The Seward Hotel, also known as the Governor Hotel (east wing), is a historic

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

building in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, United States, that 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 ...

(NRHP). Built in 1909, it is one of two NRHP-listed buildings that make up the

Sentinel Hotel The Sentinel is a hotel in downtown Portland, downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. It is composed of two buildings, both of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The east building was completed in 1909 and w ...

, the other being the 1923-built Elks Temple. The Seward was renamed the Governor Hotel in 1931, closed in the mid-1980s, and reopened in 1992 joined with the former Elks building, and thereafter formed the east

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

of a two-building hotel.

History

The Seward Hotel was completed in 1909. Its glazed

terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...

exterior motif features a blending of

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

and Native American designs. Its interior architecture is in the arts and crafts style, popular during the period in which it was built. The hotel's architect, William C. Knighton, went on to become the first Oregon

State Architect Many national governments and states have a public official titled the state architect or government architect. The specific duties and areas of responsibility of state architects vary, but they generally involve responsibility for the design and ...

in 1912, and later designed the Oregon State Supreme Court Building. The hotel's original owner was G. Rosenblatt, but it was named for its proprietor, Walter M. Seward. It included a restaurant in the basement, the Seward Grill, which Mr. Seward also operated until selling it in 1921. The hotel was sold in 1930, and was renamed The Governor Hotel upon reopening in 1931."Ready for You Today: Portland's Newest Hotel". Advertisement for the Governor Hotel in ''The Morning Oregonian'', April 25, 1931, p. 3. Atiyeh Brothers, a rug and carpet retailer, occupied a large space in the ground floor of the Governor Hotel for 38 years, from 1935 to 1973. Alterations made in 1934–1935 when Atiyeh Brothers moved in included moving the lobby to nearer the center of the building. A

stained-glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

dome hung from the ceiling in the ground-floor corner area that was occupied after 1934 by the office of George and Aziz Atiyeh. When the business moved out in 1973, the approximately decorative fixture was dismantled and placed into storage by the Atiyehs. It was reacquired by the hotel in 1992 and restored for reinstallation. The building was added to the

in 1985, as the Seward Hotel, the name it carried between 1909 and 1931. By the mid-1980s, the Governor Hotel had fallen into disrepair and closed, but new owners were planning renovations. Work was under way in 1987, but later stalled because of financing problems. Renovation work eventually resumed, and was completed in spring 1992. The project included connecting the former Seward Hotel building with the neighboring Princeton Building, which had originally been constructed in 1923 as the Elks Temple and in 1978 had received its own listing on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1994,

McCormick & Schmick's McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants Inc. is an American seafood restaurant chain, formerly based in Portland, Oregon. As of December 2024, the company operates 20 locations & 1 catering service in the United States and 4 Canadian locations ...

opened Jake's Grill in space next to the hotel entrance and lobby, on 10th Avenue. In 2004, during another round of renovations, a new lobby was created inside the Princeton Building, and its entrance (on SW 11th Avenue) became the main entrance to the Governor Hotel. Jake's Grill then expanded into the former hotel lobby area, on SW 10th Avenue. The Governor Hotel was sold to Provenance Hotels^fr in 2012 and renovated, and in 2014 it was renamed the

References

External links

* (page refers only to the Governor's east wing, the former Seward Hotel) {{Portal bar, Architecture, National Register of Historic Places, Oregon 1909 establishments in Oregon Art Nouveau architecture in Oregon Art Nouveau hotels Hotel buildings completed in 1909 Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Portland, Oregon Buildings and structures in Southwest Portland, Oregon Portland Historic Landmarks

History

See also

References

External links