People have an architectural preference, from ornamented Victorian-era houses to glass-walled moderns, with a wide variety of other styles in between. In the Portland area, talented architects, designers and builders got to work early — the Craftsman was introduced in 1904 in Willamette Heights — and continue to make their mark.
Even the look of the original remote farmhouse, once surrounded by acres of land, has been adopted for suburban living with new homes borrowing classic characteristics of shiplap siding and the invented idea of interior barn doors. And long before modular homes were prefabricated in factories, people could order a kit home in the traditional American Foursquare style.
Neighborhoods are known for certain designs: Colonial Revival mansions are perched on lofty Southwest Vista Avenue, and English cottages and classic Cape Cods abound in Eastmoreland. Areas developed after WWII are dominated by the ever-present ranch house, with Hillsdale’s Wilson Park area known for its tracts of split-level ranches.
High-rise luxury condos rose in the Pearl District starting in the late 1990s, but a century before, a spacious, new form of multifamily buildings, called “apartment houses,” with classic features mimicking mansions showed up in Portland.
“The part of the city you want to live has direct bearing on the architectural style options,” said broker Jeff Weithman of Real Estate through Design/(W)here.
The city of Portland has a list of the almost 100 neighborhood associations along with a brief description of the housing amenities, from Alameda (”wonderful views along the ridge”) to Woodstock (”one of the city’s older neighborhoods, first platted in 1889″).
The Architectural Heritage Center organizes public programs and gallery exhibitions as well as volunteer-led tours that explore more than 30 distinct neighborhoods. Visit the nonprofit center’s programs page at visitahc.org to learn more.
Weithman’s clients mostly buy and sell modern and midcentury dwellings, but he has found home shoppers interested in every era of design seek layouts that support modern living. “I’ve seen fine examples in almost every style … tastefully reinvisioned by a modern architect or interior designer and renovated to suit current times,” he said. “They are out there. It’s just a matter of finding them.”
He recently listed two residences for sale with an architectural pedigree that have been updated while retaining handsome, functional original features:
A 1956 Northwest Regional house designed by architect Walter Gordon in Portland’s Southwest Hills and a 1988 iconic house with curved and glass walls by TVA Architects’ founder Robert (“Bob”) Thompson in Southwest Portland’s Arlington Heights.
Modern design has many forms. Here are two modern properties for sale:
A 1956 Northwest Regional house designed by architect Walter Gordon at 4520 S.W. Humphrey Court is for sale.
“Gordon’s generous use of wood finishes create an inescapable cozy, warm and calming atmosphere throughout,” said listing broker Jeff Weithman of Real Estate Through Design/(W)here.
The open concept design flows freely from the entry to the den, living, sun and dining rooms while connecting to nature through its thoughtfully placed windows, said Jeff Weithman of Real Estate Through Design/(W)here.
At 2,324 square feet, it lives primarily as a single level house.
The home maintains many of its original design details including exposed vaulted tongue-and-groove cedar ceilings, slate entry and hardwood floors.
The main level includes the living room, sunroom, dining room, kitchen with eating nook, two bedrooms, a den that can be reconverted into a third bedroom), two bathrooms and laundry.
A 1956 Northwest Regional style residence designed by architect Walter Gordon at 4520 S.W. Humphrey Court in Portland’s Southwest Hills is listed for sale by Jeff Weithman of Real Estate Through Design/(W)here.
Original casework and cabinetry were restored.
A 1956 Northwest Regional style residence designed by architect Walter Gordon at 4520 S.W. Humphrey Court in Portland’s Southwest Hills is listed for sale by Jeff Weithman of Real Estate Through Design/(W)here.
A 1956 Northwest Regional style residence designed by architect Walter Gordon at 4520 S.W. Humphrey Court in Portland’s Southwest Hills is listed for sale by Jeff Weithman of Real Estate Through Design/(W)here.
A 1956 Northwest Regional style residence designed by architect Walter Gordon at 4520 S.W. Humphrey Court in Portland’s Southwest Hills is listed for sale by Jeff Weithman of Real Estate Through Design/(W)here.
The original steel kitchen cabinetry was by St. Charles.
The kitchen was remodeled with new countertops and gourmet stainless-steel appliances.
A 1956 Northwest Regional style residence designed by architect Walter Gordon at 4520 S.W. Humphrey Court in Portland’s Southwest Hills is listed for sale by Jeff Weithman of Real Estate Through Design/(W)here.
The vintage kitchen and office nook cabinets are St. Charles steel and were the brand preferred by architects Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe.
A 1956 Northwest Regional style residence designed by architect Walter Gordon at 4520 S.W. Humphrey Court in Portland’s Southwest Hills is listed for sale by Jeff Weithman of Real Estate Through Design/(W)here.
A 1956 Northwest Regional style residence designed by architect Walter Gordon at 4520 S.W. Humphrey Court in Portland’s Southwest Hills is listed for sale by Jeff Weithman of Real Estate Through Design/(W)here.
A 1956 Northwest Regional style residence designed by architect Walter Gordon at 4520 S.W. Humphrey Court in Portland’s Southwest Hills is listed for sale by Jeff Weithman of Real Estate Through Design/(W)here.
A 1956 Northwest Regional style residence designed by architect Walter Gordon at 4520 S.W. Humphrey Court in Portland’s Southwest Hills is listed for sale by Jeff Weithman of Real Estate Through Design/(W)here.
