Pittock Mansion, Portland, OR

In last week’s post about Forest Park, I mentioned that the Wildwood Trail leads to Pittock Mansion. This beautiful home of Henry and Georgiana Pittock was completed in 1914. Henry Pittock chose the location due to his love of the outdoors and hiking in the surrounding forest. We visited on Monday as a birthday outing for theTravelsketcher.

The 46 room mansion designed by architect Edward T. Foulkes displays a mixture of Beaux Arts and French Renaissance styles. Foulkes studied at Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute Of Technology and at the French École des Beaux-Arts located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris.

First a little about the Pittocks. Henry and Georgiana arrived in Portland in the mid 1850s in separate wagon trains. The couple were married in 1860 and had nine children, six of whom survived to adulthood. They were older when they moved into the mansion, and died within a few years of arriving there; Georgiana in 1918 and Henry in 1919. A few of their adult children continued to live in the mansion after the deaths of their parents, and raised their families there. The last of the Pittocks moved out in 1958 and attempted to sell the property. It remained on the market for several years, and eventually was severely damaged in a storm in 1962, at which point the owners considered demolishing it. Thankfully, the city stepped in and purchased the mansion for $225,000 in 1964.

Henry became the owner of The Oregonian in 1861. This publication started out as a weekly newspaper in 1850, but was published daily beginning in 1861, making it the oldest continuously published newspaper on the west coast of the US.

Georgiana was involved in local charities and is credited in creating the Portland Rose Society. They are both credited as being influential in turning Portland into a booming city.

Moving onto the mansion itself; it sits on 46 acres and has sweeping views of the Portland skyline. As I mentioned in last week’s post, it is said that on a clear day you can see five mountains in the Cascade Range; Mounts Rainier, Hood, Adams, St. Helens and Jefferson. (Click here to read about the Big Blast and volcanos in this range). It was overcast on the day we visited so the mountains were elusive.

The Grand Entrance allowed residents and visitors to pull into a covered area and enter the house without getting rained on.

The first room on the tour is the library, where the family gathered after dinner to play games and put puzzles together. It’s modeled in the European style with dark wood and intricate touches.

Next you’ll come to the music room. Youngest daughters Lucy and Kate were accomplished musicians and often performed for the family and visitors.

As you continue through the first floor of mansion you’ll pass through a variety of rooms, including the Turkish smoking room, formal and informal dining rooms, kitchens and pantries.

The upper level houses bedrooms, bathrooms and sleeping porches. The Pittocks two younger daughters, Kate and Lucy, their husbands and children lived in the house together. They also provided a home for Georgiana’s two orphaned nieces. Youngest daughter, Lucy, was an active out-doors woman who enjoyed hiking and mountain climbing. She and her father summited Mt. Hood, and many other peaks in the Cascade Range.

The original works of art also caught my attention. There are paintings of Mt. Hood, Yosemite Falls, Multnomah Falls and other nature scenes.

The laundry room and other maintenance type facilities are located on the lower level.

The gardens are equally beautiful and offer expansive views of Portland and the surrounding area, as mentioned above.

The mansion is open year-round. Click here for hours, admission fees and other information.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the mansion and gardens, and learning about the Pittocks and their influence in the development of Portland. I highly recommend a visit to the mansion and Forest Park when you are in the area.

As always, I would love to hear from you and your thoughts on this post.

Wishing you grand adventures,

Tricia