John Virginius Bennes
Encyclopedia
John Virginius Bennes was an American
architect in Baker City
and Portland
, Oregon. In Baker City he designed the Geiser Grand Hotel
, several homes, and a now-demolished Elks building. He moved to Portland in 1907 and continued practicing there until 1942.
Bennes designed numerous projects in the Portland area, as well as in Corvallis
, Prineville
, and other areas of Oregon. He and his firms produced the designs for at least 20 buildings that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places
(NRHP). His work includes the design of more than 35 buildings on the Oregon State University
campus in Corvallis, as well as plans for 12 other building additions and renovations. He also designed the administration building at Eastern Oregon University
. In addition, Bennes and his firms planned several churches.
Bennes is also credited with design work on the Hollywood Theatre in Portland and the Liberty Theater in Astoria
. He worked with Herman Herzog on some of the theaters, and Albert Mercier and Lee Arden Thomas
have also been credited with helping on some of them.
Bennes is believed to be of Bohemia
n heritage and he may have been born in Peru, Illinois
. He moved from Chicago to Baker City circa 1900. While in Baker City, he designed the Elks Building and several residences, before moving to Portland in 1906 and partnering with Eric W. Hendricks and Willard F. Tobey. Lewis Irvine Thompson also joined the firm. Bennes practiced on his own from 1914 to 1926. Then he partnered with Harry A. Herzog until 1931 and the onset of the Great Depression
, when he returned to solo practice.
His design for Eastern Oregon University's Inlow Hall was a Renaissance Revival-style building that serves as an administration building, housing the admissions, registrar's, financial aid, student affairs and president's offices.
Bennes designed several Portland hotels, including the Broadway Hotel
, the Hamilton Hotel
, the Treves Hotel and the Hotel Cornelius
. The Cornelius has been empty and a home to vagrant for since the 1980s, but has been the subject of a restoration plan to convert in into the "Alder Park Hotel".
Bennes was a contemporary of Frank Lloyd Wright
and is said to have been "a product of the Chicago school of architecture."
He retired to Los Angeles
in 1943 where he died the same year. Some of his plans and drawings are held in the Cachot Therkelsen Collection with the University of Oregon Libraries.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
architect in Baker City
Baker City, Oregon
Baker City is a city in and the county seat of Baker County, Oregon, United States. It was named after Edward D. Baker. The population was 9,828 at the 2010 census.-History:...
and Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon. In Baker City he designed the Geiser Grand Hotel
Geiser Grand Hotel
The Geiser Grand Hotel is a historic hotel in Baker City, Oregon, that opened in 1889. It received a restoration and reopened in 1993 after closing in 1968. Decorations include mahogany columns up to a high ceiling, Victorian-style chandeliers, and a stained glass ceiling...
, several homes, and a now-demolished Elks building. He moved to Portland in 1907 and continued practicing there until 1942.
Bennes designed numerous projects in the Portland area, as well as in Corvallis
Corvallis, Oregon
Corvallis is a city located in central western Oregon, United States. It is the county seat of Benton County and the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton County. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 54,462....
, Prineville
Prineville, Oregon
Prineville is a city in and the county seat of Crook County, Oregon, United States. It was named for the first merchant located in the present location, Barney Prine. The population was 9,253 at the 2010 census.- History :...
, and other areas of Oregon. He and his firms produced the designs for at least 20 buildings that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
(NRHP). His work includes the design of more than 35 buildings on the Oregon State University
Oregon State University
Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...
campus in Corvallis, as well as plans for 12 other building additions and renovations. He also designed the administration building at Eastern Oregon University
Eastern Oregon University
Eastern Oregon University is one of seven state-funded, four-year universities of higher education in the State of Oregon and belongs to the Oregon University System...
. In addition, Bennes and his firms planned several churches.
Bennes is also credited with design work on the Hollywood Theatre in Portland and the Liberty Theater in Astoria
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...
