Congress Hotel (Portland, Oregon)

Former hotel in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Congress Hotel

General information
Town or city| Portland, Oregon
Country| United States
Coordinates| 45°31′0″N 122°40′46.5″W﻿ / ﻿45.51667°N 122.679583°W﻿ / 45.51667; -122.679583
Completed| 1912
Demolished| 1977
Design and construction
Architect(s)| 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

[edit]

Arches from the Congress Hotel were converted into a gazebo structure (pictured in 2013) that remains on the city's Historic Resource Inventory.

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]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "National Register off Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form: Schnabel, Charles j. and Elsa, House". United States Department of the Interior. 1987. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
2. ^ Richards, Leverett (August 1, 1977). "Hotel demise - end of an era". The Oregonian.
3. ^ Ballestrem, Val C. (December 3, 2018). Lost Portland, Oregon. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4396-6593-0.
4. ^ Butler, Grant (July 18, 2017). "14 Portland treasures trashed in the name of progress". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on September 24, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
5. ^ "William E. Hedlund". Tillamook Headlight-Herald. October 4, 2022. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
6. ^ Perry, Douglas (December 20, 2018). "25 'Lost Portland' buildings that defined city -- before 'progress' brought them down (photos)". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on January 4, 2024. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
7. ^ Butler, Grant (March 19, 2017). "38 Portland hotels that tell the Rose City's history". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on March 16, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
8. ^ Bottenberg, Ray; Bottenberg, Jeanna (2008). Vanishing Portland. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-5830-1.
9. ^ "The Eugene Guard from Eugene, Oregon". October 28, 1958. Archived from the original on March 29, 2024. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
10. ^ "1974". Willamette Week. March 9, 2005. Archived from the original on March 29, 2024. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
11. ^ "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Washington Park Reservoirs Historic District". Retrieved March 29, 2024.
12. ^ "Sunrise 60: Portland history in plain sight". KGW. October 1, 2019. Archived from the original on September 22, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2024. "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."
13. ^ Bell, Jon (September 28, 2017). "Historic hotel gazebo may be cleared from prominent downtown corner". Portland Business Journal. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
14. ^ "Historic gazebo in downtown Portland could be removed". KGW. October 30, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2024.

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