Direct Phone
(503) 221-2235
Direct Facsimile
October 2, 2008
VIA FIRST CLASS MAIL
and EMAIL (PDF)
(800) 533-2417
E-Mail
mcmow@foster.com
Mayor Tom Potter and Commissioners
Sam Adams, Dan Saltzman, Randy Leonard and Nick Fish
City of Portland
Suite 140
1221 SW 4th Avenue,
Portland, Oregon 97204
Attn: Karla Moore-Love, Council Clerk
Re:
LU 08-121424 HDZM NW Irving Street Parking Garage
2311 – 2317 NW Irving Street, Portland
Testimony in Opposition to NWDA Appeal and in Support of Historic
Landmarks Commission Decision Approving Application
Mayor and Commissioners:
My name is Walt McMonies. My business address is 601 S.W. Second Avenue, Suite
1800, Portland, Oregon 97204 and I reside in the Hillsdale Neighborhood of the City of Portland.
This letter is intended to memorialize my oral testimony to be given before Council on
October 8, 2008 in opposition to the appeal by Juliet Hyams, as President of the Northwest
District Association (“NWDA”) of the Historic Landmarks Commission’s (“Landmark’s”)
decision to approve the above referenced 87-stall parking structure (“NW Irving Garage” or
“Project”). In short, I support the permitting and construction of the NW Irving Garage.
I am writing in my personal capacity. However, from time to time I and my law firm
provide co-applicant Singer Properties certain legal services.
I.
BACKGROUND. I am an apartment owner in the Northwest District and committed to
historic renovation.1 Since 1987, I have owned and renovated seven (7) historic apartment
buildings and one (1) historic garage, all in Northwest and Southwest Portland. Currently, I am
an owner of several apartment buildings and an historic garage in NW Portland.
1 I have served (a) on the Yamhill Historic District Board, (b) as Vice President of the Historic Preservation League
of Oregon and (c) as a director on the Board of the Bosco-Milligan Foundation which owns and operates the
Architectural Heritage Center on S.E. Grand Avenue
Mayor Potter and Commissioners
October 2, 2008
Page 2
II.
DISPUTED POINTS IN APPELLANT NWDA’S STATEMENT. The NWDA, in its
Appellant Statement, cites numerous bases for its appeal of Landmark’s approval of the NW
Irving Garage; however, my testimony will focus on only a few of NWDA’s arguments.
1.
Appellant’s Statement, Sec I (a): Asserts NW Irving Garage is
inconsistent with Historic Alphabet District Guideline -1, Historic Changes. (Properties
with historic significance to be preserved). The NWDA asserts that the house on the
Project site which is owned by William V. DeBellis Sr., as Trustee (the “DeBellis
House”) and which is to be demolished to make way for the new garage is a,
"...multifamily residence formerly occupied by Julia Hoffman, the founder of the
Oregon School of Arts and Crafts and a member of the well-known local family
who founded Hoffman Construction." (Emphasis added)
Response: Julia Hoffman Never Lived There. Notwithstanding numerous
assertions that Julie Hoffman lived in the DeBellis House, this is not factually correct. It
was never her residence. Rather it was an investment property for her, like others owned
by her Wauna Land Company.
Based on my personal research in several Hoffman family histories and the
professional research of Heritage Consulting, it is apparent that the DeBellis House was
never the residence of Julia Hoffman. The key primary sources for resolving this question
are the Polk City Directories for Portland from the relevant period. These annual
directories list Julia Hoffman’s residence from 1906 through 1912 as being at 161 N. 23rd
Avenue, at the northwest corner of 23rd and Irving Street, now renumbered as 705 NW
23rd Avenue (the site of Papa Haydn’s Building). From 1913 and thereafter until her
death in 1931, Julia Hoffman lived in the two story penthouse of 705 NW Davis (the
elegant brick and stone apartment building she had constructed in 1913). See letter of
John Tess of Heritage Consulting, dated August 13, 2008.
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Arts’ exhibition companion book Julia E.
