Winslow B. Ayer House
811 NW 19th Ave, Portland
Entered in NRHP: 22 Feb 1991
Classified of Jacobethan style, this home was designed by Widden & Lewis and built in 1904.
It is now used as a commercial building.
Comments from the NRHP application, found HERE. (sic)
SETTING
The Ayer Residence is located on the northwest corner of N.W. Nineteenth and N.W. Johnson Street in a mixed-use area. Sited on a large city lot, the residence spans lots 3-5 and portions of lot 7 and 8 in Block 270 in Couch's Addition to Portland, Oregon. Oriented towards N.W. Nineteenth street, the building is set back approximately 80 feet from the street. A brick wall capped with brick coping defines the perimeter of the lot. The wall on the west side intersects the side of the building as docs the eastern wall. The front and rear yard has been paved with asphalt to accommodate the building's commercial use. Small shrubs line the east edge of the property at the sidewalk as well as the exterior of a brick wall that encloses the front terrace. A tall hedge of evergreen shrubs lines the south edge of the property. A small concrete block storage shed is built into the west end of the north brick wall. The west edge is defined by a high brick wall. Entrances to the two parking areas are located off of N.W. Nineteenth and N.W. Johnson streets. A central concrete walkway in the center of the front portion of the lot, leads to the building from N.W. Nineteenth Street
EXTERIOR
The irregular shaped brick building is two and one half stories and has a fully finished basement and attic The overall dimensions of the building are approximately 62 feet (north-south) x 100 feet (east-west). Composition shingles cover the steeply pitched gable roofs; segments of the slate roof, installed in 1923, can be seen on the side wall of me some of the dormers. The main north-south gable roof is intersected by smaller side gables and gable dormers; all the front and side parapeted gables arc capped with cast stone coping. The side wings and rear additions generally have flat roofs and the rear dormers have hip roofs. Four tall ornately constructed brick chimneys with compounded Hues break the slopes of gable roof; a fifth compounded flue chimney caps the center of parapet on the main rear- facing gable. The chimneys are
turned at a diagonal and are capped with corbelling. A projecting wooden molding extends around the perimeter of the building creating a shallow cornice visually separating the roof line from the lower stories of the building.
The front facade is organized symmetrically with two front-facing gables crowning the original end bays and prominent parapeted dormer windows situated directly above the central recessed bay. Two additions flank the original building footprint; a one story side addition on the north and a two story brick addition on the south elevation. These extensions have been set back from the original front facade. There have been tliree main brick one story extensions to the back of the building, however the original rear-facing parapeted gables with prominent end chimney, and the two-story rear wings still arc dominant features of the rear facade. The masonry walls are layed in a Flemish bond pattern.The fenestration on the original residence is symmetrical throughout and the opening of the majority of the windows are fitted with wide, eight over eight, double hung sash windows. Deep classical cornice moldings cap the window openings. Some of the other windows are multi-pane casements such as the narrow windows flanking the two second story windows in the central bay of the front facade. Unusual oriel windows grace the north elevation of the building on the second story; the double windows form a "W" in plan which compliments the twin parapeted peaks of the gables. Fitted with multi-light one over one double hung windows, the oriels arc crowned with a deep wooden cornice molding and supported by brackets. The windows on the side additions duplicate the original window proportion, panes and trim. A few fixed pane windows with metal sash were installed on the rear elevation additions. The most distinctive feature of the formally organized front facade is the entrance portico in the recessed central bay. The wide panelled front door with the upper panes fitted with clear glass is flanked with
sidelights embellished with textured glass windows divided by leaded mullions in a geometric pattern. A scrolled broken pediment surmounts the frontispiece of the entrance door. A ornamental finial carved in a leaf pattern is in the center of the broken apex of the pediment. Fluted pilasters support the pediment and flank the sidelights. Large square tiles pave the entrance terrace accentuated by a marble border designed in a rectangular pattern.
A door to the basement is located on the rear elevation and is accessed by a steep flight of stairs which descend to the basement door. Two doors on the rear elevation lead to the first floor rooms and a flight of metal stairs on the back of the building lead to the roof deck and a fire door to the attic. The fire door was installed in one of the rear attic dormers. A brick foundation supports the building.
INTERIOR
Over the years the interior of the Ayer Residence has been converted to commercial office space; however the majority of the room configurations and detailing have remained intact. The interior of the residence is organized around a central hall with the former living room and library on the south side of the entrance hall and dining room, kitchen and terrace on the north side. The original staircase which ascended from the west end of the hall, has been removed. A new staircase ascends along the north side of the hall; a portion of what appears to be the original large turned balusters and square newel post have been used in the new staircase. Raised moldings in large octagonal shapes with smaller square shape in the center decorates the ceiling of the hall.
The door and molding details have been retained in the living room, library, and dining room. A beautiful wide cornice molding comprised of dentils finished at the lop with an egg and dart molding extends around of the living room walls. The east end of the room is illuminated by a large classically detailed tripartite, multi-pane window. Large Tuscan columns with a capital carved with an egg and dart pattern flanks the central window. A large panelled pocket door on the west elevation of the room opens to the former library.
The library's wall are covered with painted mahogany panels and arc finished with a deep cornice molding. A door on the south side opens to an addition and double doors on the west wall lead to the what was originally a back entrance; additional office space as been added at this location. The diamond shaped panes in the leaded glass double doors are capped with a leaded glass transom in the same pattern. The original dining room is finished with a high wainscotting capped with a deep cornice molding. A semi-circular multi-pane tripartite window on the north elevation illuminates the formal room. French
doors on the west elevation lead to the original loggia. The room was enclosed in the 1960s with classically detailed arched windows which were fitted in the original openings. Arched openings on the north have also been enclosed. The second floor contains five main room and several small bathrooms and the main and back stair halls. A band of casement windows embellished with patterned glass divided by muntin bars, spans the west wall of the second floor stair hall. A door'at the south end of the windows leads to the back service hall and stairs which ascend to the attic or original servant's quarters and descends to the first floor back hall. The stairs are lined with wainscotting.
The original bedrooms, currently used as offices, retain their original door and window detail and trim. The north wall of the northeast bedroom is embellished with a beautiful marble fireplace. Classical columns support the deep mantel shelf and the hearth and firebox surrounds arc covered with marble. The attic is divided into six rooms. Five of the rooms retain the original beaded board ceilings and walls. The central room on the east side of the attic was a wardrobe room and is fitted with built-in cabinets and shelves constructed of fir.
ALTERATION
The building has been used alternatively as offices spaces since, in 1939, Dr. Coffee applied for a variance to use a portion of the building as office space for his practice. The residence was further converted into office space during the Schnitzers occupancy. The south side wing and extensions were completed between 1966 to 1968. The interior staircase was also removed during mis time period. The north wing was added in 1973 and the rear extensions were added between 1976 and 1985. The alterations to the interior of the building involve modernization and specialized use as office space. Many of the changes are cosmetic in nature including alteration for fire code provisions, environmental systems and security. Generally the interior of the original room layouts and structure are intact. The current owner is in the process of rehabilitating the structure which includes some restoration of interior wall surfaces and finishes. The plumbing and electrical systems are in the process of being updated.
SUMMARY
The house designed for prominent Oregon lumberman and philanthropist Winslow B. Ayer by the firm of Whidden and Lewis
that was erected on NW Nineteenth Avenue at Johnson in the Nob Hill area of northwest Portland, Oregon in 1904 has long been considered the preeminent example of the Jacobethan style applied to singlefamily residential architecture in Oregon. Nineteenth Avenue was considered the most fashionable street in Nob Hill from the 1880s to 1930. The Ayer House has been designated a City of Portland Historical Landmark.
