Oregon Historic Sites Database

Search Menu

Site Information small logo

Oregon Historic Sites Database

Scanned Document Links

NR Nomination

LOCATION AND PROPERTY NAME
address:22180 NW Birch St historic name:McDonald, Malcolm, House
Hillsboro, Washington County current/other names:
assoc addresses:22200 NW Birch
block/lot/tax lot:
location descr: twnshp/rng/sect/qtr sect:1N 2W 35
PROPERTY CHARACTERISTICS
resource type:Building height (stories):2.5 total elig resources:1 total inelig resources:0
elig evaluation: eligible/significant NR Status: Individually Listed
prim constr date:1912 second date: date indiv listed:01/14/2015
primary orig use: Single Dwelling orig use comments:
second orig use: Vacant/Not in use
primary style: Craftsman prim style comments:
secondary style: Late 19th/20th Amer. Mvmts: Other sec style comments:
primary siding: Shingle siding comments:
secondary siding: Standard Brick
plan type: Bungalow architect:Unknown
builder:Unknown
comments/notes:
Adjacent to Orenco Golf Course; Draft MPD on file (in Draft MPD files). Possible builder is Jacob F. Mollencop of Salem. See note in NR file. DJP 8-11-2015
GROUPINGS / ASSOCIATIONS
Survey/Grouping Included In: Type of Grouping Date Listed Date Compiled
   Hillsboro Local Inventory Update 2008 Survey & Inventory Project 2008
   Orenco RLS 2009 Survey & Inventory Project 2009
SHPO INFORMATION FOR THIS PROPERTY
NR date listed: 01/14/2015
ILS survey date: 06/01/2011
RLS survey date: 07/01/2008
106 Project(s): None
Special Assess Project(s): None
Federal Tax Project(s): None
ARCHITECTURAL / PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
(Includes expanded description of the building/property, setting, significant landscape features, outbuildings and alterations)
The Malcolm McDonald House is a single-family residence located at 22180 NW Birch Street in the northeast corner of the Orenco neighborhood of Hillsboro, Washington County, Oregon (see Figures 1 through 4). It is a huge house with 5,553 square feet on its first two floors and with an additional 2,941 square feet in its finished basement (see Figures 6 through 8). The house sits on a small tax lot (0.72 acres) delineated by a fence. Outside the fence, the property is surrounded by the open space of a former golf course (roughly 40 acres). The Malcolm McDonald House was built in 1911-12 as a single-family house in the Craftsman style. The massive house is one-and-one-half stories with a full basement. The primary method of construction is wood frame, with a concrete foundation. Many features of the Craftsman style and form are apparent on the exterior, including deep open eaves with curved brackets and purlins, a broad entry porch, a variety of window types and wall surfaces, and multiple chimneys. Built-in cabinetry, large fireplaces, and an open floor plan represent the style and form on the interior. Fine carpentry and the use of natural materials predominate. While the house is primarily Craftsman in style, other trends, both contemporary with the Craftsman as well as predating it, are in evidence. The building's square, symmetrical massing hearkens back to slightly earlier American Foursquares, but also shows the influence of the Prairie style which would have been popular at the time of the McDonald House's construction. However, its hipped roof surfaces are steeper than those typically associated with the Prairie style and it lacks that style's pronounced horizontality. Some of the McDonald House's detailing, particularly the fussiness of the Flemish bond glazed brick accents and leaded glass windows recalls the popularity of similar features in Free Classical style residences.
HISTORY
(Chronological, descriptive history of the property from its construction through at least the historic period - preferably to the present)
