Lair Hill Walking Tour

LAIR HILL WALKING TOUR

NAME	ADDRESS	DATE	ARCHITECT
1. Children's Museum	3037 SW Second Ave.	1918
2. Neighborhood House	303 SW Second Ave.	1901	A.E. Doyle
3. Lair Hill Park
4. Art Center	2909 SW Second Ave.	1921	Folger Johnson
5. Kirschner Family Barn	240 SW Meade	1890
6. Corkesh Apartments	2734-40 SW Second Ave.	1890s
7. Kessler-Israel Synagogue	136 SW Meade	1888
8. Old Library	116 SW Meade	1913
9. Mayor Riley House	2737 SW First Ave.	1880s
10. Jermolosky Residences	2806 & 2818 SW First Ave.	1880s
11. Slim's Grocery	2823 SW First Ave.
12. Walsh Construction Company	3015 SW First Ave.
13. J.W. Mills & Associates	3025 SW First Ave.	1916
14. Buckman Apartments	3101 & 3105 SW First Ave.	1890s
15. Christian Fellowship Church	3314 SW First Ave.	1890	H.J. Hefty, A.E. Doyle
16. Residence	3205 SW Second Ave.

(For the map click here.)

START TOUR AT:

1. THE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM - 3037 SW SECOND AVENUE
The Children's Museum, a brick building, in the style Modified Georgian Revival, was originally constructed in 1918 as a dormitory for nurses working at the county hospital. Note the prominent brick quoining, gently arched windows with stone keystones, and the prominent dentils at the eave. In 1942, the State Architect's Office extensively remodeled it
to serve as the Youth Administration of the Federal Security Agency. Later, in 1949, the Parks Bureau created a Junior Museum in the building, and it still serves that function today—although it has been renamed the Children's Museum.

LOOK DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET

2. THE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE - 3030 SW SECOND AVENUE
This solid brick building was erected in 1901 as the new home for "Neighborhood House," -a service organization of the Portland chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women, which had been in existence since 1902. The recessed arched window surrounds, are vaguely Georgian. The terra-cotta anthemion antefixae, that project up from the eave, are Classical
Revival. The building as a whole cannot be identified as "a style," but borrows from the historic vocabulary, so it is termed Period Architecture. The building housed much of the social and cultural life of South Portland. It served all ethnic populations, and provided a host of functions—sewing school, language classes for newly arrived immigrants, kindergarten, dispensary, and a well-baby clinic. A pool and gym were added in the 1920's. War efforts were organized in the building during both World Wars; in 1943 3,500 Camp Adair soldiers were camped across the street in Lair Hill and Duniway Parks, and the Neighborhood House served as a USO Center. By the late 1970's, the National Council of Jewish Women faced some difficult decisions as owners of the building, which was by then badly in need of repairs. They listed the building on the National Register of Historic Places, and raised $100,000, partly through a grant from the State Office of Preservation. George McMath, a Portland architect whose grandfather, A. E. Doyle, orginally designed the building, supervised the rennovation
which was completed in 1982. It currently houses the YMCA day care center.

CONTINUE NORTH ON SECOND AVENUE

3. LAIR HILL PARK
This piece of land has its own history, apart from the neighborhood which surrounds it. It was owned briefly by William Lair Hill, a pioneer attorney, historian, newspaper editor, and the man responsible for codifying much of Oregon law. It is from this short term property owner that the park and neighborhood get their name. In 1880, Lair Hill sold the three and one-half acre site to Charles E. Smith, an industrialist who owned an iron foundary on the banks of the Willamette River. Smith's company
made much of the cast iron ornamentation which decorated the facades of Portland's commercial buildings. His family built two houses on this land—the first, a relatively modest farmhouse, and the second, an elegant mansion. The latter was designed by Justus Krumbein, a relative from Germany. The grounds surrounding the mansion were laid out and planted and the entire site enclosed with a cast iron fence. The Smith family certainly lived quite apart from their neighbors in the more modest
cottages just across Second Avenue. In 1909, the Smith family sold the house and grounds to the county, which set up the first county hospital in the parlors and bedrooms of the elegant house. The heavy use must have taken its toll, because when the county moved its hospital operation to new facilities on Marquam Hill in 1923, a wrecking permit was quickly taken out for the old Smith mansion. In 1927, the county sold the grounds to the city for $1, and it has served as a public park since then.