Hoffman, A Family Album, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (1977) citing
interviews with Julia’s daughter Margery Hoffman Smith, states Julia returned to
Portland from a long (multi-year) stay in Boston in 1906 at which time she, “…settled her
family in a home on Northwest 23rd Street.” (ibid p. 10.)
Stephen Dow Beckham’s history Hoffman Construction Company, 75 Years of
Building, Hoffman Corporation (1995) states,
“Julia Hoffman took the elegant, two level penthouse [in 705 Davis] and resided
there until her death… At the time of her move to the apartments…she turned
over her home at 161 N.W. 23rd to Miss Catlin’s School.” (Ibid at p.52)
079852.0008/3152252.2
Mayor Potter and Commissioners
October 2, 2008
Page 3
2.
Appellant’s Statement, Sec I(c): Asserts Project is inconsistent with
Historic Alphabet District Guideline-3, Hierarchy of Compatibility (New development to
seek to incorporate design themes characteristic of similar buildings in the Historic
Alphabet District). In particular, Appellant's Statement asserts that a 31,000 square foot,
87 parking-space, two-story parking garage is out of character with an historic residential
area. The implication is that the Project will introduce an alien and outsized “garage” use
to a quiet residential area, thereby rending the fabric of the Alphabet Historic District
(“ABC-District”).
Response: Garages Very Much a Part of Historic Fabric. I have spent some time
investigating historic (pre-1950’s) automobile service and parking garages in the
Northwest District and I can assure you that in the period 1910 until 1930, numerous auto
sales, service and parking garages were erected and put into use. This fact belies the
assertion that a very similar (in scale and design) new garage like the NW Irving Garage
would be incompatible with the neighborhood.
To elaborate, automobile parking, show rooms and repair facilities were an
integral part of Northwest Portland in the period from about 1910 until well after WWII.
Soon after the introduction of the mass production Model T Ford in 1908, Portland, like
much of the rest of America, entered the “Motor Age” and developed a “Car Culture”2.
Not surprisingly, since as early as 1910, automobile garages, automobile show rooms and
automobile repair facilities, like the stables they replaced, have been a significant
component of the historic character of many urban American neighborhoods, including
NW Portland.
A visual survey of the ABC-District and a close review of the Sanborn Insurance
Maps from 1924 for the area South of N.W. Lovejoy Street and for the area from N.W.
23rd Avenue, going east (see Sanborn Maps attached as an Appendix), discloses at least
nine (9) historic “contributing” or National Register historic commercial structures which
by all indications began their lives as garages, showrooms and/or automobile repair
facilities3 including:
•
Ella Street Garage, circa 1921, 5400 sq. feet, located at 35 NW 20th Place;
Architect: Firm of Ellis Lawrence and William Holford; ABC-District National
Register Application, Section 7, page 323, Inventory #633, describes as, “. .
.contributing within the District as a good example of 20th Century Commercial.”
(Now vacant, but until recently a bakery);
2
The “Motor Age” in Portland ran from 1910 to 1940, see Historic Alphabet District, Community Design
Guidelines Addendum, P. 20 et seq.; also see “Car Culture: Some Cities Convert Their Historic Parking Garages to
Lofts or Lots,” by Mary Beth Klatt, October 8, 2004, Preservation On Line.
3
I want to acknowledge the assistance from Rob Mawson and Krista Morgan of Heritage Consulting.
079852.0008/3152252.2
Mayor Potter and Commissioners
October 2, 2008
Page 4
•
Rose City Electric Garage, circa 1910, 10,000 sq. feet, located at 124 N.W. 20th
Avenue; Architect: Lewis & Lewis; individually listed on the National Register.
(Originally an auto show room for electric cars, later the Fred Meyer photo lab,
now a garage);
•
Hannah E. Weitz Building, circa 1928, 19,284 sq. feet, located at 305 N.W. 21st
Avenue at the corner of Everett; Architect: unknown; ABC-District National
Register Application, Section 7, page 276, Inv # 530, “. . .one time service
garage…contributing4… good example of Industrial Style building.” (Once
Star’s Antiques, now a Mexican restaurant, offices);
•
Sidney Siosch Building, circa 1925, 20,000 sq. feet, located at 636 N.W. 21st
Avenue at the corner of Hoyt (Now a Windermere real estate office, etc.);
•
Packard Service Building, circa 1910, 15,470 sq. feet, variously 2330 N.W.
