Pittock Mansion

Architecture Chinese Garden Crab Cakes Japanese Garden Pittock Mansion Union Station

Pittock Mansion

 

 

The Pittock Mansion is a French Renaissance château in the West Hills of Portland, Oregon originally built as a private home for The Oregonian publisher Henry Pittock and his wife, Georgiana. It is a 22 room estate built of Tenino Sandstone situated on 46 acres (190,000 m2) that is now owned by the city's Bureau of Parks and Recreation and open for touring. In addition, the grounds provide panoramic views of Downtown Portland.

 


The home was at the center of a political scandal in 1911 when Portland City Council member, Will H. Daly, brought public attention to Pittock having arranged for a water line to the construction project entirely at city expense, despite it being located a half mile outside of the city limits at the time. The incident resulted in a longstanding feud between Pittock's paper and Daly which ultimately led to the end of the councilman's political career.

 


Georgiana, one of the founders of the Portland Rose Festival, died in 1918 at the age of 72, and Henry in 1919 at 84. The Pittock family remained in residence at the mansion until 1958, when Peter Gantenbein, a Pittock grandson who had been born in the house, put the estate on the market and was unsuccessful in selling it. Extensive damage caused by the Columbus Day Storm in 1962 caused the owners to consider demolishing the building. The community raised $75,000 in three months in order to help the city purchase the property. Seeing this popular support, and agreeing that the house had tremendous value as a unique historic resource, the City of Portland purchased the estate in 1964 for $225,000.

 


Fifteen months were spent restoring it. The mansion opened to the public in 1965, and has been a community landmark ever since. Roughly 80,000 people visit the Pittock Mansion each year.

 


Due to the location of the site 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea level, the mansion is one of the best places for bird watching in Portland.

 


The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
 

Oregonian publisher Henry Pittock

 

front parlor

 

 

 

view from the parlor

 

 

 

 

dining room

 

kitchen

 

 

 

pantry

 

refrigerator room

 

 

stairs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

upstairs parlor

 

 

view of the garden and Portland

 

modern shower

 

 

Georgiana Pittock

 

Oregonian publisher Henry Pittock

 

on his horse

 

his office in the mansion

 

 

 

 


Architecture Chinese Garden Crab Cakes Japanese Garden Pittock Mansion Union Station

Columbia River Gorge Covered Bridges Crater Lake Fort Clatsop Portland Timberline Lodge

World Heritage Mosaics Roman World Africa Antarctica Asia Atlantic Islands Australia Caribbean Central America Europe Indian Ocean Middle East North America Pacific Islands South America The Traveler Recent Adventures Adventure Travel

 

People and Places