CONTINUE PAST THE PARK, NORTH ALONG SECOND AVENUE

As you walk past the park, notice the large sculpture uphill, at the west end of the park. The metal boulders, handiwork of sculptor Bruce West, bring to mind an earlier real rock grotto which once stood in the park and provided a shady place where older men gathered on hot summer days to play chess.

4. ART CENTER BUILDING - 2909 SW SECOND AVENUE
The white and brown stucco building on the corner of Second and Hooker was built in 1921 to serve as a branch of the county library for the growing South Portland community. The building, Italian Renaissance Revival, is one of seven Carnegie-funded branch libraries in Portland. It was designed by Folger Johnson, of Johnson & Wallwork, who designed four of the seven Portland Carnegie branches. The prominent arched windows, the proportions, and the use of the curved entrance flanked by columns are all typical of Italian Renaissance style. On the interior, a broken pediment appears below the circular window and Corinthian columns flank the wings, again Italian Renaissance in style. The building housed a collection of books in Yiddish, German, Polish, and Italian, as well as English before being converted to an art center by the Park Bureau in the early 1950's. The simple, open interior space was lovingly restored by Parks Bureau personnel after an arsonist's fire in 1977, and now children of all ages, including toddlers not yet out of diapers, attend art classes here. The splendid tree outside the door of the Art center is a copper beech, and diapers figure in its history, as well. This species of beech is native to Europe, and has been prized as an ornamental tree for centuries. It was probably planted by C.E. Smith's wife, who came from Germany to marry the industrialist in 1873. Hedwig Hansen Smith bore nine children, and family tradition has it that she would travel back to Germany to show off each new baby, and upon her return, carry back the seeds of her favorite trees and shrubs in her baby's diapers.

CONTINUE NORTH ALONG SECOND AVENUE TO THE CORNER Of SECOND AND MEADE

As you continue along Second, note the largely vacant block to your west. This is the largest of several parcels of land in the Lair Hill neighborhood which may someday see development. Because Lair Hill has been designated an Historic Conservation District, plans for new construction will come under scrutiny by a neighborhood committee and by the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission. This review is intended to insure that new construction be compatible with the existing character of the
neighborhood. This parcel, which occupies most of a square block, is zoned residential, and any structure built on it should complement the hundred-year old structures across Second Avenue.

5. KIRSCHNER FAMILY BARN
This building once stood near the corner of Third and Meade. Unfortunately, like many other buildings which once stood on this site, it was demolished. The remaining buildings within the Lair Hill conservation District are now protected by a demolition policy, which prohibits tearing them down until there is a review by the neighborhood's District Advisory Council
and the city's Landmarks Commission. Looking north and west, you may get some feel for the way the land falls away to the north and the raised road bed that is Barbur Boulevard at the end of Meade Street. Fifty years ago, this was the edge of a deep gully; a creek ran along its floor. A train connecting Portland with Newberg and McMinnville ran along an impressive wooden trestle spanning the ravine. The ravine, also known as Marquam Gulch, was the city dump for many years. It was filled in the 1930's; the upper part was filled and leveled by dozens of WPA workers to create the two levels of Duniway
Park. In 1976, the Metro YMCA was built at the edge of the park.

6. CORKISH APARTMENTS - 2734-2740 SW SECOND AVENUE
This Victorian-style building on the northeast corner of Second and Meade is one of many apartment buildings scattered among residences in SouthPortland. This block of flats (four-plex) was built around 1890 by John Corkish, an Irish Immigrant. It remained essentially unaltered and unattended until 1980, when the current owner embarked on a total rehabilitation, which subsequently earned an award from the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission. The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and tax incentives provided by federal and state law for buildings on this listing certainly contributed to the quality of this rennovation.