The substantial, formally-composed two-and-a-half-story house with its red brick exterior reflects the influence of English architects such as Richard Norman Shaw. It has symmetrical, front-projecting sections, parapet gables and tall brick chimneys detailed as clustered flues. Like the English Queen Anne style on which it was based, the house is a tour de force of "Free Classic" design incorporating late medieval forms with such Georgian motifs as round-arched gallery openings with archivolts and fanlights, a weighty, three-part, Classical entrance surround with broken and scrolled pediment, and the wide, multi-paned windows with their shelf or entablature surrounds.
In this, the second house designed by Whidden and Lewis for W. B. Ayer, the firm closely approximated the confident eclecticism notable in the work of leading New York architects McKim, Mead and White, with whom William Whidden had launched his career. The house is outstanding in the body of Whidden and Lewis work and meets National Register Criterion C despite the compatible but nonhistoric additions which, since 1967, have grown to envelop the house on side and rear elevations. The house has for many years been adapted for use as professional offices, and the interior has been modified as a consequence. But noteworthy finish work and features including Classical orders, a coffered ceiling, door and window surrounds with kneed architraves and chimneypieces, are intact. The primary interior spaces of the main block convey
adequately the building's historic character. Scarcely a block away, at the NW corner of Johnson Street at Eighteenth Avenue, stands the first house designed by Whidden and Lewis for Winslow Ayer. The Colonial Revival house of 1892 with
its double-bow front is reminiscent of contemporary work in theidiom in Boston by McKim, Mead and White, Peabody and Stearns and others. The Ayer-Shea House was listed in the National Register in 1982. The earlier house was occupied by Ayer twelve years, the later house far longer. Of W. B. Ayer f s prominence in Portland business and cultural life there can be no question. Ayer (1860-1935) arrived in Portland from New England in 1883, and following a brief association with the J. K. Gill Company, he founded the Portland Cordage Company. In 1895 he formed the amalgamated Eastern and Western Lumber Company, which he headed for many years as president. Ayer was civic minded and was a founder and president of the Library Association of Portland who is remembered for his establishing a pension system for library employees. He
was a member of the Oregon State Library Committee and a member of the Board of Regents of the State Normal School. A knowledgeable collector, he was an influential trustee of Portland Art Association. He is honored still for his bequests of a quarter of a million dollars each to the Portland Art Museum and the Multnomah County Library. It can be said that Ayer amassed his fortune while residing on Eighteenth Avenue and while living on Nineteenth he dispensed his gifts to the benefit of the city. The property, therefore, meets National Register Criterion B.
William Whidden and Ion Lewis made up Portland's foremost architectural firm from 1890 to 1910, though the firm continued in business past Whidden's retirement in 1920 until Lewis 1 death in 1933. Both men were educated at MIT and launched their careers on the East Coast—Whidden with the prestigious New York firm of McKim, Mead and White, and Lewis with Peabody and Stearns in Boston. Whidden also was trained in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. He was sent to Portland by his employers to oversee construction of Henry Villard's Portland Hotel in 1883. When the project was halted by the collapse of Villard's financial empire, Whidden returned to the East Coast. In 1888, the unfinished hotel project was rescued by a local syndicate, and Whidden was hired to finish the work. In 1889, Whidden was visited in Portland by his MIT classmate, Ion Lewis, who was persuaded to stay on and enter into the partnership which was established in 1890.
Whidden and Lewis were responsible for most of Portland's finest buildings of the turn-of-the-century period. It was they who introduced up-to-date architectural fashions to Portland. In addition to their residential work in the Colonial Revival Style,
the firm introduced in their Portland City Hall (1892-1895) theRenaissance Revival Style exemplified by McKim, Mead and White's New York City Houses for Henry Villard (1882-1886) and the Boston Public Library (1888-1892). As for the firm's residential work, Richard Marlitt, in his survey, Matters of Proportion, records a tradition that Ion Lewis did most of the designing. The source given by the author for this notion was William Whidden's son, Tom.
The Aycr's Residence, a finely Grafted Jacobcthan Style building constructed in 19()4, is significant under Criterion"b" for its association with Winslow B. Ayer, the prominent Oregon lumberman and philanthropes Aycr was an early promoter of Oregon's timber industry and the founder of the Eastern and Western Lumber Company which was organized in 1902 from two other companies Aycr's owned. His was one of the first lumber companies owning large tracts of land for their own harvesting purposes. During the 1920s and 1930s the company, under Aycr's presidency, began exporting timber by sea to counties all over the world. Ayer remained active in the business until his retirement in 1931.
Ayers was also remembered for his philanthropic pursuits. He was very involved in the Portand arts, education and cultural institutions and gave generously to such organizations as the Portland Library Association, the Civic Theater, the Portland Opera and the Portland Arts Association, of which he served as director for several years. It was because of his promotion and support for the arts, and generous financial contributions, that the new Portland Art Museum, designed by Pietro Bclluschi, was constructed. The Aycr Wing of the museum was named in his honor. W.B. Ayer was very active in the community and well respected both by his friends who included such prominent early Portlanders as Corbett, Failing, Edwards, Carey, and Van Duzcr; and he was well respected by the general public.
The property is also significant under Criterion "c" for its association with the prominent Portland firm of Whidden and Lewis. The Ayer Residence was designed in the Jacobethan Style (or the English Queen Anne Style), reminiscent of the country manor houses of the English landscape. No other residence built by the firm was designed in this style. This style was introduced by Norman Shaw who was very influential in the development of period style residential dwellings in England and America at the end of the 19th century. The building-displays many chacteristics of the style in its distinctive double parapeted steeply pitched gable roofs, tall multi-flucd brick chimneys, oriel and multi-pane and arched windows and brick construction. The prominent entrance frontispiece isclassically detailed as are the deep window cornices; Whidden and Lewis were known for introducing the Colonial Revival Style to Portland. The building was an early City Historic Landmark, officially listed by the Landmarks Commission in March 1970.
WINSLOW B. AVER
Winslow B. Ayer was born in Bangor, Maine on January 26, 1860 to Nathan and Lucy Wellington Ayer. Ayer completed his early education in Bangor and then continued his education at MIT, taking classes in mechanical engineering. At the age 21, Ayer moved to New York and secured a job as a clerk in a book-jobbing company. Through his work at the company, he came in contact with J.K. Gills of Portland, Oregon and establish a successful working relationship with the company. The lure of the west hastened young Ayer as the opening of the Northern Pacific railroad increased the popularity of the area.
In September 1883, Ayer arrived in Portland by train and shortly after secured temporary employment with his former customer, J.K. Gill. After working for Gill for a short period of time, Ayer purchased interest in the company and managed the store under the name of W.B. Ayer & Company. J.K. Gill retained his wholesale business under his name. After a few years in the book selling business, Ayer sold his interest in the business and in 1886 started his own small business; the manufacturing and selling of cord.* With the availability of inexpensive hemp in the accessible Philippines, Ayer saw the market for a cordage business in Portland/ The entrepreneurial venture proved very successful and after several years in the business, Ayer sold the Portland Cordage Company in 1892. He then went to Europe with his wife, Helen Thurston, for three years, returning to the United States in 1895.
Ayer again followed his entrepreneurial pursuits. After reluming from Europe, Ayer organized the Western Lumber Company with M.F. Henderson. The small company grew substantially within a few years and in 1899 Ayer founded another lumber business, the Eastern Lumber Company. By 1902, Ayer merged the two companies to form the Eastern and Western Lumber Company. After establishing the company's saw mills, Ayer began to buy land all over Oregon in a time when rapid development brought great demands for lumber. The company had very extensive holdings in Cowlitz, Washington, Clackamas and Lane counties in Oregon.
