympanum. The paneled wood entry door is flanked by 10 pane sidelights and framed at the head with a flat brick arch. Above and to each side of the portico are paired double hung windows, eight over one light. Molded wood window surrounds are recessed in the masonry openings which feature flat brick arches with keystones and projecting brick
sills.
The second story of the central wing is defined by a projecting soldier course. A Doric entablature, larger in scale than the portico is repeated at the roof line. Above is the shallow hipped roof, originally covered with wood shingles - now clad with
composition shingles.East and west wings are nearly identical. Lower than the central wing, the hipped roofs terminate under the central block cornice. The wood entablature is simplified and scaled to the wings. A molded wood belt course and projecting brick header course divide the first and second floors. Openings at the first floor are round brick arches with keystones in recessed panels framed by brick pilasters with simple capitals. At the second floor, square openings are identical but the sash differs. West windows are double hung and similar to sash in the central wing. East windows are
paired casements with four lights over one which provide maximum ventilation to the sleeping porch. Arched openings at the west have double hung sash with a single lower light and a fan light in the upper sash. Sills are higher to accommodate kitchen counters. Originally the east archways were open to the floor with balustraded railings. While the balusters remain the openings have been filled with paired casement sash and fan light transoms in the arches. East and west ends of the wings are basically the same as the front elevations.The symmetry and simplicity of the front (north) elevation is absent at the south where asymmetry and complexity of form and detail prevailed. Most prominent is the entry/stairway bay that projects out from the central wing. Centered at the first floor are stairs and a doorway with a paneled door and sidelights similar to the front. Above, at the main stair landing, is a richly detailed Palladian window framed with brick pilasters.
At the spring line of the arched window is a wood architrave, frieze and cornice with a dentil course. Originally, the central fixed sash, arched transom and casement sidelights all had stained glass. Sidelights were changed to clear glass by a previous owner. The stained glass in the main window features a cable border, a central oval of clear glass with a cornucopia below and a festoon above. At the roof line of the bay the Doric entablature of the front elevation is continued.
East of the entry bay is the living room bow window with three double hung sash that match the front. Crowning the one story bay is a wood entablature and balustraded railing. To the west of the entry bay is a small, one story projecting bay at the center of the dining which features a high stained glass window and an entablature and balustraded railing that matches the details at the bow window. A similar one story projecting bay houses the breakfast room on the west. Between the breakfast room bay and the west wing is the one story back porch, originally enclosed with wood lattice and screening now clad with beveled wood siding, a corner pilaster and an entablature at the flat roof. A 12 light door is centered on the south and a fan light window faces west.
The brick, two car garage, located west of the house, continues many features of the house: hipped roof, multi-paned windows and the Doric entablature. A pergola which once connected the garage to the house was removed many years ago. In 1984, an ornamental wrought iron fence and gate was installed across the parking area between the house and garage. Except for the back porch enclosure, all exterior walls are faced with common red brick veneer which is laid in common bond. Brick chimneys are located near the east and west ends of the central wing. At the top, each has a corbelled course and a plain, sloped stucco cap. At the first floor line is a stuccoed belt course, bevelled at the top and painted red. Below the belt course the original smooth stucco on the basement walls has been overcoated with a rough stucco. Exterior wood doors are painted dark blue-green. Sash, belt courses, balustrades, entablatures and all other exterior wood
trim are painted in the original white color.