7. KESSER ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE - 136 SW MEADE
The building on the southwest corner of Second and Meade was erected by the Immanual Baptist State church in 1888. It represents Period Architecture. The crenelations at the top of the tower are Romanesque, the vestigal buttresses at the side, Gothic in origin. The Synagogue uses the original balcony level, now floored in, for its sanctuary, and the original early 20th century light fixtures are in place. Note in the windows that there is no figural art, as is common with Christian Churches. The Commandments speak against "graven images" and so no statues or portraits appear in synagogues.In 1912, the building was purchased by H. Horenstein, Morris Goldstein, and T.H. Goldstein in order to form the Kesser Israel Synagogue. Today it is the only orthodox synagogue in Oregon, and it continues to serve its own congregation as well as others in the Jewish Community as a place to gather for weddings and bar mitzvahs.

WALK EAST ON MEADE STREET

8. THE OLD LIBRARY - 116 SW MEADE
This was the first branch library to serve the South Portland area. It was built in 1913; the contractor was 0 Tillison who built it for a bid of $968, not including heating and plumbing. No architect is mentioned in the archives, so the contractor may have furnished the plans. It originally stood on the corner of First Avenue and Hooker Street on land leased from the School Board, the former site of the old Failing School. Very soon after it was built, it was outgrown and replaced by a newer structure. The building was moved in 1921 to its present site and has served as a residence ever since.

CONTINUE EAST ON MEADE TO THE CORNER OF FIRST AND MEADE

9. MAYOR RILEY HOUSE - 2737 SW FIRST AVENUE
This duplex was also moved onto its current site, but only very recently. This Victorian building was originally located five blocks to the south and was probably built in the 1880's. Note that the decoration is largely confined to the facade. It was owned for years by the family of Earl Riley. mayor of Portland during the World War II years. Riley's father was a fireman at Engine Company No,5, just around the block from his home. In 1907, six of the seven firemen working at PFD NO. 5 lived within
three blocks of the Engine House. As late as the 1940's, Mayor Riley's widowed mother still considered the firemen as part of her family and used to walk around the block to visit them daily. Her gait as she walked back from the firehouse was occasionally a bit unsteady, neighbors recall, and the mayor seems to have arranged for some friendly officers from his Police bureau to check on her regularly. By the 1970's, the Riley house was badly run down, and the owner decided to demolish it. Because of the protection offered under the Historic Conservation District Zoning, the neighborhood and the Landmarks Commission were able to delay demolition until arrangements could be made for the house to be moved. It was relocated on a bright spring day in 1979, causing the temporary removal of innumerable utility wires and general neighborhood rejoicing. Its renovation won its owners an award and in- cludes a solar water heating system, visible in part on the south-facing roof.

TURN RIGHT ON FIRST AVENUE AND CONTINUE SOUTH

10. JERMOLOSKY RESIDENCES - 2806 and 2818 SW FIRST AVENUE
These two fine Victorians, both built in the late 1880's, show some fine detailing, quite possibly the handiwork of a European craftsman recently come to this country. The north house is a good Builder's Victorian. In the south house, a more elaborate collection of Victorian details appears. Both houses are owned by one family, as they have been for several generations. The current owner remembers growing up here, with relatives living within a block of each other. For many of the people who grew
up in South Portland, there was this sense of community, if not from extended family, then from the connections of the synagogue, church, school or social organization.

11. SLIM'S GROCERY - 2823 SW FIRST AVENUE

This small grocery is probably the only remaining business of the dozens that once lined First Avenue when the trolley ran along this street and the neighborhood was less chopped up by highways and bypasses. It is an example of Early Portland Box. Note the generous proportions of the details. The building and business have been in the owner's family for more than seventy years. The arrangement with shop on the street level and living quarters above was typical in this area.