Within a short period of time the company had attained a capacity of over 12,000,000 board feet a year. 3 The lumber was shipped all over the United States by rail and later after the opening of the Panama Canal, Oregon lumber began to be exported by sea to various countries. Ships took lumber form the Eastern and Western Lumber Company to China, Siberia, Japan, the United Kingdom and South America/*
The company was also responsible for constructing small railroad spurs which would connect with the main lines. These lines would be used to transport the lumber to the firm's Portland mill which was located at the foot of N.W. Twenty-first Street. In 1924, the company began construction of a 21 mile long section of rail that would be used to help transport logs from the company's Clackamas County holding which would produce over one billion feet of timber. 5 Construction of railroad also kept the struggling Willamctte Valley Southern Railroad from declaring bankruptcy.
As the mill grew, the profits were rc-investcd in more modern equipment as well as purchasing additional stands of lumber. By the late 1920s and early 1930s the mill's capacity had increased to 100,000,000 board feet per year.6 By 1933 the mill employed approximately 900 people. The successful Eastern and Western Lumber Company was known throughout Oregon, a tribute to Ayer's keen sense of business and drive. He was a prime moving factor in the early development of Portland and Oregon foresaw the importance of the lumber industry in the area's growth. Ayer served as President of the company until November 1931 when he resigned aflcr 36 years in the business. His manager, Frank Ransom, took over as President. The company remained one of the largest lumber companies in Oregon until financial hardships and an exhaustion of its log resources forced the company out of businesses. The lumber company closed its doors in December 1945 after cutting "over three and a quarter billion feet of logs" in the life time of the business.^
In August 1917, Ayer was appointed by Herbert Hoover, a close personal friend, as the Food Administrator of Oregon. When he asked- Hoover upon his appointment why he chose a lumberman for the position of Food Administer, Hoover replied "Who in the thunder does know anything about about it? We have got to find out."° Ayer was very successful as a administer and upon his resignation in December 1918 a newspaper states of his services, there was a "wide approval of the people of the state for the high service he rendered during the arduous war period."9 Several times Ayer furnished funds to help supplement the food saving programs, giving more than $100,000 to the cause.
Aside from Ayer's professional success, he was very active in many civic, educational and charitable causes. He was President of the Library Association and served on the board for 25 years , trustee of the state library and also helped
secure operational funds for other libraries throughout the state. Serving on the newly appointed Consumer's league, he helped create the State Welfare Commission which looked into matters of inequitable pay and hours, especially where women and children were concerned.
His interest in the Portland Art Association as its director for many years, aided in the construction of the new Portland Art Museum designed by Pietro Belluschi. The Ayer Wing was named for Winslow Ayer for his generous contributions to the Art Museum. In memory of his wife, Ayer set up the Helen Thurston Ayer Memorial fund which was used to acquire paintings, sculptures and other works for the museum. The Aycrs were also substantial contributors to the Civic Theater, the Portland Opera and the Oregon Agricultural School. Ayer was one of the first board members of the Portland's Community Chest, serving as its director for six years, and organized the first First Red Cross Drive in Portland. He was a member of the Arlington and University clubs, the Waverly Golf Club and the Multnomah Athletic Club.
The large part of Ayer's estate went towards arts or charitable institutions. A large trust was established for the Portland Art Museum and the Portland Public Library after Ayer's death in March 1935. He also bequeathed GoodSamaritan Hospital and the Visiting Nurses a substantial gift upon his death. Winslow B. Ayer was an "honored leader of in Portland for more that a half a century" and "gave richly of himself to his fellow men, and passed alike honored and beloved." ^
Winslow Ayer married Helen F. Thurston in July 1884 in Bangor, Maine where they were early classmates. Helen Ayer was also known for her philanthropic and charitable contributions to the community. She was born in 1860 in Bangor, Maine and moved to Oregon after she got married. Active in Portland's social, cultural and church organizations, Helen Ayer devoted her life to various philanthropic endeavors, and intellectual and art pursuits. Helen died in October of 1927, preceding her husband in death.
THE AYER RESIDENCE
The Ayer residence constructed in 1904 by the Portland firm of Whidden and Lewis in the Jacobethan Style represents an unusual design for the firm. Known for their Colonial Revival Style residences, the majority of their residential work was designed in that style. Although the residence displays details of the Colonial Revival Style in its entrance frontispiece and and window details, the house is more reminiscent of the English country houses of the 16th and 17th century. The creation of the Jacobethan Style was great influenced by the English architect Norman Shaw who introduced and promoted the popularity of the style in England as well as the United States during the last decade of the 19lhccn tury.
At the end of the 19th century, American life entered 'an era of normalcy' which extended into the early decades of the 20th century.*' In architecture and art this was a return to historical precedents. Well known architectural firms all over the United States at the time such as Cram and Goodhue and McKim, Mead and White were designing buildings which were reproductions of earlier Colonial, Georgian or other historic building styles. Whidden and Lewis through their training on the east cost brought his concept to the west coast. They designed many of Portland's most elegant houses during their partnership as well as important public and commercial buildings.
Vaugh and McMath cite of the Ayer residence in A Century of Portland Architecture. "No other building that Whidden and Lewis designed is more representative of the 'academicians' than the Aycr's sixteenth century English manor on the corner of N.W. 19th and Johnson Streets. Its purity of style is reminiscent of Jacobean or Queen Anne country houses built in England by Norman Shaw."12 The building's dominant twin peaked parapeted gables, formal facade, brick construction, multi-pane windows and unusual double oriel window on the north facade, prominent muti-fluted chimneys, arched openings are all characteristic of the style. Nineteenth Street was one of early Portland's most elegant sections. Estates in a variety of styles from the late 19th century and early 20th century originally lined the street. Richard Marlitt in Nineteenth Street speaks of the grandeur of the Ayer residence, "It ranked among the finest houses of the city at the time and was an architectural gem that Whidden and Lewis could take great pride in."^ The residence was decorated with beautiful furnishings and the
walls covered with art work which reflects the Ayer's strong connection to the early Portland art community. Ayerhad one of the best collections of French Impressionist art, some pieces of which form part of the Portland Art Museum's permanent collection.^ Ayer was a man of wealth and civic stature which was reflected in his Nineteenth Street residence.
Whidden and Lewis also designed the Ayer's first house which was located at in northwest Portland and located at 1808 NW Johnson Street. The residence is designed in the Colonial RevivaJ Style and was constructed in 1890. The residence has been remodeled into apartments and offices. The Ayers also had a country house near Carlton, Oregon which was designed by A.E. Doyle who they possibly met during his thirteen year apprenticeship with Whidden and Lewis. The country house and associated out buildings including a hay barn, dormitory and implements shed was designed in 1915-16 for the couple. ^ The country house is presently a working ranch.
After W.B. Ayer's death in 1935 the estate was sold to Dr. Robert Coffey. Shortly after Coffcy purchased the residence he converted a portion of the residence into office spaces. He also built a kitchen on the second floor. The Coffeys remained in the residence until the mid-to-late 1940s when it was purchased by another doctor, Dr. Ira A. Manville. The residence was purchased in 1966 by Arlcne and Harold Schnitzcr and used for their corporate office, HarschInvestment The current owner purchased the building from the Schnitzers in July, 1990.