Westover and 121 N.W. 23rd Avenue; Architect: William C. Knighton;
individually listed on the National Register (Now an Urban Outfitters store);
•
John F. McLain Building, circa 1920, 19,600 sq. feet, 1835 N.W. Couch St.
corner of Nineteenth Avenue; Architect: unknown; ABC-District Application
Section 7, page 325, Inv # 636. “Contributing4…Streetcar Era commercial.”
(Now Active Autobody);
•
Hillside Garage, circa 1926, 10,000 sq. feet, located at 2230 N.W. Glisan St.;
Architect: Lucius & Cash; “Contributing4. . .” (Formerly a garage, later a used car
dealership Nob Hill Motors, now William Temple Thrift Shop);
•
Assoc. Oil Garage, circa 1928, 10,000 square feet, located at 1801-1817 N.W.
Irving corner of 18th Avenue; Architect: Elmer E. Feig; “Contributing4. . .” (Now
CC Construction company office and shop);
•
Marshall Street Garage, circa 1927, approximately 5000 square feet, located at
2076-78 NW Marshall Street; Architect: P. Chappell Brown; “Contributing4. . .”
(Now an auto repair facility);
•
Garage, circa 1920, 15,000 square feet, located at 2112-2116 N.W. Kearney
Street, block long on NW 21st Avenue; Architect: Unknown; “Contributing4. . .”
(Now several restaurants); and
•
Garage, circa 1926, 19,824 square feet, located at 206 N.W. 21st. (Now Design
Center, Wm Martin Design, etc.)
4 “Contributing” in historic preservation nomenclature means this structure adds to the historic nature of the District.
079852.0008/3152252.2
Mayor Potter and Commissioners
October 2, 2008
Page 5
•
See Photos of most of the above garages, Bancroft insurance maps of their
locations, and short descriptions of the architects involved attached as Appendices
hereto.
Note that, although still standing, most of these auto showroom, service and/or
garage buildings, excepting the Rose City Electric Garage, John F. McLain Building
(Active Autobody) and the Marshall Street Garage (auto repair), have been converted to
entirely non-automobile uses as mentioned above, thereby removing approximately
90,000 square feet of garage or automobile use and (assuming 30 spaces per 10,000
square feet) as many as 270 potential automobile parking spaces from the NW Portland
off-street parking inventory.
3.
Appellant’s Statement, Sec I (f): Asserts Project inconsistent with
Community Design Guideline D4- Parking Areas and Garages. (Design parking garage
exteriors to visually respect and integrate with adjacent buildings and environment.)
Specifically, Appellant asserts that the mass and scale of Project overwhelms the site and
neighborhood houses surrounding it.
Response: Affected Area Mixed Use, Not Purely Residential. The proposed NW
Irving Garage is not surrounded by a neighborhood consisting entirely of small historic
houses, as the Appellant implies, but rather by a mix of commercial, multifamily and
both large and small residential structures. The Project site on three sides (North, East
and South) is abutted by commercial buildings (three) and an apartment building (one)
and only on the fourth side (West) by a residence:
•
•
•
•
to the East is the 4700 square foot Papa Haydn Restaurant Building at 715
NW 23rd Avenue,
to the Northeast is a 4600 square foot house converted to commercial use
at 725 NW 23rd Avenue,
to the North is a 9-20 unit apartment building at 2324 NW Johnson, and
to the South across Irving Street are the 15,000 sq. foot Elizabeth Street
and Bellini’s Buildings at 2310-2332 NW Irving Street, and 647 NW 23rd
Street.
In fact, more than half of the properties abutting NW Irving Street in the block
between NW 23rd and 24th Avenues are commercial structures or larger multi-unit
apartment buildings, including a 14 unit apartment building at 2356 NW Irving and the
21,320 square foot Fruit & Flower Day Nursery at 2378 NW Irving. (See aerial photos
attached as Exhibit C-1 and C-2.)