INTERIOR
Symmetrical organization of individual rooms and classical detailing continue the Colonial Revival on the interior. Typical walls and ceilings are smooth plaster. Magazine photographs from 1916 indicate that walls in the main first floor rooms were
covered with wallpaper. Except for mahogany in the dining room, woodwork at the first floor and stairway is oak, most with a natural varnish finish. Flooring in typical rooms is tongue and groove oak with a spaced pair of one inch wide walnut border strips. Oak baseboards are nine inches high with shoe and cap moldings. Ceilings are 10'-0" high at the first floor and 8'-10" at the second. Flooring in the small entrance vestibule is white hexagonal tile with a green square tile border. Walls are covered with painted grass cloth and topped with an oak crown molding. A window seat is located at the east wall. The door leading to the entry hall has a large, single pane of plate glass with a bevelled edge. Flanking the door are 10 light sidelights, with bevelled glass that match those on the exterior. Plaster walls in the stair hall are covered with wallpaper. The ceiling is plain plaster surrounded by an oak crown mold. Three sliding door openings lead to the living room, dining room and library. Doors are oak with a single panel and are surrounded by a molded oak casing and cornice molding at the head. Door trim is typical throughout the house. The stairway to the second floor begins in the southeast corner with oak treads and risers, shaped railing, turned balusters and a turned newel post at the first floor that receives the spiral rail terminal. Newel posts at the landing and second floor are square with cap moldings. Plaster with gold leaf wall sconces in the stair hall are original.The elegant wood detailing in the living room to the east has paint finishes. Door and window trim is typical. Beams, trimmed with classical moldings, divide the ceiling into three bays. Below the beam line is a crown molding with a dentil course. A slightly projecting bay, centered on the east wall contains the fireplace. The surround at the opening and the hearth is marble tile that replaced the original simulated plaster tiles. Classical woodwork completes the fireplace design: paneled pilasters with molded capitals, oval rosettes, a paneled frieze and a molded cornice with a dentil course at
the mantel. Original alabaster ceiling lights with bronze stems and plaster wall sconces are intact. An 18 light wood framed door leads to the east wing solarium. Walls are the original exposed brick. Panels below the infill windows have vertical tongue and groove, Vgroove boards. The baseboard and panel trim are plain fir boards, painted white. Original quarry tile flooring has been replaced with marble tile. At the northwest corner a pair of multi-light French doors open to the front porch. Oak paneling, moldings and cabinetry characterize the library. On the south and east walls, two tier cabinets have a lower unit with paneled "hopper" doors and an upper section of book shelving with glazed casement doors. Glazing is bevelled glass in lead cames with a small stained glass panel in each door. Other walls are panelled and align with the 5'-6" height of the shelving cabinets. Between the cabinet top and the continuous trim at the door and window heads is a band of wallpaper. Above the door trim is another wallpaper frieze and the crown molding that frames the plain plaster ceiling.
A pair of sliding doors with large stained glass panels separate the library from the dining room. The dining room is richly paneled and trimmed with several varieties of mahogany. Typical wall paneling is 7'-0" high with a band of wallpaper between the panel cap and the crown mold at the ceiling. The recessed bay centered on the south wall is fully paneled and features a bevelled clear and stained glass window in an Art Nouveau pattern. The plaster ceiling is divided into five bays by oak beams supported by brackets at the crown mold.
The west wing contains the kitchen which was remodeled in 1973 and again in 1990. Alterations included removal of the original pantry, new cabinets, lighting and appliances. At the southeast corner are doorways to the breakfast nook and to the
basement stairs. Doors lead to the back porch and the stairway to the second floor at the southwest corner.The width of the entry hall is maintained up the stairway to the second floor stair hall where the balustraded railing returns to the east wall. Plaster walls, ceilings and wood detailing is similar to the first floor except that woodwork is painted. The sitting room in
the master suite has a fireplace on the east wall directly above the living room fireplace. Classical detailing is also similar to the first floor: marble surround and hearth; the opening framed by wood pilasters with paired brackets supporting a plain
architrave and frieze; and a cornice with a dentil course at the mantel. Pewter wall sconces in the master bedroom and sitting room are original. Bathrooms have original ceramic tile floors, wainscoting and tub surrounds.
UTILITIES
The original gas-fired steam boiler in the basement is still in use and it supplies steam to original cast iron radiators throughout the house. Most wiring is original but some circuits have been upgraded to serve modern appliances. In addition to the light
fixtures noted above, original plaster sconces with gold leaf trim are intact in the entry hall, dining room and library. At the second floor there is an original pendant fixture in the southwest bedroom and original pewter sconces in the master bedroom suite and at the northwest bedroom. Newer light fixtures have been selected to be compatible with the historic character. A few light switches and bevelled brass switch and outlet plates remain.
SUMMARY OF ALTERATIONS
Casement windows were installed in the arched openings of the east wing
porch - prior to c. 1940.
Half bath at the south entrance vestibule -1939.
Enclosure of the back porch with wood siding.
Kitchen remodeling - 1973 and 1990.
Stained glass in the stair landing sidelights was replaced with clear glass.
Scored plaster fireplace surrounds were replaced with marble tile.
Marble tile installed on floors in the east wing solarium and the south vestibule.
Skylight was installed in the roof.
Composition roof shingles replaced wood shingles.
Pergola between house and garage was removed.