WHIDDEN AND LEWIS
The firm of Whidden and Lewis was formed in 1889 by partners William Whidden and Ion Lewis and is credited as being the first official architectural office in the rapidly developing City of Portland. Both men were born in Boston and graduated from Boston Tech, now known as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Whidden was born in 1857 and after receiving his degree in architecture, spent four years in Paris studying European architecture. Whidden returned to the east coast in 1882 and secured a job with the well known New York based firm of McKim, Mead, and White. Ion Lewis, a native Bostonian, was born in Lynn, a suburb of Boston in 1853. After graduating from MIT about 1880, Lewis was hired by the prominent Boston firm of Pcabody and Stearns. Lewis remained with the firm until 1882 when he entered into partnership with Henry Paston Clark, establishing the firm of Clark and Lewis. The firm became well known for their shingle style buildings. William Whidden originally came to the west coast in 1882, when he accompanied his employer, Charles Pollen McKim to Portland to supervise the siting and building of the Portland Hotel. The early Oregon financier and entrepreneur, Henry Villard, commissioned the prominent cast coast firm of McKim, Mead and White to build railroad stations and hotels in Portland and Tacorna in anticipation of the railroad's extension. Alter preliminary plans for the hotel were begun, McKim left Whidden in Portland to supervise the construction of the hotel which.began in 1883. Financial disaster struck Villard and his empire, and by the end of 1883 construction was halted on the building.
Whidden returned to Boston after construction was halted and formed a partnership with William Chamberlin, a fellow MIT graduate and co-worker with the firm of McKim, Mead and White. In 1888, Whidden returned toPortland once again to supervise the construction of the Portland Hotel. He was a logical choice as McKim, Mead, and White had lost interest in the job. Several prominent Portlandcrs formed a syndicate with the intention of resuming the construction of the hotel which had rapidly become an eyesore to the city. The construction began again in the fall of 1888 and by the Spring of 1890, Portland touted the splendor of the beautiful new hotel, "The Portland." The success of the Portland Hotel precipitated finding a suitable partner to share in the growing responsibilities of his firm.
On a visit to Oregon in 1889, Whiddcn persuaded his college friend and co-worker to move to Portland and join in partnership with Whidden's fledgling business. Lewis accepted, and thus began the liaison which marked a change in Portland's architectural history; Portland had "come of age" as Whidden and Lewis brought with them the skill and knowledge of current trends in architectural styles. They were well trained in the Colonial Revival and the Shingle Styles; both fashionable building types at the end of the 19th century. The Colonial Revival Style became a hallmark of the Whidden and Lewis as it was for the firm's east coast mentors, McKim, Mead and White.
The Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876 sparked a new interest in Colonial architecture. The exposition focused on the growth and accomplishments of the American society and drew attention to the Georgian and Federal architectural styles of the Colonial period. After the exposition, McKim, Mead and While, toured the New England states to study Georgian and Adams Style buildings. ^" The firm derived a new style from their Colonial predecessor, the Colonial Revival Style. In 1886, McKim, Mead and White designed the first Colonial Revival Style residence on the east coast. The style was further popularized by the Columbia Exposition of 1893 which greatly influenced architecture and city planning in the United States. Many of the buildings in the exposition were classic in style and some reflected the Colonial Revival Style. Technological advances in the printing process and expansion of the transcontinental railroad perpetuated the style by making possible the wide dissemination of published materials. Architectural pattern books and periodicals included the new Colonial Revival Style among the latest trends and styles. These books were readily available throughout the United States by the last decade in the
1800s.
Because of the partners' knowledge of current architectural trends many wealthy Portlandcrs, including some members of the syndicate resurrecting the Portland Hotel, employed the firm for both commercial and residential buildings. The firm of Whiddcn and Lewis is credited with designing their first Colonial Revival Style residence in Oregon in 1891. The residence was built for Milton W. Smith, and marked the beginning a string of prominent Colonial Revival residence the firm designed in Portland. A year later in 1892, the firm was commissioned to design an important building; the Portland City Hall. The Renaissance Revival building is one of Whiddcn and Lewis' finest and still stands as a tribute to the firm in downtown Portland.
The success of the City Hall prompted other large commissions such as the Concord building in which Whiddcn and Lewis maintained their office for many years (1891), the Hamilton building (1893), the Corbctt building (1908), the Multnomah County Courthouse (1909-1913), the Imperial Hotel (1910), the original section of Good Samaritan Hospital, the Wilcox Building (1911) and numerous other office building and residences.As a partner in one of the most successful firms of the time, Ion Lewis was appointed Director of Architecture to the 1905 Lewis and Clarke Exposition. Lewis, along with his colleagues, was responsible for choosing the the Spanish Renaissance Style theme for the Fair. Whidden and Lewis were also responsible for designing many of the buildings on the Fair grounds including the Auditorium, Mining Building, Machinery, Electric and Transportation Building, the Oregon Building and the Forestry Building. A.E. Doyle at this time was just completing a twelve year apprenticeship with Whidden and Lewis and is credited with some of the designs for the Exposition. Doyle later
became one of Portland's leading architects, practicing from 1907 until his death in 1928.
Whidden and Lewis continued their practice for many years however after 1910 the firm's popularity began to dwindle. Whidden died in 1929 but Lewis continued the practice until his death in 1933. At that time, the firm was located in the Wilcox Building. Whiddcn married Alice Wygant, the great granddaughter of famed Orcgonian Dr. John McLoughlin. The couple has twin boys and lived above the river at Rivcra. Ion Lewis never married and lived in the Arlington Glub. The firm of Whidden and Lewis left a lasting mark on the skyline of downtown Portland as well as their numerous beautifully designed residential buildings.
* Oregonian. March 4, 1935.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid, January 24, 1932. It has been suggested that the figure of one million board feet
4 j,., is low and could be an order of magnitude off.
5 Ibid, December 16, 1945.
6 Ibid.
7 Ibid.
8 Oregon Journal, December 10, 1918.
9 Ibid.
10 Oregonian, March 5, 1935.
11 Vaughn and McMath, A century of Portland Architecture, (Oregon Historical Society, 1967), p. 115.
12 Ibid.
13 Richard Marlitt, Nineteenth Street, p.33.
14 Ibid.
15 George McMath interview, Portland, Oregon, August 1990.
16 Rosalind Clark, Architecture Oreeon Style (Portland: Professional Book Center, 1983), p. 113.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number Q Page i
BIBLIOGRAPHY
City of Portland Building Permits and Records.
Clark, Rosalind. Architecture Oregon Style. Portland: Professional Book Center, Inc.,
1983.
Gaston, Joseph. Portland. Oregon-Its History and Builders. Vol. II. Portland: SJ.
Clarke Publishing Company, 1911.
Gionet, Leonard. Interview by S. Donovan, August 1990. Portland, Oregon.
MacColl, Kimbark E. Growth of a Citv: Power and Politics in Portland. Oregon-1915 to
1950. Portland: Georgian Press, 1979.
Marlitt, Richard. Matters of Proportion. Portland: Oregon Historical Society, 1989.
Marlitt, Richard. Nineteenth Street. Portland: Oregon Historical Society, 1978.
McMath, George and Vaughn, Thomas. A Century of Portland Architecture. Portland:
Oregon Historical Society, 1967.
McMath, George. McMath-Hawkins-Dortinacq Architects. Interview, August 13, 1990.
Portland, Oregon.
Oregon Historical Society Photographic Collection, Portland, Oregon.
Oregon Journal. 3 October 1927; 17 October 1927; 3 Nov. 1935; 4 Mar. 1935; 5 Mar.
1935; 7 March 1935; 8 Mar. 1935.
Oregon Lung Association. Notable Pioneers in the History of Oregon. Oregon Lung
Association Board of Directors, 1983.