. He worked with Herman Herzog on some of the theaters, and Albert Mercier and Lee Arden Thomas
Lee Arden Thomas
Lee Arden Thomas was an architect in Bend and Portland, Oregon, United States. He graduated in 1907 from Oregon Agricultural College . He completed many projects in Bend, often partenering with local architect Hugh Thompson...
have also been credited with helping on some of them.
Career
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
n heritage and he may have been born in Peru, Illinois
Peru, Illinois
Peru is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. The population was 10,295 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ottawa–Streator Micropolitan Statistical Area...
. He moved from Chicago to Baker City circa 1900. While in Baker City, he designed the Elks Building and several residences, before moving to Portland in 1906 and partnering with Eric W. Hendricks and Willard F. Tobey. Lewis Irvine Thompson also joined the firm. Bennes practiced on his own from 1914 to 1926. Then he partnered with Harry A. Herzog until 1931 and the onset of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, when he returned to solo practice.
His design for Eastern Oregon University's Inlow Hall was a Renaissance Revival-style building that serves as an administration building, housing the admissions, registrar's, financial aid, student affairs and president's offices.
Bennes designed several Portland hotels, including the Broadway Hotel
Broadway Hotel (Portland, Oregon)
The Broadway Hotel is a historic hotel located in Portland, Oregon, built in 1913. As of 2009, it was managed as single room occupancy apartments under the name Helen M. Swindell Apartments. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was designed by Portland architect John...
, the Hamilton Hotel
Hamilton Hotel (Portland, Oregon)
The Hamilton Hotel in Portland, Oregon, originally the Venable, was designed by Portland architect John V. Bennes's Bennes & Hendricks firm and built in 1913. It was four stories and in the Classic Revival Commercial Style....
, the Treves Hotel and the Hotel Cornelius
Hotel Cornelius
The Hotel Cornelius is a historic building in Portland, Oregon that was designed by John V. Bennes's firm and constructed in 1907-1908. The seven-story building is categorized as being 20th Century Baroque architecture and contains 66 hotel rooms. It was operated by Charles W. Cornelius, who named...
. The Cornelius has been empty and a home to vagrant for since the 1980s, but has been the subject of a restoration plan to convert in into the "Alder Park Hotel".
Bennes was a contemporary of Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
and is said to have been "a product of the Chicago school of architecture."
He retired to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
in 1943 where he died the same year. Some of his plans and drawings are held in the Cachot Therkelsen Collection with the University of Oregon Libraries.
Projects
- Inlow Hall, Eastern Oregon University (1929), La Grande (NRHP)
- Oregon State UniversityOregon State UniversityOregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...
buildings, part of the Oregon State University Historic District (NRHP)- Bexell Hall
- Delta Zeta and Alpha Gamma sororities
- Kidder Hall
- McAlexander Fieldhouse
- Weatherford Hall
- Women's Building
- A. H. Maegly House, 226 SW Kingston St, Portland (NRHP)
- Abraham Tichner HouseAbraham Tichner HouseThe Abraham Tichner House is a house located in southwest Portland, Oregon listed on the National Register of Historic Places....
, 114 SW Kingston Ave, Portland (NRHP) - Astoria City HallAstoria City HallAstoria City Hall, also known as the Clatsop County Heritage Center, is a building located in Astoria, Oregon listed on the National Register of Historic Places....
(1923), 1095 Duane St (NRHP), originally Astoria Savings Bank which closed in 1929; the building became Astoria's City Hall in 1939 - Coleman–Scott HouseColeman–Scott HouseThe Coleman–Scott House is a Colonial Revival house in Northeast Portland, Oregon. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985....
, 2110 NE 16th Ave, Portland (NRHP) - First Presbyterian Church (1909), Corvallis
- Gray's West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, built in 1903 according to a design by John Bennes for Charles Johns
- H. Liebes and Company BuildingH. Liebes and Company BuildingThe H. Liebes and Company Building is a building located in southwest Portland, Oregon listed on the National Register of Historic Places....
