A handsome, 114-year-old Portland Heights house for sale illustrates that a collection of architectural styles and classic interior décor can blend if carefully designed.
Drive by 1634 SW Myrtle St. and see the telltale features of a Craftsman home, starting with a wide covered porch and overhanging eaves.
But then notice the twists: John Virginius Bennes II, a second-generation architect from Chicago, added a second-story bay window, decorative corner brackets and horizontal elements of his favored Prairie School, which was first promoted by architects Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Sullivan.
Architectural historians also see Tudor Revival features such as vertical half timbers under the steep roof and even nature-inspired, ornamental Art Nouveau, a style popular when the four-level house was built in 1908.
Enter the historic home to see grand elements that represent the Colonial Revival style: Wainscoting and other forms of lavish adornments. The large foyer has a quarter-sawn oak floor, staircase with turned posts and above, a crystal chandelier.
The mansion, built for lumber baron and developer LB Menefee, is for sale at $3,250,000 by Andrew Pienovi with Brian Pienovi of Windermere Realty Trust.
Architect Bennes was hired to create a trophy estate for many wealthy city residents, including the 1915 Aaron H. Maegly House, a Washington Park landmark that, like Bennes’ residence on Southwest Marconi Avenue, is a blend of Italian Renaissance and Prairie School.
Bennes also designed the Spanish Colonial Revival-style Hollywood Theater and more than 30 buildings for Oregon State University’s campus.
Three years after the LB Menefee House was completed, Bennes and craftsmen returned to extend the structure by 40 feet.
One of the added spaces is a formal living room that has pendant lamps hanging from the ceiling with eye-catching tracery and other plaster molding.
The original living room has Tuscan Doric columns, built-in bookshelves and leaded glass windows.
Above the mantels in each of the two living rooms is a plaster bas-relief of a pastoral scene; one shows cherubs and the other, children and a dog.
In 1921, the Menefees moved to a new mansion in Terwilliger Heights, one of LB Menefee’s real estate developments.
The second owner of the home was the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland and the mansion became the archbishop’s residence. Before the church sold the property in 1937, the basement was remodeled into a housekeeper’s apartment and the original kitchen was relocated.
Over time, the mansion has also been used by a catering company.
In 1961, the 0.35-acre property was purchased by Thomas C. Vaughan, who was the director of the Oregon Historical Society.
With guidance from FFA Architecture and Interiors, Vaughan restored the structure to Bennes’ vision. The mansion then earned a listing on National Register of Historic Places.
Experts writing the National Register nomination documents stated that the LB Menefee House “is counted with the William Bittle Wells House on Southwest Clifton Street … as an example of the best design in the high Arts and Crafts style in the considerable volume of Bennes’ residential work in Portland.”
The attic and basement have been finished. The mansion has now 9,690 square feet of living space.
The second floor of the Menefee mansion has four ensuite bedrooms. The primary suite has a window seat as well as doors leading to a balcony. The lower level has a renovated, two-bedroom apartment with a fireplace, separate entrance and a private garden.
Brian Pienovi of Windermere Realty Trust envisions the new owner could be someone in need of a large home with a true in-law suite or a home shopper looking for a residence with historical significance.
— Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072
jeastman@oregonian.com | @janeteastman
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