Oregonian. 19 August 1917; 7 Dec. 1918; 8 Dec. 1918; 11 Dec. 1918; 7 Nov. 1921; 1
April 1924;
Classified of Jacobethan style, this home was designed by Widden & Lewis and built in 1904.
It is now used as a commercial building.
Comments from the NRHP application, found HERE. (sic)
SETTING
The Ayer Residence is located on the northwest corner of N.W. Nineteenth and N.W. Johnson Street in a mixed-use area. Sited on a large city lot, the residence spans lots 3-5 and portions of lot 7 and 8 in Block 270 in Couch's Addition to Portland, Oregon. Oriented towards N.W. Nineteenth street, the building is set back approximately 80 feet from the street. A brick wall capped with brick coping defines the perimeter of the lot. The wall on the west side intersects the side of the building as docs the eastern wall. The front and rear yard has been paved with asphalt to accommodate the building's commercial use. Small shrubs line the east edge of the property at the sidewalk as well as the exterior of a brick wall that encloses the front terrace. A tall hedge of evergreen shrubs lines the south edge of the property. A small concrete block storage shed is built into the west end of the north brick wall. The west edge is defined by a high brick wall. Entrances to the two parking areas are located off of N.W. Nineteenth and N.W. Johnson streets. A central concrete walkway in the center of the front portion of the lot, leads to the building from N.W. Nineteenth Street
EXTERIOR
The irregular shaped brick building is two and one half stories and has a fully finished basement and attic The overall dimensions of the building are approximately 62 feet (north-south) x 100 feet (east-west). Composition shingles cover the steeply pitched gable roofs; segments of the slate roof, installed in 1923, can be seen on the side wall of me some of the dormers. The main north-south gable roof is intersected by smaller side gables and gable dormers; all the front and side parapeted gables arc capped with cast stone coping. The side wings and rear additions generally have flat roofs and the rear dormers have hip roofs. Four tall ornately constructed brick chimneys with compounded Hues break the slopes of gable roof; a fifth compounded flue chimney caps the center of parapet on the main rear- facing gable. The chimneys are
turned at a diagonal and are capped with corbelling. A projecting wooden molding extends around the perimeter of the building creating a shallow cornice visually separating the roof line from the lower stories of the building.
The front facade is organized symmetrically with two front-facing gables crowning the original end bays and prominent parapeted dormer windows situated directly above the central recessed bay. Two additions flank the original building footprint; a one story side addition on the north and a two story brick addition on the south elevation. These extensions have been set back from the original front facade. There have been tliree main brick one story extensions to the back of the building, however the original rear-facing parapeted gables with prominent end chimney, and the two-story rear wings still arc dominant features of the rear facade. The masonry walls are layed in a Flemish bond pattern.The fenestration on the original residence is symmetrical throughout and the opening of the majority of the windows are fitted with wide, eight over eight, double hung sash windows. Deep classical cornice moldings cap the window openings. Some of the other windows are multi-pane casements such as the narrow windows flanking the two second story windows in the central bay of the front facade. Unusual oriel windows grace the north elevation of the building on the second story; the double windows form a "W" in plan which compliments the twin parapeted peaks of the gables. Fitted with multi-light one over one double hung windows, the oriels arc crowned with a deep wooden cornice molding and supported by brackets. The windows on the side additions duplicate the original window proportion, panes and trim. A few fixed pane windows with metal sash were installed on the rear elevation additions. The most distinctive feature of the formally organized front facade is the entrance portico in the recessed central bay. The wide panelled front door with the upper panes fitted with clear glass is flanked with
sidelights embellished with textured glass windows divided by leaded mullions in a geometric pattern. A scrolled broken pediment surmounts the frontispiece of the entrance door. A ornamental finial carved in a leaf pattern is in the center of the broken apex of the pediment. Fluted pilasters support the pediment and flank the sidelights. Large square tiles pave the entrance terrace accentuated by a marble border designed in a rectangular pattern.
A door to the basement is located on the rear elevation and is accessed by a steep flight of stairs which descend to the basement door. Two doors on the rear elevation lead to the first floor rooms and a flight of metal stairs on the back of the building lead to the roof deck and a fire door to the attic. The fire door was installed in one of the rear attic dormers. A brick foundation supports the building.
INTERIOR
Over the years the interior of the Ayer Residence has been converted to commercial office space; however the majority of the room configurations and detailing have remained intact. The interior of the residence is organized around a central hall with the former living room and library on the south side of the entrance hall and dining room, kitchen and terrace on the north side. The original staircase which ascended from the west end of the hall, has been removed. A new staircase ascends along the north side of the hall; a portion of what appears to be the original large turned balusters and square newel post have been used in the new staircase. Raised moldings in large octagonal shapes with smaller square shape in the center decorates the ceiling of the hall.
The door and molding details have been retained in the living room, library, and dining room. A beautiful wide cornice molding comprised of dentils finished at the lop with an egg and dart molding extends around of the living room walls. The east end of the room is illuminated by a large classically detailed tripartite, multi-pane window. Large Tuscan columns with a capital carved with an egg and dart pattern flanks the central window. A large panelled pocket door on the west elevation of the room opens to the former library.
The library's wall are covered with painted mahogany panels and arc finished with a deep cornice molding. A door on the south side opens to an addition and double doors on the west wall lead to the what was originally a back entrance; additional office space as been added at this location. The diamond shaped panes in the leaded glass double doors are capped with a leaded glass transom in the same pattern. The original dining room is finished with a high wainscotting capped with a deep cornice molding. A semi-circular multi-pane tripartite window on the north elevation illuminates the formal room. French
doors on the west elevation lead to the original loggia. The room was enclosed in the 1960s with classically detailed arched windows which were fitted in the original openings. Arched openings on the north have also been enclosed. The second floor contains five main room and several small bathrooms and the main and back stair halls. A band of casement windows embellished with patterned glass divided by muntin bars, spans the west wall of the second floor stair hall. A door'at the south end of the windows leads to the back service hall and stairs which ascend to the attic or original servant's quarters and descends to the first floor back hall. The stairs are lined with wainscotting.
The original bedrooms, currently used as offices, retain their original door and window detail and trim. The north wall of the northeast bedroom is embellished with a beautiful marble fireplace. Classical columns support the deep mantel shelf and the hearth and firebox surrounds arc covered with marble. The attic is divided into six rooms. Five of the rooms retain the original beaded board ceilings and walls. The central room on the east side of the attic was a wardrobe room and is fitted with built-in cabinets and shelves constructed of fir.
ALTERATION
The building has been used alternatively as offices spaces since, in 1939, Dr. Coffee applied for a variance to use a portion of the building as office space for his practice. The residence was further converted into office space during the Schnitzers occupancy. The south side wing and extensions were completed between 1966 to 1968. The interior staircase was also removed during mis time period. The north wing was added in 1973 and the rear extensions were added between 1976 and 1985. The alterations to the interior of the building involve modernization and specialized use as office space. Many of the changes are cosmetic in nature including alteration for fire code provisions, environmental systems and security. Generally the interior of the original room layouts and structure are intact. The current owner is in the process of rehabilitating the structure which includes some restoration of interior wall surfaces and finishes. The plumbing and electrical systems are in the process of being updated.
SUMMARY
The house designed for prominent Oregon lumberman and philanthropist Winslow B. Ayer by the firm of Whidden and Lewis
that was erected on NW Nineteenth Avenue at Johnson in the Nob Hill area of northwest Portland, Oregon in 1904 has long been considered the preeminent example of the Jacobethan style applied to singlefamily residential architecture in Oregon. Nineteenth Avenue was considered the most fashionable street in Nob Hill from the 1880s to 1930. The Ayer House has been designated a City of Portland Historical Landmark.
