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Congress Hotel (Portland, Oregon)

Coordinates: 45°31′0″N 122°40′46.5″W / 45.51667°N 122.679583°W / 45.51667; -122.679583
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Congress Hotel
Map
General information
Town or cityPortland, Oregon
CountryUnited States
Coordinates45°31′0″N 122°40′46.5″W / 45.51667°N 122.679583°W / 45.51667; -122.679583
Completed1912
Demolished1977
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

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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

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  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. (2018-12-03). Lost Portland, Oregon. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4396-6593-0.
  4. ^ Butler, Grant (2017-07-18). "14 Portland treasures trashed in the name of progress". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2019-09-24. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  5. ^ "William E. Hedlund". Tillamook Headlight-Herald. 2022-10-04. Archived from the original on 2022-10-04. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  6. ^ Perry, Douglas (2018-12-20). "25 'Lost Portland' buildings that defined city -- before 'progress' brought them down (photos)". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2024-01-04. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  7. ^ Butler, Grant (2017-03-19). "38 Portland hotels that tell the Rose City's history". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2017-03-16. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  8. ^ Bottenberg, Ray; Bottenberg, Jeanna (2008). Vanishing Portland. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-5830-1.
  9. ^ "The Eugene Guard from Eugene, Oregon". 28 October 1958. Archived from the original on 29 March 2024. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  10. ^ "1974". Willamette Week. 2005-03-09. Archived from the original on 2024-03-29. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  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. 2019-10-01. Archived from the original on 2023-09-22. Retrieved 2024-03-29. 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. 2017-10-30. Retrieved 2024-03-29.