The Malcolm McDonald House, located in the Orenco neighborhood of Hillsboro, Washington County, Oregon, is eligible under Criterion C as it strongly embodies the characteristics of the Arts and Crafts movement and is a unique representation of the Craftsman style. It possesses high artistic value and represents the work of master craftsmen, though the latter is unknown. Many features of the Craftsman style and form are apparent on the exterior, including deep open eaves with curved brackets and purlins, a broad entry porch, a variety of window types and wall surfaces, and multiple chimneys. Built-in cabinetry, large fireplaces, and an open floor plan represent the style and form on the interior. Fine carpentry and the use of natural materials predominate. While the house is primarily Craftsman in style, other trends, both contemporary with the Craftsman as well as predating it, are in evidence. The building's square, symmetrical massing hearkens back to slightly earlier American Foursquares, but also shows the influence of the Prairie style which would have been popular at the time of the McDonald House's construction. However, its hipped roof surfaces are steeper than those typically associated with the Prairie style and it lacks that style's pronounced horizontality. Some of the McDonald House's detailing, particularly the Flemish bond glazed brick accents and leaded glass windows recalls the popularity of similar features in Free Classical style residences. The house is also significant under Criterion A in the area of Community Planning and Development, for its association with the formation of the City of Orenco, and the area of Agriculture, for its association with the Oregon Nursery Company. As the residence of an Oregon Nursery Company owner, and therefore also a founder of the City of Orenco, the McDonald House is locally significant.
RESEARCH INFORMATION
Title Records Census Records Property Tax Records Local Histories
Sanborn Maps Biographical Sources SHPO Files Interviews
Obituaries Newspapers State Archives Historic Photographs
City Directories Building Permits State Library
Local Library: University Library:
Historical Society:Oregon Historical Society Other Respository:Hillsboro Historic Landmarks Adivosry Committee
Bibliography:
"About Us." Orenco Church, http://www.orencochurch.org, accessed 7/1/2014. Benfield, F. Kaid. Solving Sprawl: Models of Smart Growth in Communities Across America. New York: Natural Resources Defense Council, 2001. Bernards, Arlene. Childhood remembrances 1930-1936. 2005. Daily Capital Journal, Salem, Oregon. Fitzgerald, Kim and Deborah Raber with the Hillsboro Historic Landmarks Advisory Committee (HLAC). Hillsboro. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2009. Hanberg, Lou. Orenco Heritage Series: Book One, 1905-1938. Orenco Heritage Collection, 1992. Hawkins, William J., III and William F. Willingham. Classic Houses of Portland, Oregon 1850-1950. Portland, OR: Timber Press, Inc., 1999. The Hillsboro Argus, Hillsboro, Oregon. "Malcolm McDonald House." Oregon Historic Sites Database, 2008 and 2009. Matthews, Richard. Limited Horizons on the Oregon Frontier: East Tualatin Plains and the Town of Hillsboro, Washington County, 1840-1890. Portland, Oregon: Portland State University, 1988. McAlester, Virginia and Lee McAlester. A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1989. Mehaffy, Michael. “Orenco Station in Hillsboro, Oregon - UnSprawl Case Study,” http://www.terrain.org/unsprawl/10/, accessed 6/26/2014. Oregon Historical Records Survey, United States. Inventory of the County Archives of Oregon. Portland, OR, 1940. "Oregon Nursery Company," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Nursery_Company, accessed 6/26/2014. Oregon Nursery Company Records, 1908-1961. MSS 1669. Oregon Historical Society. The Oregonian, Portland, Oregon The Orenco Herald, Orenco, Oregon. "The Orenco Project Trailer, 2008," http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9VL5jNb5t8, accessed 7/6/2014. "Orenco Woods Golf Course," http://www.golflink.com/golf-courses/course.aspx?course=928645, accessed 6/26/2014. "Orenco Woods Golf Club," http://www.worldgolf.com/courses/usa/oregon/hillsboro/orenco-woods-golf-club-public.html, accessed 6/26/2014. "Orenco Woods Nature Park," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orenco_Woods_Nature_Park, accessed 6/26/2014. Paulson, Sara, and Elizabeth Provost. "Historic Resources of Hillsboro, Oregon." National Register Multiple Property Document. Draft, August 2011. Paulson, Sara, and Elizabeth Provost. "Malcolm McDonald House." National Register Nomination. Draft, August 2011. Theen, Andrew. "Hillsboro Takes Step Closer to Buying McDonald House." The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com/hillsboro/index.ssf/2013/03/hillsboro_takes_step_closer_to.html, accessed 6/26/2014.