CONTINUE SOUTH ON FIRST AVENUE. CROSSING HOOKER AND PORTER STREETS

12. WALSH CONSTRUCTION COMPANY - 3015 SW FIRST AVENUE
Because the area along First has always been lined with businesses, this strip is zoned for commercial uses. Present economic conditions don't favor the kind of small-scale, neighborhood-oriented business typified by Slim's Grocery but rather the construction of office space. Over the past years, a number of new office buildings have been constructed in this area. Under the design review process set up by the Historic Conservation District ordinance, the community has had to consider the
design features that can make an office building a good neighbor to the small homes and businesses that give Lair Hill its character. The brick office building on the southwest corner of Porter and First Avenue is one of the more successful new commercial structures. Several other new office buildings are visible from this point, as well—however, not all
of them complement the neighborhood.

CONTINUE SOUTH ALONG FIRST AVENUE

13. J. W. MILLS AND ASSOCIATES - 3025 SW FIRST AVENUE
This one-story brick structure was once a car garage and a brass factory. It has been rennovated to serve as an office and shop.

CONTINUE SOUTH ALONG FIRST TO THE CORNER OF FIRST AND WOODS

14. BUCKMAN APARTMENTS - 3101 SW FIRST AVENUE
This is another "block of flats" which was built around 1890. It is a good example of high Victorian, festooned with detail. It was owned by the Buckman family from the time it was built until the 1930's. This building was one of the first in the neighborhood to be rennovated.

CONTINUE SOUTH ALONG FIRST AVENUE TO THE CORNER OF FIRST AND GIBBS

15. CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP CHURCH - 3314 SW FIRST AVENUE
The main part of this building was built in 1890 and is Carpenter Gothic. Note the board-and-batten siding and the arched windows with hood molds. The addition to the north is much later and very sensitively done.

The building was designed by H. J. Hefty, a Catholic living in the neighborhood, for the Fourth Presbyterian Church, a congregation that had been meeting Since 1887 in a planing mill office. Hefty's plans were carried out by Albert Doyle. The Fourth Presbyterian Church remained in the building until July 1957, when the building was purchased by the Union
Gospel Mission. Today, the building is used by the Christian Fellowship Church. Looking past the Church to the east, you can see Front Avenue and houses of the Corbett neighborhood. Residents in these two communities have Studied ways that the integrity of the original South Portland neighborhood might be restored. One ambitious solution involves closing Front
Avenue for the twenty blocks through the Corbett and Lair Hill neighborhoods and building new housing on the vacated highway right-of-way, since much of the traffic which once used Front Avenue now uses 1-5. This recommendation, one of several included in the "South Portland Circulation Study," has been temporarily shelved, but it represents an
important look at priorities in the urban setting and may eventually be reconsidered as inter-city housing becomes more desirable.

CROSS GIBBS STREET

The automobile repair shop on the corner of First and Gibbs and the warehouse on Second Avenue are holdovers from a time when small businesses were scattered among residences in South Portland. Zoning restrictions in newer neighborhoods have often meant that residential areas are uninterrupted and commercial and industrial uses concentrated in their
own enclaves. South Portland has always been a mixed use area, with cottage industries, small stores and shops, liveries and later garages alongside homes and apartment buildings. The neighborhood now faces the challenge of enocuraging the best aspects of this mix while working to prevent newer, large-scale commercial uses from overwhelming the residential units.
The large warehouse on Second Avenue, built in 1979, is headquarters for a second generation scrap and junk business. This kind of business was common among recent immigrants and is a real tradition in the neighborhood. The unusual appearance of the warehouse is the result of attempts to make a prefabricated industrial building of the 1970's compatible with the
architecture of the surrounding neighborhood.

CONTINUE ALONG GIBBS AND TURN RIGHT ON SECOND AVENUE

16. RESIDENCE - 3205 SW SECOND AVENUE
This house is an example of High Victorian. The addition of the stair to the second floor is well done. This is another house that faced demolition in the neighborhood but was moved to this site and through extensive rennovation achieved the fine appearance it bears today.

THIS CONCLUDES THE LAIR HILL WALKING TOUR. WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE TOUR.

Courtesy of Laura Campos