The substantial, formally-composed two-and-a-half-story house with its red brick exterior reflects the influence of English architects such as Richard Norman Shaw. It has symmetrical, front-projecting sections, parapet gables and tall brick chimneys detailed as clustered flues. Like the English Queen Anne style on which it was based, the house is a tour de force of "Free Classic" design incorporating late medieval forms with such Georgian motifs as round-arched gallery openings with archivolts and fanlights, a weighty, three-part, Classical entrance surround with broken and scrolled pediment, and the wide, multi-paned windows with their shelf or entablature surrounds.
In this, the second house designed by Whidden and Lewis for W. B. Ayer, the firm closely approximated the confident eclecticism notable in the work of leading New York architects McKim, Mead and White, with whom William Whidden had launched his career. The house is outstanding in the body of Whidden and Lewis work and meets National Register Criterion C despite the compatible but nonhistoric additions which, since 1967, have grown to envelop the house on side and rear elevations. The house has for many years been adapted for use as professional offices, and the interior has been modified as a consequence. But noteworthy finish work and features including Classical orders, a coffered ceiling, door and window surrounds with kneed architraves and chimneypieces, are intact. The primary interior spaces of the main block convey
adequately the building's historic character. Scarcely a block away, at the NW corner of Johnson Street at Eighteenth Avenue, stands the first house designed by Whidden and Lewis for Winslow Ayer. The Colonial Revival house of 1892 with
its double-bow front is reminiscent of contemporary work in theidiom in Boston by McKim, Mead and White, Peabody and Stearns and others. The Ayer-Shea House was listed in the National Register in 1982. The earlier house was occupied by Ayer twelve years, the later house far longer. Of W. B. Ayer f s prominence in Portland business and cultural life there can be no question. Ayer (1860-1935) arrived in Portland from New England in 1883, and following a brief association with the J. K. Gill Company, he founded the Portland Cordage Company. In 1895 he formed the amalgamated Eastern and Western Lumber Company, which he headed for many years as president. Ayer was civic minded and was a founder and president of the Library Association of Portland who is remembered for his establishing a pension system for library employees. He
was a member of the Oregon State Library Committee and a member of the Board of Regents of the State Normal School. A knowledgeable collector, he was an influential trustee of Portland Art Association. He is honored still for his bequests of a quarter of a million dollars each to the Portland Art Museum and the Multnomah County Library. It can be said that Ayer amassed his fortune while residing on Eighteenth Avenue and while living on Nineteenth he dispensed his gifts to the benefit of the city. The property, therefore, meets National Register Criterion B.
William Whidden and Ion Lewis made up Portland's foremost architectural firm from 1890 to 1910, though the firm continued in business past Whidden's retirement in 1920 until Lewis 1 death in 1933. Both men were educated at MIT and launched their careers on the East Coast—Whidden with the prestigious New York firm of McKim, Mead and White, and Lewis with Peabody and Stearns in Boston. Whidden also was trained in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. He was sent to Portland by his employers to oversee construction of Henry Villard's Portland Hotel in 1883. When the project was halted by the collapse of Villard's financial empire, Whidden returned to the East Coast. In 1888, the unfinished hotel project was rescued by a local syndicate, and Whidden was hired to finish the work. In 1889, Whidden was visited in Portland by his MIT classmate, Ion Lewis, who was persuaded to stay on and enter into the partnership which was established in 1890.
Whidden and Lewis were responsible for most of Portland's finest buildings of the turn-of-the-century period. It was they who introduced up-to-date architectural fashions to Portland. In addition to their residential work in the Colonial Revival Style,
the firm introduced in their Portland City Hall (1892-1895) theRenaissance Revival Style exemplified by McKim, Mead and White's New York City Houses for Henry Villard (1882-1886) and the Boston Public Library (1888-1892). As for the firm's residential work, Richard Marlitt, in his survey, Matters of Proportion, records a tradition that Ion Lewis did most of the designing. The source given by the author for this notion was William Whidden's son, Tom.
The Aycr's Residence, a finely Grafted Jacobcthan Style building constructed in 19()4, is significant under Criterion"b" for its association with Winslow B. Ayer, the prominent Oregon lumberman and philanthropes Aycr was an early promoter of Oregon's timber industry and the founder of the Eastern and Western Lumber Company which was organized in 1902 from two other companies Aycr's owned. His was one of the first lumber companies owning large tracts of land for their own harvesting purposes. During the 1920s and 1930s the company, under Aycr's presidency, began exporting timber by sea to counties all over the world. Ayer remained active in the business until his retirement in 1931.
Ayers was also remembered for his philanthropic pursuits. He was very involved in the Portand arts, education and cultural institutions and gave generously to such organizations as the Portland Library Association, the Civic Theater, the Portland Opera and the Portland Arts Association, of which he served as director for several years. It was because of his promotion and support for the arts, and generous financial contributions, that the new Portland Art Museum, designed by Pietro Bclluschi, was constructed. The Aycr Wing of the museum was named in his honor. W.B. Ayer was very active in the community and well respected both by his friends who included such prominent early Portlanders as Corbett, Failing, Edwards, Carey, and Van Duzcr; and he was well respected by the general public.
The property is also significant under Criterion "c" for its association with the prominent Portland firm of Whidden and Lewis. The Ayer Residence was designed in the Jacobethan Style (or the English Queen Anne Style), reminiscent of the country manor houses of the English landscape. No other residence built by the firm was designed in this style. This style was introduced by Norman Shaw who was very influential in the development of period style residential dwellings in England and America at the end of the 19th century. The building-displays many chacteristics of the style in its distinctive double parapeted steeply pitched gable roofs, tall multi-flucd brick chimneys, oriel and multi-pane and arched windows and brick construction. The prominent entrance frontispiece isclassically detailed as are the deep window cornices; Whidden and Lewis were known for introducing the Colonial Revival Style to Portland. The building was an early City Historic Landmark, officially listed by the Landmarks Commission in March 1970.
WINSLOW B. AVER
Winslow B. Ayer was born in Bangor, Maine on January 26, 1860 to Nathan and Lucy Wellington Ayer. Ayer completed his early education in Bangor and then continued his education at MIT, taking classes in mechanical engineering. At the age 21, Ayer moved to New York and secured a job as a clerk in a book-jobbing company. Through his work at the company, he came in contact with J.K. Gills of Portland, Oregon and establish a successful working relationship with the company. The lure of the west hastened young Ayer as the opening of the Northern Pacific railroad increased the popularity of the area.
In September 1883, Ayer arrived in Portland by train and shortly after secured temporary employment with his former customer, J.K. Gill. After working for Gill for a short period of time, Ayer purchased interest in the company and managed the store under the name of W.B. Ayer & Company. J.K. Gill retained his wholesale business under his name. After a few years in the book selling business, Ayer sold his interest in the business and in 1886 started his own small business; the manufacturing and selling of cord.* With the availability of inexpensive hemp in the accessible Philippines, Ayer saw the market for a cordage business in Portland/ The entrepreneurial venture proved very successful and after several years in the business, Ayer sold the Portland Cordage Company in 1892. He then went to Europe with his wife, Helen Thurston, for three years, returning to the United States in 1895.
Ayer again followed his entrepreneurial pursuits. After reluming from Europe, Ayer organized the Western Lumber Company with M.F. Henderson. The small company grew substantially within a few years and in 1899 Ayer founded another lumber business, the Eastern Lumber Company. By 1902, Ayer merged the two companies to form the Eastern and Western Lumber Company. After establishing the company's saw mills, Ayer began to buy land all over Oregon in a time when rapid development brought great demands for lumber. The company had very extensive holdings in Cowlitz, Washington, Clackamas and Lane counties in Oregon.