SHPO SUMMARY
The H. Russell Albee House meets National Register Criterion C as an outstanding and well preserved example of its stylistic type (Colonial Revival) in the body of work by Albert E. Doyle, a leading Portland architect of the early 20th Century. It is considered eligible also under Criterion B as the property most importantly associated with industrialist H. Russell Albee (1867-1950), a figure of outstanding importance in Portland civic history as the mayor who instituted the city's charter form of government. Albee's exemplary term as mayor (1913-1917)—notable also for promotion of public docks development and measures to expand the city park system—exactly coincided with Albee's first years as resident of the house. Upon retiring from his machinery business in 1939, Albee was invited by the Portland City Council to serve as advisor and assistant
to the Superintendent of Parks. He pursued his abiding interest in the Olmstead Brothers park plan for the city while holding the title of Parks Bureau supervisor of land acquisition and development—a position he held to the time of his death in 1950 at the age of 83.
THE COLONIAL REVIVAL AND A. E. DOYLE
By the early 1870s a reaction to the excesses of the Victorian Styles was becoming evident - the historic swing from Romantic to Classical was underway. At the same time, a new scholarly interest in America's Colonial history was evolving which was presented to popular culture at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. During the following summer, architects Charles Pollen McKim, William R. Mead and their young assistant, Stanford White went on a well publicized walking tour of New England where they sketched and photographed the houses of the country's English Colonial past. That interest in Colonial architecture would result in what is generally accepted as the seminal building of the Colonial Revival, the H.A.C. Taylor house in Newport, Rhode Island. Designed by McKim, Mead & White in 1882, the wood sided house displayed most of the elements associated with the 18th century Georgian and Federal houses located in the Newport area: symmetry of plan and front elevation of the main wing, hipped roof, prominent chimneys, classical entrance portico, entablatures and double-hung windows. McKim, Mead & White would become the foremost apostles of the Colonial Revival and their designs would have influence throughout the country. Other young architects that embraced America's architectural legacy included Arthur Little, Herbert Browne, and Robert Peabody and John Stearns who headed the Boston firm, Peabody & Stearns.In Portland, the Colonial Revival had a direct relationship with the east coast pioneers of the movement. William M. Whidden and Ion Lewis, both from New England, were classmates at the MIT School of Architecture. After graduation, Whidden spent four
years at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris while Lewis entered the office of Peabody & Stearns. Upon his return from Europe, Whidden joined McKim, Mead & White in New York. In 1882 Whidden was sent to Portland to complete the plans and oversee construction on Henry Villard's Portland Hotel, a project that had been designedly McKim. After Villard's financial collapse during the following year, Whidden returned to the east. New owners of the hotel invited him back to Portland in 1888 to again supervise the construction. This time he stayed and opened a permanent office. Ion Lewis visited his schoolmate during the following year and Whidden persuaded him to join him in partnership. That same year the firm designed the region's first Colonial Revival house, a smaller and simplified version of McKim, Mead & White's Taylor House for Judge Charles B. Bellinger. During the 1890s when the Queen Anne and other Victorian Styles prevailed, Whidden & Lewis was the only architectural firm designing houses in the Colonial Revival Style. The firm went on to introduce the Renaissance Revival to Portland and would design more than 30 Colonial Revival houses. Whidden & Lewis dominated the Portland architectural scene for two decades. Joining the firm in 1891 was 14 year old apprentice, Albert E. Doyle who would become the preeminent architect of the second two decades of the 20th century.
Albert E. Doyle was born in Santa Cruz, California in 1877, the oldest of four children of James and Mary Doyle. The family moved to Portland in c. 1881 where the senior Doyle continued his career as a building contractor. Young Albert learned the building trades in his father's shop and when he completed the eighth grade at Park School he entered the office of Whidden & Lewis.
During his tenure with Whidden & Lewis, Doyle undoubtedly worked on many of the firm's Colonial Revival houses - more than a dozen were designed before Doyle went east to school. In 1901, he enrolled at the Columbia University School of Architecture and entered the atelier of Donn Barber. Doyle also worked part-time in the office of Henry Bacon, an early employee of William Whidden, who would later design the Lincoln Memorial and become the AIA Gold Medalist. Doyle stayed at Columbia for two years, returning to Portland and the Whidden & Lewis office in 1903 where he worked on the design for the Forestry Building at the Lewis & Clark Exposition. Late in 1905 Doyle was awarded a traveling fellowship by the American School of Archaeology in Athens. In April the following year he sailed for England and spent the next six months traveling and sketching in France, Italy, Greece and Asia Minor. Doyle returned to Portland in November and in January, 1907 he opened his own office.Like most young architects, Doyle's earliest projects were remodelings, small commercial buildings and new houses. By mid-year he secured his first major commission, the 10 story Annex to the Meier & Frank store. In 1908, Doyle took on a partner, construction supervisor, William B. Patterson. Doyle & Patterson continued until 1911 when engineer, James G. Beach who had been with Doyle since 1908, became a partner. Beach left the firm in 1912 and Patterson retired in 1915. Doyle continued the office under his own name.