4.
Appellant’s Statement, Sec I (i): Asserts Project inconsistent with
Community Design Guideline D8- Interest, Quality and Composition. (All parts of a
building should be interesting to view, of long lasting quality and designed to form a
079852.0008/3152252.2
Mayor Potter and Commissioners
October 2, 2008
Page 6
cohesive composition.) Asserts "parking garage" and "interesting to view" are mutually
inconsistent.
Response: Garages Can be Architecturally Interesting. It seems simplistic and
narrow minded to conclude that a garage building cannot be architecturally interesting.
In fact, some of the 9 or so historic garage buildings listed above have been designated
individual National Register structures, principally based on their architectural merit. I
would point to the architectural quality of the William C. Knighton designed Packard
Service Building (Urban Outfitters at NW 23rd at Westover), the Elmer Feig designed
Associated Oil Garage (CC Construction at NW Irving and 18th) and the Lewis & Lewis
designed Rose City Electric Garage (ex-Fred Meyer Photo Lab on NW 20th). Just as not
all old houses are architecturally or historically significant; neither are all garages boring
and architecturally undistinguished.
5.
Appellant’s Statement, Sec III: Creation of Designated Garage Site on
Residentially Zoned Street Unlawful. The NW Irving Garage is proposed on a site
designated as a structured parking garage location by the Northwest District Plan
(Location #1, Type B), which Plan specifically allocated six sites in multi-dwelling zoned
areas to address the scarcity of off-street parking in this busy commercial area. The
NWDA says the adoption of the Northwest District Plan was vacated by LUBA so the
City is free to amend or delete one or more of the six designated garage sites.
Response #1: Garages Historically Important to NW District. (See discussion in
Item 2 Response above). Historically, parking garages are an important component of
the NW District neighborhood and specifically the ABC District. The construction of the
proposed NW Irving Garage, which conforms to the Historic Alphabet District
Community Guidelines, will not disrupt the fabric of the neighborhood.
The argument that garages are somehow “alien” to the Alphabet Historic District
ignores the historical importance of such structures and businesses in the neighborhood.
The rejection of garages as having no historic importance constitutes a failure to support
the “area’s … neighborhood traditions” as contemplated in Community Design Guideline
P1, which calls for site and building design features which reflect the area’s traditions.
The historical importance of “Car Culture” in the Alphabet Historic District and the
continual presence of garages in the District from 1910 to the present show that the NW
Irving Garage is a compatible addition to, not a departure from, the District’s
neighborhood traditions.
Response #2: Need for Resident Parking. As an owner of several NW Portland
apartment buildings, I am concerned with the needs of my car-owning tenants,
specifically the need for secure, covered off-street parking. Many older (pre-WWII)
apartment buildings in NW Portland were built without garages or surface parking
presumably because of the availability of independent automobile parking facilities,
adequate on-street parking and the extensive pre-WWII street trolley system. With the
loss of almost all independent parking garages, most tenants of older apartment building
who own cars are forced to park on the street, if a space can be found. Opportunities to
079852.0008/3152252.2
Mayor Potter and Commissioners
October 2, 2008
Page 7
restore pre-existing covered parking to serve these older apartment buildings are few.
The NW Irving Garage, at a site designated as a structured parking garage location by the
Northwest District Plan, will alleviate a portion of this reduction in available parking and
allow apartment tenants the option of secure, covered, off-street parking in an
independent facility. Because this is the same option that residents would have enjoyed
during the 1910 to WWII period, it conforms to both the history and the neighborhood
traditions of the District.
III. CONCLUSIONS. The above written testimony demonstrates that:
(a) The DeBellis House was never the residence of Julie Hoffman and, as a consequence,
that house is not historically or architecturally significant.
(b) The neighborhood immediately adjacent to the Project site, namely NW Irving Street
between NW 23rd and 24th, is a mix of commercial, multifamily and residential
structures, including several commercial buildings, a large child care center, and
several apartment buildings.
