Weatherly Building
Encyclopedia
The Weatherly Building in Portland, Oregon
is a 12-story commercial office building. It was built in 1926 by ice cream
businessman George Warren Weatherly. It is the city's tallest building on the east side of the Willamette River
.
According to a December 31, 1927 photograph held by the Library of Congress
as part of the Historic American Buildings Survey
collection (labeled "Stevens Commercial Photographers") the building was designed by architects Sutton & Whitney and Lee Thomas
, and was built by Robertson Hay & Wallace general contractor
s.
business started with a second-hand
freezer in a small candy shop in 1890 and grew to produce an estimated 90% of Oregon ice cream sales. He was "locally credited" with inventing the ice cream cone and to have been the "east side's leading citizen in the 1920 and 1930s". The building helped develop the so-called "uptown district" and had an ice cream shop on its ground floor. F. A. Bruckman inherited the Weatherly's cone manufacturing machine.
brick and terra cotta
embellishments, including an arcade of arches near the roof. It "was among the first high-rise buildings east of the river, with 12 stories towering over the Morrison Bridge." There are 7 elevators and two rooftop penthouses.
Movie theatre operator Walter Eugene Tebetts convinced Weatherly to construct the Oriental Theatre
adjacent to the Weatherly building. It was designed by Lee Thomas and Albert Mercier, who also designed many other movie palace
s in the Pacific Northwest
. The large and ornate theatre was the area's second largest, behind the Portland Theatre. It was torn down in 1970 to make way for a parking lot. The building and theatre cost $1.5 million.
for $7.4 million. It was previously owned by Landmark Investments, who owned it since 1984.
Tenants of the Weatherly have included Burns Bros. Inc., Kerr Violin Shop, Bank of America
, Aqua Terra couples massage, Grand Jete Café, the Portland Running Company, Lensbaby
, Stand for Children
, Archscape Architecture.
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...
is a 12-story commercial office building. It was built in 1926 by ice cream
Ice cream
Ice cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...
businessman George Warren Weatherly. It is the city's tallest building on the east side of the Willamette River
Willamette River
The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
.
According to a December 31, 1927 photograph held by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
as part of the Historic American Buildings Survey
Historic American Buildings Survey
The 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...
collection (labeled "Stevens Commercial Photographers") the building was designed by architects Sutton & Whitney and Lee 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...
, and was built by Robertson Hay & Wallace general contractor
General contractor
A general contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and communication of information to involved parties throughout the course of a building project.-Description:...
s.
Background
Weatherly's creameryCreamery
In a dairy, the creamery is the location of cream processing. Cream is separated from whole milk; pasteurization is done to the skimmed milk and cream separately. Whole milk for sale has had some cream returned to the skimmed milk....
business started with a second-hand
Second-Hand
Second-Hand was a 2005 Romanian film directed by Dan Piţa.-Plot summary:The film's plot surrounds the romantic involvement of two contrasting characters: Petre , a Mafioso, and Andreea , a young violin player. The pair meet and fall in love...
freezer in a small candy shop in 1890 and grew to produce an estimated 90% of Oregon ice cream sales. He was "locally credited" with inventing the ice cream cone and to have been the "east side's leading citizen in the 1920 and 1930s". The building helped develop the so-called "uptown district" and had an ice cream shop on its ground floor. F. A. Bruckman inherited the Weatherly's cone manufacturing machine.
Architecture
The Weatherly building has RomanesqueRomanesque Revival architecture
Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...
brick and terra cotta
Glazed architectural terra-cotta
Glazed architectural terra-cotta is a ceramic masonry building material popular in the United States from the late 19th century until the 1930s, and still one of the most common building materials found in U.S. urban environments...
embellishments, including an arcade of arches near the roof. It "was among the first high-rise buildings east of the river, with 12 stories towering over the Morrison Bridge." There are 7 elevators and two rooftop penthouses.
Movie theatre operator Walter Eugene Tebetts convinced Weatherly to construct the Oriental Theatre
Oriental Theatre (Portland)
The Oriental Theatre was a movie theater located at 828 SE Grand Street in the East Portland commercial district of Portland, Oregon. Built in 1927 the Oriental was a 2,038 seat movie palace designed by Lee Arden Thomas and Albert Mercier. The building's exterior was in the Italian Renaissance style...
adjacent to the Weatherly building. It was designed by Lee Thomas and Albert Mercier, who also designed many other movie palace
Movie palace
A movie palace is a term used to refer to the large, elaborately decorated movie theaters built between the 1910s and the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opened every year between 1925 and 1930.There are three building types in particular which can be subsumed...
s in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
. The large and ornate theatre was the area's second largest, behind the Portland Theatre. It was torn down in 1970 to make way for a parking lot. The building and theatre cost $1.5 million.
Ownership and occupants
The Weatherly sold in 2002 to Mayfield Investment in Palo Alto, CaliforniaPalo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
for $7.4 million. It was previously owned by Landmark Investments, who owned it since 1984.
Tenants of the Weatherly have included Burns Bros. Inc., Kerr Violin Shop, Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
, Aqua Terra couples massage, Grand Jete Café, the Portland Running Company, Lensbaby
Lensbaby
Lensbaby is a line of camera lenses for SLR cameras that combine a simple lens with a bellows or ball and socket mechanism for use in special-effect photography. A lensbaby can give effects normally associated with view cameras...
, Stand for Children
Stand for Children
Stand for Children is an American organization that is an independent and non-partisan advocate for American children's education. Founded in 1996 following the largest rally for children in American history, the non-profit helps organize and mobilize citizen activists who care about children to...
, Archscape Architecture.