By the end of the Colonial Revival era in 1915, Doyle had designed 20 houses. Several were in the Arts & Crafts and Craftsman Styles but more than half were in the Colonial Revival mode. During his first two years of practice, he designed seven homes in the Colonial Revival style. Of particular note were the Louis Burke House, Herbert Nichols House and the Edward L. Harmon House, all National Register properties. The latter was one of three that would be fully clad with brick. In 1910, Doyle was commissioned to design a double house for brothers, Henry L. and Elliot R. Corbett. The Georgian design featured two identical wings with pedimented fronts that were connected by a wide porch articulated with a two story Corinthian collonade. Unfortunately, what would have been Portland's largest and most imposing house was
not built.
During the following year, H.R. Albee asked Doyle to design a house for him on his Laurelhurst property. Albee and Doyle had become friends several years earlier through their association with Westminster Presbyterian Church where both were
active in church affairs.Four more Colonial Revival houses would be designed by Doyle: a home for his partner, J.G. Beach; the Agustus Oberdorfer house on Portland Heights; and a "farm house" for Winslow B. Ayer in Carlton, Oregon. In 1914, Doyle prepared preliminary design sketches for a Colonial Revival house for his family on a hypothetical site on Portland Heights. It was not built. Doyle's fondness for Colonial design continued into the era of Period Styles. During the years 1919-1926, he designed eight more Colonial houses including the W.R. Bowles and Spencer Biddle homes and the L.R. Fields Ranch House on Bull Mountain. While Doyle and Whidden & Lewis were the foremost advocates of the Colonial Revival, other architect's mostly from the younger generation, were designing homes in the style. Among significant examples are the David Honeyman House (1908) by D.C. Lewis; the James E. Wheeler House (1910), John L. Bowman Residence (1912), and the Riverview Cemetery Gatekeeper's House (1914), all designed by Ellis F. Lawrence; David L. Williams', Lytle House (1912); the A.S. Nichols home (1913) next door to Doyle's Oberdorfer house by Edward T. Foulkes; and the O.B. Stubbs House
(1915) in Colonial Heights by architects Whitehouse & Fouilhoux.Doyle designed houses throughout his 20 year career. Between 1907 and 1926 the office designed 60 houses, more than a third in Colonial forms. But the Doyle firm was also involved with important commercial and institutional projects and with the design of several vacation cottages that would have a significant influence on the next generation of architects. By 1910, Doyle had the largest and most prestigious
architectural practice in Oregon. His clients included most of the city's leading developers, many of whom had previously used Whidden & Lewis as their architects. In addition to the Meier & Frank Store, Doyle's most prominent works included the
Selling Building, Central Library, Northwest Bank Building (now the American Bank Building), Reed College, Benson Hotel, U.S. National Bank Building, Public Service Building and the Pacific Building where he moved his office in 1926. Shortly before his untimely death in January, 1928 (age 50), Doyle reorganized the business so that the firm would continue under the direction of his associates, among whom was Pietro Belluschi who joined the firm in 1925 and had been elevated by Doyle to the position of chief designer in 1927. By 1934 Belluschi had bought out the other associates and in 1942 he changed the firm name to Pietro Belluschi, Architect.
H. RUSSELL ALBEE
In May, 1913, Portland belatedly embraced the precepts of the Progressive Era when it abandoned the ward system and adopted the commission form of government. One month later, H.R. Albee was elected to be the first mayor to lead the city under the new system.