(c) The construction of the NW Irving Garage is entirely consistent with the Alphabet
Historic District’s architectural fabric. That fabric is a diverse mixture of residential,
religious, and, principally on NW 21 and 23rd Avenues, commercial structures, as
well as automobile showrooms, repair and garage structures.
(d) Garages can be architecturally interesting and, in fact, several in the Alphabet
Historic District are architecturally meritorious, in particular the Packard Service
Building (by architect William Knighton), the Assoc Oil Garage (by architect Elmer
Feig), and the Rose City Electric Garage (by architects, Lewis & Lewis).
(e) Given the apparent loss of up to 270 covered parking spaces in historic garages, auto
show rooms and repair facilities in the ABC District, lost by the conversion of such
buildings to non-automobile uses, replacement garage parking spaces are needed for
car-owning apartment residents, even in an era of reduced automobile use.
For these reasons, I urge the City Council to reject Appellant NWDA’s incorrect
conclusion that parking garages are incompatible with the Alphabet Historic District and reject
the NWDA’s appeal of Landmark’s approval of the Project.
Sincerely,
Walt McMonies
WWM:m
Attachments and Appendices
079852.0008/3152252.2
Exhibit C-1
Exhibit C-2
Historic Garages of Northwest Portland
Testimony Given by Walt McMonies
to Portland City Council October 2, 2008
Testimony re: NW Historic
Garages
1
Circa 1921, 5,400 sq. ft.
Architect: Firm of Ellis Lawrence and William Holford
ABC-HD National Register Application, Section 7 page 323, Inventory #633
Describes as “contributing within the district as a good example of 20th Century Commercial”
(Now part of Western Culinary Institute)
Testimony re: NW Historic
Garages
2
Circa 1910, 10,000 sq. ft.
Architect: Unknown, National Register
(originally an auto show room, then a photo lab,
once again a garage)
Testimony re: NW Historic
Garages
3
Circa 1928, 19,284 sq. ft.
ABC-HD National Register Application, Section 7, page 276, Inv # 530
“one time service garage…contributing…good example of Industrial style bldg.”
Architect: Unknown
Mexican Restaurant and offices
Testimony re: NW Historic
Garages
4
Circa 1925, 20,000 sq. ft.
(Now a Windermere real estate office, etc.)
Testimony re: NW Historic
Garages
5
Circa 1910, 15,470 sq. ft.
(Now Urban Outfitters)
Testimony re: NW Historic
Garages
6
Circa 1920, 20,000 sq. ft.
Architect: unknown.
ABC-HD NR Application Section 7, page 325 Inv #636
“Contributing…Streetcar Era Commercial”
(Now Active Autobody)
Testimony re: NW Historic
Garages
7
Circa 1926, 10,000 sq. ft.
(Formerly a garage, then a specialty used car dealership,
Now William Temple Thrift Shop)
Testimony re: NW Historic
Garages
8
Circa 1929, 10,000 sq. ft.
(Now a construction company warehouse)
Testimony re: NW Historic
Garages
9
List of Historic Garages in Alphabet District
Testimony re: NW Historic
Garages
10
Testimony re: NW Historic
Garages
11
Testimony re: NW Historic
Garages
12
Testimony re: NW Historic
Garages
13
Testimony re: NW Historic
Garages
14
Testimony re: NW Historic
Garages
15
Testimony re: NW Historic
Garages
16
Testimony re: NW Historic
Garages
17
Testimony re: NW Historic
Garages
18
July 29, 2008
Walt McMonies
Foster Pepper, LLP
601 SW 2nd Avenue, Suite 1800
Portland, OR 97204
PROPERTY: 2323 Irving Street, Portland, OR
Dear Walt:
It is our understanding that there have been questions raised regarding the historic significance of
the house at 2323 NW Irving Street in Portland. Presently, the building is listed as a
noncontributing resource in the Alphabet Historic District. That district was listed on the
National Register on November 16, 2000.