Within a short period of time the company had attained a capacity of over 12,000,000 board feet a year. 3 The lumber was shipped all over the United States by rail and later after the opening of the Panama Canal, Oregon lumber began to be exported by sea to various countries. Ships took lumber form the Eastern and Western Lumber Company to China, Siberia, Japan, the United Kingdom and South America/*
The company was also responsible for constructing small railroad spurs which would connect with the main lines. These lines would be used to transport the lumber to the firm's Portland mill which was located at the foot of N.W. Twenty-first Street. In 1924, the company began construction of a 21 mile long section of rail that would be used to help transport logs from the company's Clackamas County holding which would produce over one billion feet of timber. 5 Construction of railroad also kept the struggling Willamctte Valley Southern Railroad from declaring bankruptcy.
As the mill grew, the profits were rc-investcd in more modern equipment as well as purchasing additional stands of lumber. By the late 1920s and early 1930s the mill's capacity had increased to 100,000,000 board feet per year.6 By 1933 the mill employed approximately 900 people. The successful Eastern and Western Lumber Company was known throughout Oregon, a tribute to Ayer's keen sense of business and drive. He was a prime moving factor in the early development of Portland and Oregon foresaw the importance of the lumber industry in the area's growth. Ayer served as President of the company until November 1931 when he resigned aflcr 36 years in the business. His manager, Frank Ransom, took over as President. The company remained one of the largest lumber companies in Oregon until financial hardships and an exhaustion of its log resources forced the company out of businesses. The lumber company closed its doors in December 1945 after cutting "over three and a quarter billion feet of logs" in the life time of the business.^
In August 1917, Ayer was appointed by Herbert Hoover, a close personal friend, as the Food Administrator of Oregon. When he asked- Hoover upon his appointment why he chose a lumberman for the position of Food Administer, Hoover replied "Who in the thunder does know anything about about it? We have got to find out."° Ayer was very successful as a administer and upon his resignation in December 1918 a newspaper states of his services, there was a "wide approval of the people of the state for the high service he rendered during the arduous war period."9 Several times Ayer furnished funds to help supplement the food saving programs, giving more than $100,000 to the cause.
Aside from Ayer's professional success, he was very active in many civic, educational and charitable causes. He was President of the Library Association and served on the board for 25 years , trustee of the state library and also helped
secure operational funds for other libraries throughout the state. Serving on the newly appointed Consumer's league, he helped create the State Welfare Commission which looked into matters of inequitable pay and hours, especially where women and children were concerned.
His interest in the Portland Art Association as its director for many years, aided in the construction of the new Portland Art Museum designed by Pietro Belluschi. The Ayer Wing was named for Winslow Ayer for his generous contributions to the Art Museum. In memory of his wife, Ayer set up the Helen Thurston Ayer Memorial fund which was used to acquire paintings, sculptures and other works for the museum. The Aycrs were also substantial contributors to the Civic Theater, the Portland Opera and the Oregon Agricultural School. Ayer was one of the first board members of the Portland's Community Chest, serving as its director for six years, and organized the first First Red Cross Drive in Portland. He was a member of the Arlington and University clubs, the Waverly Golf Club and the Multnomah Athletic Club.
The large part of Ayer's estate went towards arts or charitable institutions. A large trust was established for the Portland Art Museum and the Portland Public Library after Ayer's death in March 1935. He also bequeathed GoodSamaritan Hospital and the Visiting Nurses a substantial gift upon his death. Winslow B. Ayer was an "honored leader of in Portland for more that a half a century" and "gave richly of himself to his fellow men, and passed alike honored and beloved." ^
Winslow Ayer married Helen F. Thurston in July 1884 in Bangor, Maine where they were early classmates. Helen Ayer was also known for her philanthropic and charitable contributions to the community. She was born in 1860 in Bangor, Maine and moved to Oregon after she got married. Active in Portland's social, cultural and church organizations, Helen Ayer devoted her life to various philanthropic endeavors, and intellectual and art pursuits. Helen died in October of 1927, preceding her husband in death.
THE AYER RESIDENCE
The Ayer residence constructed in 1904 by the Portland firm of Whidden and Lewis in the Jacobethan Style represents an unusual design for the firm. Known for their Colonial Revival Style residences, the majority of their residential work was designed in that style. Although the residence displays details of the Colonial Revival Style in its entrance frontispiece and and window details, the house is more reminiscent of the English country houses of the 16th and 17th century. The creation of the Jacobethan Style was great influenced by the English architect Norman Shaw who introduced and promoted the popularity of the style in England as well as the United States during the last decade of the 19lhccn tury.
At the end of the 19th century, American life entered 'an era of normalcy' which extended into the early decades of the 20th century.*' In architecture and art this was a return to historical precedents. Well known architectural firms all over the United States at the time such as Cram and Goodhue and McKim, Mead and White were designing buildings which were reproductions of earlier Colonial, Georgian or other historic building styles. Whidden and Lewis through their training on the east cost brought his concept to the west coast. They designed many of Portland's most elegant houses during their partnership as well as important public and commercial buildings.
Vaugh and McMath cite of the Ayer residence in A Century of Portland Architecture. "No other building that Whidden and Lewis designed is more representative of the 'academicians' than the Aycr's sixteenth century English manor on the corner of N.W. 19th and Johnson Streets. Its purity of style is reminiscent of Jacobean or Queen Anne country houses built in England by Norman Shaw."12 The building's dominant twin peaked parapeted gables, formal facade, brick construction, multi-pane windows and unusual double oriel window on the north facade, prominent muti-fluted chimneys, arched openings are all characteristic of the style. Nineteenth Street was one of early Portland's most elegant sections. Estates in a variety of styles from the late 19th century and early 20th century originally lined the street. Richard Marlitt in Nineteenth Street speaks of the grandeur of the Ayer residence, "It ranked among the finest houses of the city at the time and was an architectural gem that Whidden and Lewis could take great pride in."^ The residence was decorated with beautiful furnishings and the
walls covered with art work which reflects the Ayer's strong connection to the early Portland art community. Ayerhad one of the best collections of French Impressionist art, some pieces of which form part of the Portland Art Museum's permanent collection.^ Ayer was a man of wealth and civic stature which was reflected in his Nineteenth Street residence.
Whidden and Lewis also designed the Ayer's first house which was located at in northwest Portland and located at 1808 NW Johnson Street. The residence is designed in the Colonial RevivaJ Style and was constructed in 1890. The residence has been remodeled into apartments and offices. The Ayers also had a country house near Carlton, Oregon which was designed by A.E. Doyle who they possibly met during his thirteen year apprenticeship with Whidden and Lewis. The country house and associated out buildings including a hay barn, dormitory and implements shed was designed in 1915-16 for the couple. ^ The country house is presently a working ranch.
After W.B. Ayer's death in 1935 the estate was sold to Dr. Robert Coffey. Shortly after Coffcy purchased the residence he converted a portion of the residence into office spaces. He also built a kitchen on the second floor. The Coffeys remained in the residence until the mid-to-late 1940s when it was purchased by another doctor, Dr. Ira A. Manville. The residence was purchased in 1966 by Arlcne and Harold Schnitzcr and used for their corporate office, HarschInvestment The current owner purchased the building from the Schnitzers in July, 1990.