A 1956 Northwest Regional style residence designed by architect Walter Gordon at 4520 S.W. Humphrey Court in Portland’s Southwest Hills is listed for sale by Jeff Weithman of Real Estate Through Design/(W)here.
A 1956 Northwest Regional style residence designed by architect Walter Gordon at 4520 S.W. Humphrey Court in Portland’s Southwest Hills is listed for sale by Jeff Weithman of Real Estate Through Design/(W)here.
A 1956 Northwest Regional style residence designed by architect Walter Gordon at 4520 S.W. Humphrey Court in Portland’s Southwest Hills is listed for sale by Jeff Weithman of Real Estate Through Design/(W)here.
The primary bedroom has a roman bath and all of its original tile, except for the modernized shower.
A 1956 Northwest Regional style residence designed by architect Walter Gordon at 4520 S.W. Humphrey Court in Portland’s Southwest Hills is listed for sale by Jeff Weithman of Real Estate Through Design/(W)here.
A 1956 Northwest Regional style residence designed by architect Walter Gordon at 4520 S.W. Humphrey Court in Portland’s Southwest Hills is listed for sale by Jeff Weithman of Real Estate Through Design/(W)here.
A 1956 Northwest Regional style residence designed by architect Walter Gordon at 4520 S.W. Humphrey Court in Portland’s Southwest Hills is listed for sale by Jeff Weithman of Real Estate Through Design/(W)here.
A 1956 Northwest Regional style residence designed by architect Walter Gordon at 4520 S.W. Humphrey Court in Portland’s Southwest Hills is listed for sale by Jeff Weithman of Real Estate Through Design/(W)here.
A 1956 Northwest Regional style residence is on a forested 0.42-acre lot with a Japanese garden.
Architect Walter Gordon designed more than 60 homes in the area and was a curator of art at three museums before joining the architectural offices of Pietro Belluschi, his mentor, in 1941.
There is a covered patio and intimate seating areas.
Originally envisioned by a master gardener, native and Asian species harmonize outside to create peaceful garden spaces.
A 1956 Northwest Regional style residence designed by architect Walter Gordon at 4520 S.W. Humphrey Court in Portland’s Southwest Hills is listed for sale by Jeff Weithman of Real Estate Through Design/(W)here.
A 1956 Northwest Regional style residence designed by architect Walter Gordon at 4520 S.W. Humphrey Court in Portland’s Southwest Hills is listed for sale by Jeff Weithman of Real Estate Through Design/(W)here.
A 1956 Northwest Regional style residence designed by architect Walter Gordon at 4520 S.W. Humphrey Court in Portland’s Southwest Hills is listed for sale by Jeff Weithman of Real Estate Through Design/(W)here.
The 1956 Northwest Regional residence designed by Gordon at 4520 S.W. Humphrey Court is for sale at $1,325,000. The well preserved, 2,324-square-foot house with vaulted wood ceilings, original cabinetry and a Roman bath rests on a forested, nearly half-acre lot.
“Unlike many of Gordon’s sizable and more opulent homes, this is an intimate, refreshing departure perfectly scaled for comfortable modern living,” said Weithman. “It has an open concept design that flows freely from the entry to the den, living, sun and dining rooms while connecting to nature through its thoughtfully placed windows.”
A 1988 modern house designed by Portland architect Robert (”Bob”) Thompson in Southwest Portland’s Arlington Heights is for sale.
The 3,727-square-foot house is sited in the middle of Washington Park’s Hoyt Arboretum Nature Preserve and next to the Wildwood Trail.
Two-story ceilings have iconic oculus skylights.
Thompson has designed of many of the most prominent buildings throughout Oregon and the Pacific Northwest and is the recipient of more than 45 awards for design excellence from the American Institute of Architects.
The pool courtyard, living room, dining room, kitchen, laundry and a bathroom are on the main floor of the three-level house.
Almost every room in the home has sizable windows facing either the forested arboretum in back or the pool courtyard in front.
“The home has … softly curved and quarter radius walls and architectural slotted reveals,” said Jeff Weithman of Real Estate Through Design/(W)here who listed the property with Marcia Weiss of (W)here Real Estate.
The front facade has swooping curves, straight lines and floating walls.
The approach to the home winds down a forested lane through the lush park to the small pocket neighborhood nestled inside.
“The home has … sweeping walls of glass block, tubular steel posts and railings, and dramatic walls of glass,” said Jeff Weithman of Real Estate Through Design/(W)here, who listed the property with Marcia Weiss of (W)here Real Estate.
Built in 1988, the home was commissioned concurrently during the early TVA work on the Nike World Campus, and has design sensibilities in common.
An exterior entry court has a two-story curved glass-block wall front by a 36-foot-long lap pool.
The Thompson-designed 1988 house with glass-block walls and oculus skylights at 3232 S.W. Upper Cascade Drive is “an icon of 1980s modern architecture,” said Weithman, who shares the listing with Marcia Weiss of (W)here Real Estate.
The asking price is $1,494,000.
“The home is sited in the middle of Washington Park’s Hoyt Arboretum nature preserve and right next to Portland’s beloved Wildwood Trail,” said Weithman. “This creates a fantastic juxtaposition of brilliant modern architecture immersed into nature.”
The house has 3,727 square feet of living space.
— Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072
jeastman@oregonian.com | @janeteastman
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