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Inventory Document
NR Nomination

LOCATION AND PROPERTY NAME
address:4116 SW Tualatin Ave historic name:Harris, Dr. Homer H., House
Portland, Multnomah County current/other names:
assoc addresses:
block/lot/tax lot:
location descr: twnshp/rng/sect/qtr sect:
PROPERTY CHARACTERISTICS
resource type:building height (stories):2.0 total elig resources:1 total inelig resources:1
elig evaluation: eligible/significant NR Status: Individually Listed
prim constr date:1957 second date:1961 date indiv listed:03/07/2017
primary orig use: Single Dwelling orig use comments:
second orig use:
primary style: Northwest Regional prim style comments:
secondary style: sec style comments:
primary siding: Horizontal Board siding comments:
secondary siding:
plan type: architect:Wilbur Mark Perrault: designer and builder, Chandler D. Fairbanks: landscape architect
builder:Wilbur Mark Perrault
comments/notes:
1-29-2016 - HRR responded to with advice for researching the original owner of the house and further research on the designer/builder. DJP
GROUPINGS / ASSOCIATIONS
Not associated with any surveys or groupings.
SHPO INFORMATION FOR THIS PROPERTY
NR date listed: 03/07/2017
ILS survey date:
RLS survey date: 01/29/2016
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 Northwest Regional style home of Dr. Homer & Mrs. JoNeal Harris was designed and built by Wilbur Mark Perrault in 1955-57 in the forested southwest hills neighborhood of Portland, Oregon known as Council Crest. The house is built on a narrow, deep lot on virtually the peak of the 1100’ high Tualatin Hills. The one-story house sits high within the lot over a raised basement and is masterfully integrated with its outdoor living areas through nearly floor-to-ceiling windows encircling the rear of the house, overlooking asymmetrical, stepped decks and the 1956 landscape designed by landscape architect Fairbanks D. Chandler. The architectural integrity of this relatively simple, 2,754 square foot home is very good. It conveys the reasons for its significance and its associations with the first owner Dr. Homer H. Harris, a pioneering forensic pathologist, known for his leadership of the Oregon Crime Laboratory. The post-and-beam house is clad in shingles and vertical wood siding, with wood clapboard siding over portions of the raised concrete foundation. The low-pitched gable roof of the house, originally finished in tar and gravel, has a built-up roof today. The substantial, tapered rafter beams of the house are open, covered by a tall fascia; the large ridge beam is also visible, extending to the edge of the deep eaves. The interior of the house, arranged around a two-story, oversized brick “island,” organizes surrounding spaces and provides for additional storage. It also allows for the integration of three fireplaces, one at the lower level and two on the upper level, the formal corner fireplace in the living room being set off by a raised, slate-covered hearth. An open floating staircase from the main entry area to the lower level enhances the openness of the floor plan. The quality materials and clear interior organization of the house enhance its livability. The current owners of the house are only its second owners. The house – particularly the interiors - remains virtually unchanged from its construction date of 1957.
HISTORY
(Chronological, descriptive history of the property from its construction through at least the historic period - preferably to the present)
The Homer Hamilton Harris house, designed in 1955 and completed in 1957, is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion B, for its association with the career of Dr. Homer H. Harris, a leading pathologist in Oregon and head of the Oregon State Crime Laboratory from 1951 to 1955, where he made many innovations in the emerging field of forensic pathology. The period of significance for the house under this criterion is 1957, when the house was completed, to 1967, the end of the 50-year period. This is the primary building associated with Harris, who lived there from 1957 to 1993. Harris’s career and significance was on-going until at least the mid-1980s, when he was appointed the Deputy Chief Medical Examiner for Multnomah County. While he continued to play an important role in his field, his later career built on his earlier reputation as a highly accomplished, innovative forensic pathologist. The Homer Harris house is also eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C, for its association with master designer/builder Wilbur Mark Perrault, who practiced architectural design and construction in Portland, Oregon from approximately 1940 until 1970. Perrault’s career is most remarkable for his skill at promoting his design/build services and developing popular prototype residences that could be mass-marketed. He was able to create a relatively affordable and very attractive version of the newly popular Northwest Regional style home based on such influences as the work of renowned architect Pietro Belluschi. His achievements and ability to promote his design work was all the more remarkable for being a relative newcomer to Portland, and for the fact that his career as a designer/builder was only one of at least three careers he pursued in his lifetime.
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: Other Respository:Various architecture books
Bibliography:
BING Maps, http://www.bing.com/maps/, accessed July 2016. Burden, Ernest. Illustrated Dictionary of Architecture. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998. “Forensic Science History,” New York State Police. http://www.troopers.ny.gov/Crime_Laboratory_Systems/History/Forensic_Science_Hisotry/, accessed January 2017. Hawkins III, William J. and Willingham, William F. Classic Houses of Portland, Oregon 1850 – 1950. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 1999. “History of AAFS,” American Academy of Forensic Sciences, http://www.aafs.org/about-aafs/#aafs-hisotry, accessed January 2017. Pilant, Lois. “Forensic Science: Bringing New Technology into the Crime Lab,” Science and Technology, July 1993. PortlandMaps. https://www.portlandmaps.com/detail/property/4116-SW-TUALATIN-AVE/R141660_did/, accessed July 2016. Ritz, Richard Ellison. Architects of Oregon. Portland, OR: Lair Hill Publishing, 2002. Roth, Leland M. Understanding Architecture. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. 1993. Newspapers DR. HOMER H. HARRIS, owner Oregonian Newspaper, March 23, 1951, page 12 Harris appointed to head new Oregon Crime Lab Oregonian Newspaper, August 26, 1951 State Crime Lab duties Oregonian Newspaper, April 26, 1952, page 6M Murder trial of Elmer Dorsey Oregonian Newspaper, April 21, 1953, page 1 Fong trial Oregonian Newspaper, February 28, 1954, page 1 Fong trial Oregonian Newspaper, April 21, 1955 Fong trial Oregonian Newspaper (The Sunday Oregonian), November 6, 1955, NW Roto Magazine “Science tackles crime” Oregonian Newspaper, December 5, 1955, page 7 Fong trial nearing end Oregonian Newspaper, August 11, 1967, page 33 Commutation of sentence of Jake Gross WILBUR MARK PERRAULT, designer and builder Oregonian Newspaper, July 25, 1954, page 52 Ad for Ward Cook re Wilbur Mark Perrault Oregonian Newspaper, September 19, 1954, page 52 Ad for “Town & Country Home” Oregonian Newspaper, December 19, 1954 Model Home Contest Oregonian Newspaper, January 16, 1955 Model home winner Oregonian Newspaper, September 23, 1956, page 41