The building in question, inventory #206 in the nomination, is referred to as the Julia Hoffman
House. At the time of the nomination, the house was considered noteworthy for its association
with Julia Hoffman. The nomination however does not define that association; the impression is
left that the house was her residence. Regardless, as the house was modified into a four-plex, the
nomination process determined that the building lacked sufficient integrity to be a contributing
structure.
You have asked Heritage Consulting to research the association with Ms. Hoffman and to
determine what values, if any, the house might hold. Heritage has been a national leader in
historic research and historic preservation tax credit projects for over 25 years and has completed
hundreds of National Register nominations. According to Polk’s City Directory, Julia Hoffman
lived first with her husband Lee Hoffman and then as a widow at a house at 705 NW 23rd
Avenue until 1912. The following year, she moved to the apartments located at 2141 NW Davis
Street. The 23rd Avenue house was demolished in the 1920s. There is no evidence that Ms.
Hoffman ever resided in the house on Irving Street, but rather that it was developed for
investment purposes. The Irving Street property remained a single family dwelling until World
War II when it was transformed into its current four-plex. The house at 2323 NW Irving was not
included in the City’s Historic Resource Inventory, completed in the 1980s.
Should you have additional questions, or require additional materials, please do not hesitate to
call me.
Sincerely,
Robert L. Mawson
Vice President
Historic Rehabilitation Development Planning
1120 NW Northrup St.
Portland, Oregon 97209
Phone: 503.228.0272
Fax: 503.241.9646
Email: jmtess@heritage-consulting.com
APPENDIX: ARCHITECTS OF HISTORIC GARAGES
Feig, Elmer E.
Feig, a Minnesota native, received his postsecondary education at the University of Oregon. He
designed more than 81 apartment houses in Portland from 1925 to 1931. Working for builders
and developers such as J.C. Meyers, S. Earl Henderson and Harry Mittleman, Feig designed and
constructed groups of apartment buildings. Feig designed approximately 21 apartment buildings
in the Historic Alphabet District. Feig’s designs, similar in scale and layout, reflect the
architectural styles of the Mediterranean, Spanish Colonial, Moorish, Georgian and Tudor
periods. Feig designed the Associated Oil Garage.
Knighton, William C.
Knighton worked alone for most of his architectural career. In that time, he designed a number
of formidable buildings such as the Seward Hotel and the Joseph Gaston House. Both listed in
the National Register. Knighton was well respected in the architectural community, having been
appointed the first State Architect and the first president of the Oregon State Board of Architect
Examiners. The Packard Service Building and the Trinity Place Apartments are the only known
examples of his work in the Historic Alphabet District.
Knighton & Root
The partnership of William C. Knighton and Edward Root began and ended in 1911. In that
time, they designed the Whitney and Gray Hotel and the Trinity Place Apartments, both listed in
the National Register. The latter is included within the Historic Alphabet District. Of the duo,
Knighton was the more distinguished. He was the first State Architect and the first president of
the Oregon State Board of Architect Examiners. In addition, he individually authored the design
of a number of memorable buildings such as the Packard Service Building and the Charles J.
Schnabel House, both listed in the National Register.
Lawrence, Ellis Fuller
Lawrence was a prolific architect, designing over 500 buildings and projects. His work spans the
spectrum of building types, from commercial and industrial structures to single-family residences
and public buildings. His first professional affiliation in Portland was with the firm of
MacNaughton, Raymond and Lawrence. He later practiced alone, then formed a partnership
with William G. Holford. Among Lawrence’s many accomplishments was the founding of the
School of Architecture and Allied Arts at the University of Oregon in 1914. The Belle Court
Apartments, listed in the National Register, in the Historic Alphabet District, is the only
Jacobethan style building that he designed. He designed the Ella Street Garage.
Lawrence & Holford
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Ellis Fuller Lawrence and William G. Holford formed their architectural firm in 1913. Working
in an era of eclectic architecture, the firm was known for designs that focused on the landscape,
with rooms that often opened onto terraces and patios. Lawrence and Holford also nurtured a
relationship with the Ladd Estate Company, which commissioned the firm to build several
subdivisions in the Laurelhurst, Eastmoreland and Westover Terrace neighborhoods in Portland.
