The rear corner view of Multnomah Athletic Club at SW 20th Avenue and SW Salmon Street, 1978.
City of Portland (OR) Archives, A2010-013.1354.
SW 20th Avenue, 1978
Vintage Portland
The rear corner view of Multnomah Athletic Club at SW 20th Avenue and SW Salmon Street, 1978.
City of Portland (OR) Archives, A2010-013.1354.
Vintage Portland 
Another of our architectural errors!
Our?
From the apparent simulated broken pediment, barrel vault, and square “columns,” it appears the architect was attempting to combine brutalist architecture with a post-modern nod.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brutalist_architecture
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodern_architecture
Personally, I don’t find it very appealing, but that’s just my opinion.
I was a member of MAC in the 40s and early 50s. I was on the swim team and our coach was a guy named Jack Popochenko. We used to go out on the balcony and watch the dog races in the stadium.
This building looks like it would have been in the movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still”.
I assume that’s the same building that’s there now. Did they simply re-skin it at some point and square off the curves?
A strong statement of ‘Post-Bunker’ architecture…
@igor1882,
While there has been an addition to the west facade, the barrel vaulted roof remains just as it was in this photo.
Oregon Encyclopedia has a number of historical photos of the site.
https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/multnomah_athletic_club/#.WQIXmNQrKJE
I like the building, the barrel vaulted roof is the perfect expression for the use beneath it (tennis courts) “many architects chose the Brutalist style even when they had large budgets, as they appreciated the ‘honesty’, the sculptural qualities, and perhaps, the uncompromising, anti-bourgeois, nature of the style.” I don’t believe there was any intent to imply post modern theory in this building. The notch at the top of the end wall can only be likened to a pediment by someone with a great imagination.
Yes, nothing says “anti-bourgeois” like the MAC.
http://imencyclopedia.com/postmodern-architecture-homes/postmodern-architecture-homes-modest-with-photos-of-postmodern-architecture-exterior-fresh-on-gallery/
Ha! Richard, well said.
Can’t see the much of the building anymore; the trees are all growed up now.
Looks a little bit like some of the Hummer Showrooms built by General Motors in the mid to late 1990’s
Not “vintage” enough for me.
A view without the leaves in Nov 2014. https://goo.gl/maps/EekcPWXbGWn
Jim, my feeling is that all the images of buildings you use to support the “post modern” influence are edifices, the formal front of a monumental building. If I’m not mistaken the notch on the MAC is a mechanical shaft. The designers didn’t want to place a giant grille on the west elevation so they chose a horizontal solution. Additionally, the building has no other Post Modern design references which reflects a real lack of commitment to the style if in fact that what the Architects were favoring that philosphy.
Craig,
An “edifice” is an entire building, not just the primary facade. You seem to be focusing on the “notch” and ignoring the other design elements I pointed out. My original contention was that the building is primarily a brutalist in style with post-modern features, the most distinctive of which is the classic barrel vault roof that has apparently been designed to resemble a literal modern barrel. Taking a classical design, exaggerating it, and giving it a modern twist is text-book post-modern design.
Yes , I know the definition of “edifice” if you reread my sentence you will understand the significance of “edifice” and the word “momentarily”.
Why do you think the vaulted roof was designed to look like a barrel?
I suggest you ask Bob Frascia if the building has post modern tendencies!
Jim, I used to work across the street from the building you posted, in Dallas. I was like “hey I recognize that building”
A planning error. Not an architectural error. There’s a difference.
This is exactly what MAC wanted. And it happens because we let them do it.