The Frank Silas Doernbecher House is a Tudor-Revival mansion located in Northeast

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, United States. It is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The house was built circa 1903 for Portland businessman Frank S. Doernbecher (1861–1921), who founded the Doernbecher Furniture Company in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

, and upon moving to

in 1900 established the Doernbecher Manufacturing Company. Doernbecher also made a $200,000 donation to build the

Doernbecher Children's Hospital Doernbecher Children's Hospital is an academic teaching children's hospital associated with Oregon Health & Science University located in Portland, Oregon. Established in 1926, it is the first full-service children's hospital in the Pacific North ...

in Portland.

Article Body

Frank Silas Doernbecher

Born in Kewaksum, Wisconsin in 1861, Frank Silas Doernbecher, born to Silas Doernbecher, a German political exile, spent his first 27 years learning about the furniture industry from his father. After moving to

, Doernbecher established the Doernbecher Furniture Company. In 1900, Doernbecher set his sights on a rapidly growing city along the Willamette River named

where he would take his business and become a leader in his industry. Frank Doernbecher died in 1921 at the age of 59 in Portland. As a final act of goodwill, he portioned off a quarter of his estate to be donated to the City of Portland to continue his work in growing the city after his death. His two children, Edward and Ada Doernbecher, decided to give the money to the University of Oregon Medical School on Marquam Hill (now

Oregon Health and Science University Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is a public research university focusing primarily on health sciences with a main campus, including two hospitals, in Portland, Oregon. The institution was founded in 1887 as the University of Oregon Medi ...

) to create the first dedicated children's hospital in Oregon. The Doernbecher Memorial Hospital for Children opened in 1926 and has been serving the children of Portland, Oregon, and the nation ever since.

Architecture

The Frank Silas Doernbecher House was listed on the

on March 14, 1978. The Tudor Revival mansion is located in the Irvington neighborhood in Portland, which is lined with maple trees has a park-like setting that was the custom during the 20th century in that area. The home is rectangular and was built with a front porch,

porte-cochère A porte-cochère (; ; ; ) is a doorway to a building or courtyard, "often very grand," through which vehicles can enter from the street or a covered porch-like structure at a main or secondary entrance to a building through which originally a ...

and several bays and projections. The walls are made of cedar shingles, and the gable ends are made with

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

. Other notable features include brick chimney stacks, leaded window panes, and a pointed window arch. The Doernbecher House is also known for its wood paneling and hand-carved decoration throughout. The house was registered in 1978 because of the significance of the entrepreneur who built it. It was occupied by the children and grandchildren of Frank Doernbecher until it was sold in 1976. it continues to be a private residence. The house has since had its utilities updated but maintains its architectural significance.Walter, Poida J
"NPGallery Asset Detail".
National Park Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, 1978.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doernbecher, Frank Silas, House 1903 establishments in Oregon Houses completed in 1903 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Portland, Oregon Buildings and structures in Irvington, Portland, Oregon Tudor Revival architecture in Portland, Oregon Portland Historic Landmarks

Article Body

Frank Silas Doernbecher

Architecture

See also

References

External links