Harry Russell Albee was born in Rockford Illinois on 8 September 1867, the only child of Harry C. and Nellie Albee. He spent his early years in Chicago and Detroit. At age 17, Albee moved to Bay City, Michigan and took a job in a hardware store. Later he became a clerk with the Michigan Central Railroad. By 1890, when he married June Lewis, Albee had joined Bay City Lumber Company, a business that he would soon own. In 1895 he sold the business and accepted a position with ST. Lockwood & Son, General Agents for the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company in Portland.Albee's father had moved to Portland in 1891 where he became a partner in a machinery business, Dana, Albee & Walker. Two years after H.R. arrived in Portland he bought out his father's partners and reorganized the firm as the H.C. Albee Co. with himself as president and his father as secretary and manager of day to day operations.
Albee, a liberal Democrat, first entered politics in 1903 when he won a seat on the Portland City Council. At the end of his term two years later, he ran for mayor but lost to Harry Lane. In 1910, Albee was elected to the Oregon State Senate where he served until 1913. That year he again ran for mayor - this time he was successful. The years immediately following the 1905 Lewis & Clark Exposition were the period of Portland's most rapid growth in both population and investment. This growth increasingly stressed the capacity of the city's part-time mayor and city council to deal with the emerging urban problems. Progressive citizens were calling for changes in government. Oregon Journal publisher, C.S. Jackson, formed a committee of leading citizens whose goal was to establish a bureau of municipal research for Portland. As a first step they contracted with the highly respected New York Bureau of Municipal Research to perform a survey and evaluation of Portland's governmental organization and business methods. Their report, which was published shortly before the election
on a new city charter, was extremely critical of all aspects of city government. The report also became a stimulus for the supporters of the new city charter which would abolish ward representation and all city boards and would establish a full time mayor and city council who would be both legislators and administrators of city bureaus. The mayor and council would be equals except that the mayor would make the bureau assignments.
Political division on the charter crossed party lines and the usual alliances. "White collar" democrats led by C.E.S. Wood and H.R. Albee were active proponents while the blue collar Democratic Labor Press was opposed. The State's leading suffragist, Abigail Scott Duniway, strongly opposed the measure that had been drafted by an all male charter commission. Conservative Republicans and the Oregonian were opposed while liberal republicans like W.B. Ayer and William M. Ladd joined Journal publisher Jackson in strong support. The ballot on 3 May 1913 was very close with the new charter passing by a mere 722 votes. The same coalitions that were for and against the new charter were maintained in the mayoral election held a month later. Charter opponents backed incumbent mayor, A.G. Rushlight while the supporters favored Albee. Albee won handily with 58% of the vote.
Implementing and administering a new form of government was no small task. There was a scramble for the many new jobs that were created in the charter and the inertia of the old bureaucracy proved to be a substantial hindrance to the progress promised by the new government. The new organization and new programs instituted by Albee ruffled many feathers. A year and a half after the mayoral election Albee's political foes organized a recall drive against the mayor and two councilmen. The ostensible reason was his alleged conflict of interest. Albee refused to sever his relationship with the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. where he had been General Agent since 1907. However, most observers judged the motives to be pure politics with his opponents trying to take advantage of the dissatisfaction that resulted from transition to the new charter. The recall was defeated by a 2 to 1 margin.In addition to overseeing the reorganization of the city, Albee's administration was active in several progressive efforts: The development of public docks which included
acquisition of Swan Island and Mock's Bottom on the Willamette River; selecting a site, developing plans and construction of the Civic Auditorium which was completed in 1917, Albee's last year as mayor; and strongly supporting Park Superintendent, E.T. Mische and his efforts to implement the Bennett Plan and expand the city's park system. Albee's interest and efforts in park development would continue for the rest of his life.
Historian, E. Kimbark MacColl ranked Albee among the best of the 37 mayors who had served the city since incorporation in 1851. "In 65 years (before 1916) Portland had only four public spirited mayors who placed the peoples welfare foremost: Henry Failing, William S. Mason, Harry Lane and H. Russell Albee." 1 - Albee, who did not seek reelection in 1917, returned full time to his insurance business. In 1939, after his retirement from business, Albee returned to public service when the City Council invited him to accept the temporary post of advisor and assistant to the Superintendent of Parks, a position that was established in connection with a new park development program. The position was made permanent in 1940 and Albee was given the title of Supervisor of Land Acquisition and Development for the Bureau of Parks. He continued in that position until his death at age 83, on 31 December 1950.
OWNERSHIP HiSTORY
1912-1918 H. Russell Albee
1918- 1951 J. P. Brix
1951 - 1959 Anthony Radmilovich
1959 - 1973 Kenneth Jones
1973 - 1990 Viola Munger
1990 - Present Park Bailey