Comments on: The Portland Hotel, 1897

By: Kirk J. Poole ("Since '62!")

Kirk J. Poole ("Since '62!") — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 21:01:32 +0000

Man, what we lost…

By: Jim

Jim — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:13:34 +0000

Leah,

This was the only interior shot I was able to find. However, unless your parent’s bed was situated in the kitchen, I doubt it helps much. Still it’s an interesting photo.

http://oregondigital.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/archpnw&CISOPTR=17971&CISOBOX=1&REC=2

By: Leah

Leah — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:45:59 +0000

Are there pictures from inside this hotel? There is a family story that my parents bed came from this hotel and I would love to see a picture to see if they match.

By: Michaelw

Michaelw — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 00:19:58 +0000

The sad truth was that this hotel was “out of date” with other hotels in that it didn’t have bathrooms in each of the rooms and the ongoing cost was too much to make it a viable investment for rehabilitation. My great-grandfather was one of the owner’s at the time it was sold to Meier & Frank for their parking lot. I still have a set of china from the Hotels dining room…

By: Bart

Bart — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 21:11:39 +0000

One other structure that was torn down about the same time as the Portland Hotel that still makes me think “What were they thinking?” was the 1891 Loewenberg-Ledbetter Mansion. This was a fabulous house that rivaled the Pittock Mansion (It was owned by the Pittocks daughter for many years). It was actually left to the Oregon Historical Society by Mrs Ledbetter thinking that would insure its survival but they sold it to an investment company who demolished they house in 1960. This was not an average stick build house, it was a huge three story stone structure that was for many years the largest private residence in Portland.

By: Mike Slama

Mike Slama — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 05:19:30 +0000

I imagine if this hotel had been saved it would be to Portland what the Empress Hotel is to Victoria. Gee, we might not have had to build the Tram to OHSU to have ourselves a “Crown Jewel”

By: Chris Freeman

Chris Freeman — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 02:27:29 +0000

I think his picture has more trees and fewer bricks in it than Pioneer Courthouse Square. Just sayin.

By: Bart

Bart — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 20:18:46 +0000

This was only one of hundreds of fabulous victorian buildings that were demolished in Portland from the 1920′s until almost the present day. Many of those buidings were considered architecural gems but were still pulled down for parking lots and apartment buildings.

By: Paul Souders

Paul Souders — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 17:46:33 +0000

I like Pioneer Square OK I suppose, but often as I pass it I imagine this instead.

By: Chad

Chad — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 17:21:31 +0000

It boggles the mind that this building was demolished.