The Ella Street Garage is their only known work in the Historic Alphabet District.
Lewis & Lewis
Born in England in 1852, William Parsons Lewis immigrated to the United States in 1869. In
1880, he made his way to Portland where he continued work as a stair builder. Lewis also
established a planing mill and later began work as a building contractor. In 1898, he went into
partnership with his son, Robert J. Lewis, who had previously worked as a carpenter for his
father. Lewis, Sr. is reputed to have designed and built many fine residences, including homes
for C.E. Ladd and W.W. Spaulding. When the partnership dissolved in 1913, Robert Lewis
continued working as an architect and builder until 1925. There is no record of his license as an
architect. The Rose City Electric Garage, a National Register property, is the firm’s only known
work in the Historic Alphabet District.
Cash, Earl G.
Earl G. Cash practiced as an architect in Portland from 1918 to 1954. Cash was born at Duluth,
Minnesota on December 13, 1894. Nothing is known about his education or when he came to
Portland. From 1911 to 1913, he was working as a draftsman for H.L. Camp & Co., and in 1914
went to work for Earl A. Roberts.
In 1918, Cash opened his own architectural office, which he maintained until 1923 when he
entered partnership with William Wallace Lucius, with a firm name of Lucius & Cash. In 1926,
the partnership was terminated and Cash again practiced on his own until 1932 when he entered
a partnership with George Wolff, Cash & Wolff, which continued for ten years until 1941. After
this, Cash practiced on his own until 1954, when he retired and moved to Pasadena, California.
Earl Cash died in Pasadena November 27, 1956 at the age of 64 (or 62). He was survived by his
wife, Harriet.
Cash became licensed under the grandfather clause, receiving license No. 76 when licensing of
architects commenced in Oregon in 1919. Cash, on his own, and in his partnerships, produced
designs for a large number of houses and small commercial projects in Portland. With George
Wolff he was involved in the addition to Yaw’s Top Notch (1941), The Teamster’s Union
Building at N.E. 3rd and Hassalo Streets (1941) and the Oregon Shopbuilding Corporation Office
Building (1941).
Lucius, William Wallace
William Wallace Lucius practiced in Portland for nearly 25 years.
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Lucius was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1877, the son of Albert and Octavia Sturdyvant
Lucius. His father, a prominent engineer, was a native of Germany, have come to the United
States in the early 18060’s.
William Lucius attended public and high schools in Brooklyn, and in 1898 graduated in civil
engineering from the Brooklyn Polytechnic School. Upon graduation he worked on bridge
design with his father and then worked fro the Carnegie Steel Company, Jones & Laughlin Steel
Company and Pennsylvania Steel Company. In 1909, Lucius came to Portland, working first as
a city building inspector, and then in 1912, for Newcomb Engineering Co. In 1913, Lucius
opened his own office, Lucius Engineering Co., which he continued through 1917. In 1918, he
formed a partnership with architect Charles Bernard Martin, which was of short duration. In
1919, when licensing of architects commenced in Oregon, Lucius received license No. 42 under
the grandfather clause. In 1920, Lucius was practicing architecture and engineering on his own.
In 1923, he formed a partnership with Earl G. Cash, Lucius & Cash, which continued until 1926.
The partnership designed the Hillside Garage. In 1926, his son, William Wallace Jr., was
working for him as a draftsman, remaining in his employ until 1931.
About 1932, Lucius left Portland, apparently going to San Diego. Nothing further is known
about him. Lucius was responsible for quite a number of important projects, including the
Cowlitz County Courthouse at Kelso, Washington, the Labor Temple, Italian Market, Woodmen
of the World building, Ice Hippodrome and the Natatorium, all in Portland.
__________________
• Sources for this Appendix: National Register nomination for the Alphabet Historic
District in Northwest Portland; and Richard Ritz’s Architects of Oregon (Portland, OR:
Lair Hill Publishing, 2002).
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