, 625 SW Broadway, Portland (NRHP) - Heppner Hotel, 124 N Main St, HeppnerHeppner, OregonThe city of Heppner is the county seat of Morrow County, Oregon, United States. It was originally called Standsbury Flat for George W. Standsbury, one of the first white settlers in the area. It was later renamed to honor Henry Heppner, a Jewish pioneer who opened the first general store there in...
(NRHP) - Poultry Building and Incubator House, 800 SW Washington Ave, Corvallis (NRHP)
Bennes & Herzog
- Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland (NRHP)
- Jeanne Manor Apartment BuildingJeanne Manor Apartment BuildingThe Jeanne Manor Apartment Building is a building complex located in downtown Portland, Oregon, listed on the National Register of Historic Places....
, 1431 SW Park Ave, Portland (NRHP) - John Bexell HouseJohn Bexell HouseThe John Bexell House, located in Corvallis, Oregon, is a house listed on the National Register of Historic Places....
, 3009 NW Van Buren Ave, Corvallis Oregon (NRHP) - Liberty Theater (1925), Astoria
Bennes and Hendricks
- Broadway HotelBroadway Hotel (Portland, Oregon)The Broadway Hotel is a historic hotel located in Portland, Oregon, built in 1913. As of 2009, it was managed as single room occupancy apartments under the name Helen M. Swindell Apartments. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was designed by Portland architect John...
(1913), Portland (NRHP) - Hamilton HotelHamilton Hotel (Portland, Oregon)The Hamilton Hotel in Portland, Oregon, originally the Venable, was designed by Portland architect John V. Bennes's Bennes & Hendricks firm and built in 1913. It was four stories and in the Classic Revival Commercial Style....
(1913), Portland, cataloged by the Historic American Buildings SurveyHistoric American Buildings SurveyThe Historic American Buildings Survey , Historic American Engineering Record , and Historic American Landscapes Survey are programs of the National Park Service established for the purpose of documenting historic places. Records consists of measured drawings, archival photographs, and written...
, now demolished - Pacific Hardware and Steel Company Warehouse, 2181 NW Nicolai St, Portland (NRHP)
- Treves Hotel (1912), 1035-1039 SW Stark St, Portland
Bennes, Hendricks & Tobey
- Thomas M. Baldwin House, 126 W 1st St, Prineville (NRHP)
- Hotel CorneliusHotel CorneliusThe Hotel Cornelius is a historic building in Portland, Oregon that was designed by John V. Bennes's firm and constructed in 1907-1908. The seven-story building is categorized as being 20th Century Baroque architecture and contains 66 hotel rooms. It was operated by Charles W. Cornelius, who named...
, 525 SW Park Ave, Portland (NRHP), became a bathhouse before being abandoned for 10 years after the 1980s; there was a plan to reopen it as the Alder Park Hotel in 2009 - Dacres Hotel, 4th and Main streets, Walla Walla, WashingtonWalla Walla, WashingtonWalla Walla is the largest city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population was 31,731 at the 2010 census...
(NRHP) - L. B. Menefee House, 1634 SW Myrtle St, Portland
Bennes, Hendricks & Thompson
- Page and Son Apartments, 723–37 E Burnside, Portland (NRHP)
- William Bittle Wells HouseWilliam Bittle Wells HouseThe William Bittle Wells House is a house located in southwest Portland, Oregon listed on the National Register of Historic Places.-References:...
, 1515 SW Clifton St, Portland (NRHP)
External links
- John Bennes Up Close and Personal: Campus Tour, Oregon State University Alumni Association
- John Bennes and OSU's Architectural Legacy, 1907-1941, OSU archives
- Portland Houses
- Flickr OSU archive Bennes set
- Photos of Astoria City Hall and Liberty Theatre downtown Astoria, PortlandBridges