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NR Nomination

LOCATION AND PROPERTY NAME
address:114 NE 22nd Ave historic name:Bowers, George and Hetty, House
Portland, Multnomah County current/other names:
assoc addresses:
block/lot/tax lot:
location descr: twnshp/rng/sect/qtr sect:1N 1E 35
PROPERTY CHARACTERISTICS
resource type:Building height (stories):2.0 total elig resources:1 total inelig resources:1
elig evaluation: eligible/contributing NR Status: Individually Listed
prim constr date:1910 second date: date indiv listed:09/23/2011
primary orig use: Single Dwelling orig use comments:
second orig use:
primary style: Classical Revival: other prim style comments:
secondary style: sec style comments:
primary siding: Stucco siding comments:
secondary siding: Wood:Other/Undefined
plan type: architect:
builder:G. W. Bowers
comments/notes:
Documentation on file for plans to rehabilitate garage with addition of windows. Owner consulted with SHPO on project and SHPO concurred changes to garage woudn't affect eligibility.
GROUPINGS / ASSOCIATIONS
Not associated with any surveys or groupings.
SHPO INFORMATION FOR THIS PROPERTY
NR date listed: 09/23/2011
ILS survey date:
RLS survey date: 11/24/2009
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 George W. and Hetty A. Bowers House is a single-family residence located at 114 NE 22nd Avenue, in the Kerns neighborhood of northeast Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon. The house is situated on a 50 x 43 foot lot in the residential area historically known as Dunn’s Addition, one lot north of Couch Street. Built in 1910, this 1,490 square foot, two-story house is constructed of reinforced poured concrete with stucco finish on the exterior, and lathe-and-plaster over wood framing on the interior. Where lathe-and-plaster is not present, evidence remains of the poured-concrete construction, including original wood forms and wood impressions in the exposed concrete. The footprint of the structure is roughly square, as the residence is essentially a foursquare design, with a porch and balcony occupying the southwest quarter of both stories. The design includes three rooms on each of the first and second floors, as the fourth quadrant consists of the porch and balcony. There are a numerous double-hung sash and casement windows throughout the two stories of living space and the raised basement. Classic details adorn the structure, with colossal Ionic columns flanking the porch, and bracketed overhanging metal cornices with dentils surrounding the butterfly roof. The primary elevation faces west, where steps to the front porch abut the sidewalk. A non-contributing garage is located immediately south of the residence, and is set back by a concrete-slab driveway. Further research appears to indicate that the owner, George W. Bowers, is also credited as the builder. See File.
HISTORY
(Chronological, descriptive history of the property from its construction through at least the historic period - preferably to the present)
The George W. and Hetty A. Bowers House is an example of a residential structure made of poured concrete, a construction method popularized by Thomas Edison in the early twentieth century as the use of concrete in architecture was under experimentation in the United States. Unlike houses constructed of concrete blocks, the more common representation of concrete in residential construction, poured concrete houses were fairly rare because, ultimately, the technique was not popularized in the United States. The Bowers House is one of only three known houses constructed with this method in Portland in the early twentieth century. It is built in a foursquare design, similar to the design patented by Edison, though it includes classical details that make the structure unique. Due to the use of material and design, as well as its construction date during the period of experimentation, the Bowers House is a good example of a middle-class adaption of poured concrete housing in the Classical Revival style.
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:
Bibliography:
Architectural Survey Data, Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, 04-29-2009. Bookwalter, Jack. “Concrete Houses of Portland,” Northwest Renovation, Oct/Nov 2009, p. 16-19. “Bowers Funeral Set for Wednesday,” Oregon Journal, 4-20-1937. City of Portland, Historic Resources Inventory. Clark, Rosalind. Oregon Style: Architecture from 1840 to the 1950s. Portland: Professional Book Center. 1983. Day, Richard. “PS Guide to Concrete Reinforcing,” Popular Science, Aug. 1977, p. 126-130. “History of Concrete - Concrete and Cement History Timeline - The Concrete Network”, n.d. http://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete-history/. Accessed 7-5-2011. “History of Reinforced Concrete | Today’s Concrete Technology”, n.d. http://www.todaysconcretetechnology.com/history-of-reinforced-concrete.html. Accessed 7-5-2011. “Marian Bellargeon,” Oregonian, 2-13-1984. McAlester, Virginia and Lee. A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 1984. “National Gas Museum: Gas lighting”, n.d. http://www.nationalgasmuseum.org.uk/index.asp?page=history-04. Accessed 7-6-2011.