Congress Hotel (Portland, Oregon) Explained

Congress Hotel
Location City:Portland, Oregon
Location Country:United States
Completion Date:1912
Demolition Date:1977
Management:or
Operator:or
Governing Body:-->
Architect:David L. Williams

The Congress Hotel was a hotel in Portland, Oregon.[1] [2] It was designed by architect David L. Williams and completed in 1912. The building was later demolished and replaced by the Congress Center.

Description and history

Designed by architect David L. Williams,[3] the 119-room hotel opened at the intersection of Southwest Sixth Avenue and Main Street in downtown Portland in 1912. Hubert Humphrey and Robert Kennedy are among notable guests.[4] The hotel remained family owned until 1977.[5] Governor Robert W. Straub attended a "wake" for the building, before it was demolished in 1977 or 1978,[6] and later replaced by the Orbanco Building (now known as the Congress Center).[7] [8]

The Congress Hotel hosted the National Chrysanthemum Society's convention in 1958.[9] In 2005, writers for Willamette Week described how the hotel was used by local government officials during the 1970s. Caryn B. Brooks and Steve Forrester wrote, "In those days, public council sessions were strictly pro forma: The real business of the council was done in private, over lunch at the Congress Hotel."[10]

Johann H. Tuerck completed some of the hotel's wrought iron work.[11] Terracotta arches from the building were used to create an ornate gazebo structure that was later used as an entrance to the restaurant The Melting Pot.[12] The structure has been placed on the city's Historic Resource Inventory.[13] [14]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1987 . National Register off Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form: Schnabel, Charles j. and Elsa, House . March 29, 2024 . United States Department of the Interior . February 5, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230205043816/https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/536790a2-a757-437e-bb07-a7da55518497 . live .
  2. News: Richards . Leverett . August 1, 1977 . Hotel demise - end of an era . The Oregonian.
  3. Book: Ballestrem, Val C. . Lost Portland, Oregon . 2018-12-03 . Arcadia Publishing . 978-1-4396-6593-0 . en.
  4. Web site: Butler . Grant . 2017-07-18 . 14 Portland treasures trashed in the name of progress . 2024-03-29 . . en . 2019-09-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190924033458/https://www.oregonlive.com/trending/2017/07/13_portland_treasures_trashed.html . live .
  5. Web site: 2022-10-04 . William E. Hedlund . 2024-03-29 . Tillamook Headlight-Herald . en . 2022-10-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221004181118/https://www.tillamookheadlightherald.com/obituaries/william-e-hedlund/article_5a6b1c94-4406-11ed-8fee-1bcd4f4523b2.html . live .
  6. Web site: Perry . Douglas . 2018-12-20 . 25 'Lost Portland' buildings that defined city -- before 'progress' brought them down (photos) . 2024-03-29 . . en . 2024-01-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240104061203/https://www.oregonlive.com/news/erry-2018/12/cf7a6d49c72027/25-lost-portland-buildings-tha.html . live .
  7. Web site: Butler. Grant. 2017-03-19. 38 Portland hotels that tell the Rose City's history. live. 2022-01-07. The Oregonian. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20170316143720/http://www.oregonlive.com/history/2017/03/38_portland_hotels_that_tell_t.html . 2017-03-16 .
  8. Book: Bottenberg . Ray . Vanishing Portland . Bottenberg . Jeanna . 2008 . Arcadia Publishing . 978-0-7385-5830-1 . en.
  9. Web site: The Eugene Guard from Eugene, Oregon . 28 October 1958 . 29 March 2024 . 29 March 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240329202205/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/140098641/ . live .
  10. Web site: 2005-03-09 . 1974 . 2024-03-29 . Willamette Week . en . 2024-03-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240329201739/https://www.wweek.com/portland/article-4173-1974.html . live .
  11. Web site: National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Washington Park Reservoirs Historic District . March 29, 2024.
  12. Web site: 2019-10-01 . Sunrise 60: Portland history in plain sight . 2024-03-29 . . en-US . In the middle of downtown Portland, stands a beautiful and intricately carved gazebo at the corner of Southwest 6th Avenue and Main Street. It's a piece of the now-demolished Congress Hotel, built in 1912. . 2023-09-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230922161655/https://www.kgw.com/article/entertainment/television/programs/sunrise/sunrise-60-portland-history-in-plain-sight/283-4cf502e9-95a3-4a03-93ce-90f6162c25da . live .
  13. Bell . Jon . September 28, 2017 . Historic hotel gazebo may be cleared from prominent downtown corner . Portland Business Journal . March 29, 2024 . May 6, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210506082204/https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2017/09/28/historic-hotel-gazebo-may-be-cleared-from.html . live .
  14. Web site: 2017-10-30 . Historic gazebo in downtown Portland could be removed . 2024-03-29 . KGW . en-US.