UPDATED 4/6/2024
A few weeks ago, I was researching buildings associated with the 1905 Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition and I happened upon something that I didn't recall ever seeing before.
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| View of Exposition, 1905 Portland Archives & Records Center |
Many Portland history nerds, like me, are aware that the vast majority of the buildings at the fair were intended to be temporary and few lasted more than a handful of months once the "Great Extravaganza" closed in the fall of 1905.
That said, there were some known survivors: the National Cash Register building was relocated to St. Johns and has most recently been a McMenamin's for many years.
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| National Cash Register Building Oregon Historical Society bb000383 |
Parts of the American Inn (the only hotel that was actually on the fairgrounds) were reconstructed as an apartment (now condo) building on NW Northrup Street near 21st.
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| American Inn, 1905 Oregon Historical Society, Org Lot 64 B3 021 |
The Massachusetts Building was moved to the western flanks of Mt. Tabor and used for many years as a residence before succumbing to the wrecking ball.
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| Massachusetts Building, 1905 |
Then there was the fair's one building intended to be permanent; the Forestry Building stood near what we now know as Montgomery Park until it was consumed by fire in August 1964. I wrote about the Forestry Building in Lost Portland, Oregon (History Press, 2018).
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| Forestry Building, 1905 Oregon Historical Society ba018894 |
Those were all buildings that I had heard of before, so one might imagine my nerdy excitement when I stumbled upon what I am pretty sure is another building from the fair and if I'm right, it's still standing!
I had not heard this before, but the Masonic Building was also moved from the Exposition grounds and repurposed as a residence. A news report from 1905 mentions the move and 25 years later, another article notes the relocation to NW 25th and Overton and repurposing of the building as a residence.
Portland Maps notes the build date of a house at 1234 NW 25th as 1906, so my first thought was that that this house was the old Masonic Building. There are some similarities at the porch and entry and the general form of the hipped roof house matches, but as it turns out, this is not the house I was looking for.
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| Masonic Building, 1905 Sights & Scenes at the Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition
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I had thought that the house at 1234 NW 25th was likely the old Masonic Bldg., but it has since been pointed out to me (Thanks! Bob C.) that there is another house nearby that is a much better match and that (although little discussed publicly) has long been thought by locals in the neighborhood to have been from the Exposition. That house is at 1209 NW 26th, near Northrup St. The street view below is pretty terrible, but you can see the windows match and older views show the porch as a match.
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| Google street view of 1209 NW 26th |
So it appears we can say there is definitely another survivor from the 1905 Exposition, the closest thing Portland has ever had to a World's Fair. Here's a link to the full Google Street View.
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