Weatherly Building

The Weatherly Building in Portland, Oregon, is a 12-story commercial office building. It was built in 1927–28 by ice cream businessman George Warren Weatherly.[2][5]

Weatherly Building
Weatherly Building and Oriental Theatre on December 31, 1927, when the Weatherly was still under construction
Location in central Portland
Former namesCrystal Ice & Storage Co. Office & Theatre building, The Weatherly
General information
TypeHighrise[1]
Architectural styleBeaux-Arts, modern[1]
LocationPortland, Oregon
Address516 SE Morrison Street
Current tenantsBank of America, Lensbaby
Construction started1927
Completed1928[1]
Cost1.5 million USD (including theatre)
ClientGeorge Warren Weatherly
OwnerMayfield Investment Company
LandlordMayfield Investment[2]
Height53.34 metres (175.0 ft)[3]
Technical details
Floor count12
Floor area82,000 square feet (7,600 m2)[2]
Weatherly Building
Coordinates45°31′1.2″N 122°39′37.37″W
Built1928[4]
ArchitectSutton & Whitney.[4]
Architectural styleModern Movement, Romanesque[4]
Part ofEast Portland Grand Avenue Historic District (ID91000126)
Designated CPMarch 4, 1991
Design and construction
Main contractorRobertson Hay & Wallace

According to a photograph dated December 21, 1927, 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[3] and Lee Thomas, and was built by Robertson Hay & Wallace general contractors.[6] It is listed as a secondary contributing property in the East Portland Grand Avenue Historic District.[4]

Background

Weatherly's creamery 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"[7] with inventing the ice cream cone[5] and to have been the "east side's leading citizen in the 1920 and 1930s".[8] The building helped develop the so-called "uptown district"[8] and had an ice cream shop on its ground floor.[2] An employee of Weatherly's, F. A. Bruckman, invented and patented the first successful cone manufacturing machine.[5]

Architecture
The Weatherly Building in 2009, from the northwest

The Weatherly building has Romanesque brick and terra cotta embellishments, including an arcade of arches near the roof.[8] It "was among the first high-rise buildings east of the river, with 12 stories towering over the Morrison Bridge."[2] There are 3 elevators and two rooftop penthouses.[8]

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 palaces 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.[9]

Ownership and occupants

The Weatherly sold in 2002 to Mayfield Investment in Palo Alto, California for $7.4 million. It was previously owned by Landmark Investments, who owned it since 1984.[2][3]

Tenants of the Weatherly have included Burns Bros. Inc., Kerr Violin Shop, Bank of America,[10] Aqua Terra couples massage,[11] Grand Jete Café, the Portland Running Company, Lensbaby, Stand for Children,[12] Archscape Architecture.[2][10]

References
  1. SkyscraperPage: Weatherly Building
  2. Stout, Heidi J. (February 21, 2002). "Historic Weatherly Building sells quickly". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  3. Emporis: Weatherly Building
  4. Portland Bureau of Planning (August 15, 1990). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: East Portland Grand Avenue Historic District" (PDF). National Park Service. Section 7, p. 88. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  5. Cone Pioneer Dies in Portland August 13, 1948 Eugene Register Guard
  6. See inset in the infobox image
  7. Potter, Elisabeth Walton; Lucy Pope Wheeler; Denys Peter Myers (1979). Historic American Buildings Survey: The Oriental Theatre, HABS No. Ore-55.
  8. Laura O. Foster Portland City Walks: Twenty Explorations in and Around Town
  9. Gary Lacher, Steve Stone Theatres of Portland, p. 58
  10. Stout, Heidi J. (March 21, 2003). "Family building renovated for a Grand retail future". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 2009-12-25.
  11. Aqua Terra Massage, Location
  12. "Real estate roundup". Portland Business Journal. November 10, 2008. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
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