WHIDDEN AND LEWIS
The firm of Whidden and Lewis was formed in 1889 by partners William Whidden and Ion Lewis and is credited as being the first official architectural office in the rapidly developing City of Portland. Both men were born in Boston and graduated from Boston Tech, now known as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Whidden was born in 1857 and after receiving his degree in architecture, spent four years in Paris studying European architecture. Whidden returned to the east coast in 1882 and secured a job with the well known New York based firm of McKim, Mead, and White. Ion Lewis, a native Bostonian, was born in Lynn, a suburb of Boston in 1853. After graduating from MIT about 1880, Lewis was hired by the prominent Boston firm of Pcabody and Stearns. Lewis remained with the firm until 1882 when he entered into partnership with Henry Paston Clark, establishing the firm of Clark and Lewis. The firm became well known for their shingle style buildings. William Whidden originally came to the west coast in 1882, when he accompanied his employer, Charles Pollen McKim to Portland to supervise the siting and building of the Portland Hotel. The early Oregon financier and entrepreneur, Henry Villard, commissioned the prominent cast coast firm of McKim, Mead and White to build railroad stations and hotels in Portland and Tacorna in anticipation of the railroad's extension. Alter preliminary plans for the hotel were begun, McKim left Whidden in Portland to supervise the construction of the hotel which.began in 1883. Financial disaster struck Villard and his empire, and by the end of 1883 construction was halted on the building.
Whidden returned to Boston after construction was halted and formed a partnership with William Chamberlin, a fellow MIT graduate and co-worker with the firm of McKim, Mead and White. In 1888, Whidden returned toPortland once again to supervise the construction of the Portland Hotel. He was a logical choice as McKim, Mead, and White had lost interest in the job. Several prominent Portlandcrs formed a syndicate with the intention of resuming the construction of the hotel which had rapidly become an eyesore to the city. The construction began again in the fall of 1888 and by the Spring of 1890, Portland touted the splendor of the beautiful new hotel, "The Portland." The success of the Portland Hotel precipitated finding a suitable partner to share in the growing responsibilities of his firm.
On a visit to Oregon in 1889, Whiddcn persuaded his college friend and co-worker to move to Portland and join in partnership with Whidden's fledgling business. Lewis accepted, and thus began the liaison which marked a change in Portland's architectural history; Portland had "come of age" as Whidden and Lewis brought with them the skill and knowledge of current trends in architectural styles. They were well trained in the Colonial Revival and the Shingle Styles; both fashionable building types at the end of the 19th century. The Colonial Revival Style became a hallmark of the Whidden and Lewis as it was for the firm's east coast mentors, McKim, Mead and White.
The Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876 sparked a new interest in Colonial architecture. The exposition focused on the growth and accomplishments of the American society and drew attention to the Georgian and Federal architectural styles of the Colonial period. After the exposition, McKim, Mead and While, toured the New England states to study Georgian and Adams Style buildings. ^" The firm derived a new style from their Colonial predecessor, the Colonial Revival Style. In 1886, McKim, Mead and White designed the first Colonial Revival Style residence on the east coast. The style was further popularized by the Columbia Exposition of 1893 which greatly influenced architecture and city planning in the United States. Many of the buildings in the exposition were classic in style and some reflected the Colonial Revival Style. Technological advances in the printing process and expansion of the transcontinental railroad perpetuated the style by making possible the wide dissemination of published materials. Architectural pattern books and periodicals included the new Colonial Revival Style among the latest trends and styles. These books were readily available throughout the United States by the last decade in the
1800s.
Because of the partners' knowledge of current architectural trends many wealthy Portlandcrs, including some members of the syndicate resurrecting the Portland Hotel, employed the firm for both commercial and residential buildings. The firm of Whiddcn and Lewis is credited with designing their first Colonial Revival Style residence in Oregon in 1891. The residence was built for Milton W. Smith, and marked the beginning a string of prominent Colonial Revival residence the firm designed in Portland. A year later in 1892, the firm was commissioned to design an important building; the Portland City Hall. The Renaissance Revival building is one of Whiddcn and Lewis' finest and still stands as a tribute to the firm in downtown Portland.
The success of the City Hall prompted other large commissions such as the Concord building in which Whiddcn and Lewis maintained their office for many years (1891), the Hamilton building (1893), the Corbctt building (1908), the Multnomah County Courthouse (1909-1913), the Imperial Hotel (1910), the original section of Good Samaritan Hospital, the Wilcox Building (1911) and numerous other office building and residences.As a partner in one of the most successful firms of the time, Ion Lewis was appointed Director of Architecture to the 1905 Lewis and Clarke Exposition. Lewis, along with his colleagues, was responsible for choosing the the Spanish Renaissance Style theme for the Fair. Whidden and Lewis were also responsible for designing many of the buildings on the Fair grounds including the Auditorium, Mining Building, Machinery, Electric and Transportation Building, the Oregon Building and the Forestry Building. A.E. Doyle at this time was just completing a twelve year apprenticeship with Whidden and Lewis and is credited with some of the designs for the Exposition. Doyle later
became one of Portland's leading architects, practicing from 1907 until his death in 1928.
Whidden and Lewis continued their practice for many years however after 1910 the firm's popularity began to dwindle. Whidden died in 1929 but Lewis continued the practice until his death in 1933. At that time, the firm was located in the Wilcox Building. Whiddcn married Alice Wygant, the great granddaughter of famed Orcgonian Dr. John McLoughlin. The couple has twin boys and lived above the river at Rivcra. Ion Lewis never married and lived in the Arlington Glub. The firm of Whidden and Lewis left a lasting mark on the skyline of downtown Portland as well as their numerous beautifully designed residential buildings.
* Oregonian. March 4, 1935.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid, January 24, 1932. It has been suggested that the figure of one million board feet
4 j,., is low and could be an order of magnitude off.
5 Ibid, December 16, 1945.
6 Ibid.
7 Ibid.
8 Oregon Journal, December 10, 1918.
9 Ibid.
10 Oregonian, March 5, 1935.
11 Vaughn and McMath, A century of Portland Architecture, (Oregon Historical Society, 1967), p. 115.
12 Ibid.
13 Richard Marlitt, Nineteenth Street, p.33.
14 Ibid.
15 George McMath interview, Portland, Oregon, August 1990.
16 Rosalind Clark, Architecture Oreeon Style (Portland: Professional Book Center, 1983), p. 113.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number Q Page i
BIBLIOGRAPHY
City of Portland Building Permits and Records.
Clark, Rosalind. Architecture Oregon Style. Portland: Professional Book Center, Inc.,
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Gaston, Joseph. Portland. Oregon-Its History and Builders. Vol. II. Portland: SJ.
Clarke Publishing Company, 1911.
Gionet, Leonard. Interview by S. Donovan, August 1990. Portland, Oregon.
MacColl, Kimbark E. Growth of a Citv: Power and Politics in Portland. Oregon-1915 to
1950. Portland: Georgian Press, 1979.
Marlitt, Richard. Matters of Proportion. Portland: Oregon Historical Society, 1989.
Marlitt, Richard. Nineteenth Street. Portland: Oregon Historical Society, 1978.
McMath, George and Vaughn, Thomas. A Century of Portland Architecture. Portland:
Oregon Historical Society, 1967.
McMath, George. McMath-Hawkins-Dortinacq Architects. Interview, August 13, 1990.
Portland, Oregon.
Oregon Historical Society Photographic Collection, Portland, Oregon.
Oregon Journal. 3 October 1927; 17 October 1927; 3 Nov. 1935; 4 Mar. 1935; 5 Mar.
1935; 7 March 1935; 8 Mar. 1935.
Oregon Lung Association. Notable Pioneers in the History of Oregon. Oregon Lung
Association Board of Directors, 1983.
Oregonian. 19 August 1917; 7 Dec. 1918; 8 Dec. 1918; 11 Dec. 1918; 7 Nov. 1921; 1
April 1924;