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MPD Document

LOCATION AND PROPERTY NAME
address:417 E 13th Ave historic name:Foster-Simmons House
Eugene, Lane County current/other names:Foster, Orla H and Maidee, House
assoc addresses:
block/lot/tax lot:
location descr: twnshp/rng/sect/qtr sect:17S 3W 32
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:10/30/2017
primary orig use: Single Dwelling orig use comments:
second orig use: Organizational
primary style: Craftsman prim style comments:
secondary style: sec style comments:
primary siding: Horizontal Board siding comments:
secondary siding: Shingle
plan type: architect:
builder:
comments/notes:
12-16-2016 - HRR responded to; ES for architecture. DJP
GROUPINGS / ASSOCIATIONS
Survey/Grouping Included In: Type of Grouping Date Listed Date Compiled
   Eugene West University Neighborhood Cultural Resources Survey Survey & Inventory Project 1987
SHPO INFORMATION FOR THIS PROPERTY
NR date listed: 10/30/2017
ILS survey date:
RLS survey date: 07/01/2014
Gen file date: 12/16/2016
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 Foster-Simmons House is a 1913 Craftsman style residence located at 417 E. 13th Avenue in Eugene, Lane County, Oregon. Situated on a small lot in the West University Neighborhood between Eugene’s downtown and the University of Oregon, the 2½-story, wood-framed house was built for Orla H. and Maidee Foster. Although an architect may have been involved in its design, none has been identified to date. The three-bedroom house displays many characteristic features of the Craftsman style, including varied exterior siding and window types, open eaves, a projecting front porch with heavy concrete piers and exposed structural elements, and a modest porte cochere. Interior elements include an open floor plan, built-in features, and an abundance of simple but elegant woodwork. The house retains a high degree of interior and exterior integrity, and clearly conveys its style and period of construction through its original form, features, and materials.
HISTORY
(Chronological, descriptive history of the property from its construction through at least the historic period - preferably to the present)
The Foster-Simmons House is locally significant under National Register Criterion C in the area of Architecture as an excellent, nearly-intact representative example of a Craftsman style residence in Eugene’s West University Neighborhood, an area documented in the “Eugene West University Neighborhood Historic and Architectural Resources Multiple Property Documentation Form.” The period of significance is 1913, the year of the building’s construction. Built for Orla H. and Maidee Foster, the subject house retains a high degree of historical integrity, clearly displaying its original materials, form, design, and stylistic elements reflective of the Craftsman style. It remains on its original small lot, with minimal landscaping immediately surrounding the house. The parged concrete foundation, generous front porch, combination clapboard and shingle siding, multi-pane wood sash and leaded glass windows, moderately-pitched front-gable roof, and porte cochere are all typical features of the period and style. As one of only six single-family Craftsman dwellings in the fragile West University MPD area that have been evaluated as being National Register-eligible, the Foster-Simmons House is an excellent example of its type in the neighborhood and in Eugene.
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:Lane County Other Respository:
Bibliography:
Barton, Lois. “Eugene Airpark,” Lane County Historian 35 No. 1 (Spring 1990). Eugene, Oregon: Lane County Historical Museum. Demuth, Kimberly and Kim Lakin. “Eugene West University Neighborhood Historic and Architectural Resources,” National Register Multiple Property Documentation Form. Washington, D.C.: Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register, 1991. Dennis, Michelle. “Residential Architecture in Eugene, Oregon 1850-1950,” National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 2001. Eugene City Directories, 1907-1978. Eugene, City of. West University Neighborhood Re-survey Data. City of Eugene Planning and Development Department, 2014. Eugene, City of, Planning Department and Land and Community Associates. “Final Report: West University Neighborhood Cultural Resources Survey, Eugene, Oregon.” Eugene, Oregon: City of Eugene Planning Department, August 1987. Fifield, James Clark. The American Bar: A Biographical Directory of Contemporary Lawyers of the United States and Canada. Minneapolis and New York: The James C. Fifield Company, 1921. Lane County Deed Records. Eugene, Oregon. Bettie E. Humphrey to Henrie Anderson, January 20, 1912 (Agreement). Bettie E. Humphrey to Henrie Anderson, August 29, 1912 (Warrantee deed). Henrie Anderson to O.H. Foster, January 22, 1913. O.H. Foster and wife Maidee to E.C. Simmons, July 2, 1920. E.C. Simmons to Anton R. and Mary E. Zeller, December 22, 1930. Anton R. Zeller via C.A. Swarts, Sheriff to Mabel J. Reagan, March 14, 1934. Mayer, Barbara. In the Arts & Crafts Style. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1992. McAlester, Virginia Savage. A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013. Oregon General Laws and Joint Resolutions, Concurrent Resolutions and Memorials. Salem, Oregon: Secretary of State, 1921. Oregon State Historic Preservation Office. Historic Sites Database. Polk, R.L. Polk’s Portland (Oregon) City Directory. Portland, Oregon: R.L. Polk & Co., Publishers, 1931. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps. 1890, 1895, 1902, 1912, 1925, 1948, and 1962. Smith, Mary Ann. Gustav Stickley: The Craftsman. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1983. Stickley, Gustav. “The Craftsman Movement: Its Origin and Growth,” The Craftsman 25, No. 1 (October 1913). Stickley, Gustav. Craftsman Bungalows. New York: Dover Publications, 1988. United States Census, Eugene, Oregon and Garden City, Kansas. 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940. Accessed via , November 2016-January 2017. Wire, Frank B. “A Brief History of the Oregon State Game Commission.” Unpublished manuscript, 1938. Retrieved January 2017 from Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Newspapers Eugene Daily Guard newspaper “O.H. Foster Republican Candidate for State Senator.” May 13, 1918. “Lane County Has Elected Republicans.” November 6, 1918. “O.H. Foster Honored.” February 7, 1919. “Chamber Holds Yearly Meeting.” January 27, 1920. “E.C. Simmons an Officer in New Sportsmen’s Association.” March 14, 1922. “Mayor, Police Chief, Attorney Quit Jobs.” May 17, 1923. “Fliers Leave on Third Leg After Night Here.” March 19, 1924. “Fliers Make Jump to San Francisco.” September 25, 1924. “L.E. Simmons Buys Out Ford Agency Here.” May 6, 1927. “Twelfth Anniversary Observed by E.C. Simmons Firm.” June 14, 1928. Classified Advertisement. May 16, 1933. “Legal Notice.” September 24, 1932. Eugene Morning Register newspaper “Earl C. Simmons Named On State Tourist Body.” March 11, 1921. “L.E. Simmons Buys His Brothers Interest.” May 7, 1927. Garden City (Kansas) Evening Telegram Newspaper. “Local News Briefs.” January 22, 1907. “Local News Briefs.” December 5, 1907. “By His Own Hands.” March 12, 1909. “Local Dots and Dashes.” April 16, 1909. “Kinnison Back Home.” May 24, 1909. “Local Dots and Dashes.” July 22, 1909. “Local Dots and Dashes.” September 18, 1911.