| SUMMARY
The Victor H. and Marta Jorgensen House is significant under Criterion C as an excellent example of the masterful work of Herman Brookman. Constructed in 1929, the asymmetrical, split level house is set into a steep hillside lot on a narrow winding hillside road overlooking the city. The house exhibits many of the hallmarks of Brookman’s work, including curving walls, ornamental ironwork, and extraordinary attention to detail. Brookman is well-known for his architectural skill, unique and well thought out plans, and seamless blend of traditional and modern elements. The Jorgensen House is an excellent example of Herman Brookman’s residential design, and has many of the signature elements that are reflective of his attention to detail and fine craftsmanship.
HERMAN BROOKMAN
Herman Brookman was born July 2, 1891 in Brooklyn New York, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, Joseph and Dora Brookman. Brookman’s first job after high school was as an office boy with the New York architecture firm of Albro and Lindeberg, a prestigious firm that specialized in building estates and mansions for wealthy Long Islanders. Brookman worked for the firm from 1909-1914, learning the practice of architecture along the way. After the firm dissolved in 1914, Brookman continued to design fine houses and estates with Harrie T. Lindeberg until 1922. Lindeberg was known to use only the best of materials and artisans in his work. He epitomized the emphasis on craftsmanship that was the hallmark of the Arts & Crafts and Beaux Arts philosophies of his time. Lindeberg was skilled at integrating the interior and exterior spaces of a building through patios, gardens, and vistas relating directly to his interiors. Undoubtedly, Brookman was greatly influenced by his early training with Lindeberg.
Brookman married his wife, Sophie, in 1911, and had three children, Bernard, Emanuel, and Dorothy. The family moved to White Plains, New York, in 1917, and Brookman commuted by train to Lindeberg’s office in New York City. After a disagreement, Brookman left Lindeberg’s office around 1919 and began working on his own. In 1921 Brookman and his family embarked on a two-year tour of Europe, where Brookman spent much of his time observing architecture. He was touring Europe when he was contacted by Lloyd Frank, an owner of Meier and Frank, to design his house on a 60-acre property south of Portland.
Brookman was recommended to Frank by Oscar B. Bach, a fine metal artist who Frank, a department store magnate, was acquainted with through his many connections in the decorative arts world in New York. Brookman completed the M. Lloyd Frank house, named Fir Acres, on Palatine Hill in 1924. Many of his colleagues believed that the Frank house was a masterpiece of design. Portland architect Saul Zaik calls the Frank estate a small masterpiece: “All architects have the quest for making something perfect. I think Brookman came close to that with Frank’s house.” Fir Acres is now the centerpiece of the Lewis and Clark College campus. After completing Fir Acres, the Brookmans decided to stay in Portland where Herman Brookman easily procured many more wealthy clients.
Lloyd Frank helped Brookman obtain another prestigious commission, Temple Beth Israel, completed in 1927. The congregation also hired the firm of M.H. Whitehouse and Associates and the architect Harry Herzog, a member of the congregation, although Brookman was the chief designer. This arrangement was especially difficult for Brookman, who preferred to work alone. Brookman began to gain a reputation for being difficult to work with. He insisted on control, and he would make corrections and ask for re-orders of materials if he didn’t get precisely what he was looking for. Despite these difficulties with his temperament, Brookman developed a reputation for having a remarkable sensitivity to detail and craftsmanship. Robert Wilmsen worked on several projects with Brookman, including the Pharmacy Building at Oregon State University and consulted with Brookman on the long-range master plan for the formal mall of the state capitol building. Wilmsen said of Brookman: “I’ll bet you that if there was a bird house on the Frank Estate, it was designed by Herman Brookman. Herman Brookman designed.”
Throughout his career, Brookman relied on his reputation and referrals from his wealthy clients to procure new projects. He was a perfectionist who preferred working alone in order to maintain control over his designs. As a result, his practice remained small. Gene Westberg, an architect who worked as a draftsman for Brookman for two years, stated that in forty years of practice, he (Westberg) was the only draftsman who lasted more than 6 months. Brookman was an intimidating and critical master and offered very little in the way of encouragement or praise. Yet, Westberg felt that his time with Brookman was beneficial. “If your blood-pressure could stand it, it was a marvelous way to learn.”
Brookman did not like to base his designs on a budget, preferring instead to design as he saw fit without being encumbered by financial restraints. He felt that if a client sought him out in the first place, they would have sufficient finances for a commission. He viewed each of his commissions as his project, not his clients. Not surprisingly, this furthered his reputation as difficult to work with. Westberg states that Brookman maintained that he regarded only two of his many clients as ideal, undoubtedly meaning that they gave him free reign to do as he pleased. This frequently meant redoing elements of the construction repeatedly until it was perfect. “Rip it out” was Brookman’s favorite phrase.
The Great Depression of the 1930s was a difficult time for Brookman, as clients were few. His income declined to the point that he almost lost the home he had designed for himself. He was forced to market himself for the first time, and took whatever small commission came his way. His business picked up again after the economy recovered, and he again relied on referrals for his large residential commissions.
Brookman did not work on many high profile architectural projects, focusing instead on detailed, intimate house designs for his clients. Focusing on residential architecture did not, however, prevent him from exploring new design and forms. As Hawkins and Willingham stated: “By the mid-1930’s, Herman Brookman, of all the Portland architects, had explored the furthest in developing new forms of architectural expression.” Gene Westburg, who worked for Brookman from 1953-55 recalls: “Everything was designed in those days. They didn’t have catalogues then. Much of his sources were from the East but he had a style with some Northwest flavor, though always more elaborate. Basically, he worked in a Georgian style, but with innovations.”
Brookman had an office downtown until about 1940 when he decided to work out of his home, which he designed himself. The Brookmans sold this home in 1941 and bought a two-story Queen Anne house in the Westover Terrace development of Southwest Portland. The Southwest Hills neighborhood grew rapidly after WWII, and Brookman had many commissions there. Brookman went on to practice from his home studio until 1965, when he closed his practice.
Brookman served as Treasurer of the Oregon Chapter of the American Institute of Architects from 1933-1935. He became Vice President in 1937, then Director in 1941. He was elected Director again from 1944-46, and from 1951-53. In 1950 he was elected Chapter President of the local AIA. Brookman became a Fellow of the AIA in 1951. He retired to California in 1965, where he died November 6, 1973, at the age of 82.
VICTOR H. JORGENSEN
Victor Hugo Jorgensen was born in 1884 to Emil C. Jorgensen, a Danish immigrant, and his wife, Pauline. Emil Jorgensen was a self-made businessman in wholesale liquor. In 1907, he built the Hotel Lenox, an 80-room first-class hotel at Southwest Third Avenue and Main Street. Jorgensen’s sons, Edwin D. and Victor H., managed the hotel beginning in 1909. The successful and popular hotel was billed as a “select family hotel.” It boasted hot and cold water, long-distance phones in every room, private baths, steam heat, and a bus that picked up guests at the train station.
Edwin and Victor inherited the hotel from their father after Emil Jorgensen’s death in 1923. The brothers continued to cater to families, and the hotel prospered. The Jorgensen’s ran the hotel from an office in the NE corner of the first floor until 1937. That year the name of the hotel changed to the “New Lenox Hotel,” and the Jorgensens turned over management to Peter Kosturos. After the Jorgensen’s ceased to actively manage the hotel, it gradually declined in quality and reputation, eventually becoming a low cost residential hotel. The Lenox finally closed in 1970, although the first floor was used for retail stores until 1980. Upon Victor Jorgensen’s death in 1977, his son, Victor H. Jr. , inherited the building. Victor Jr. sold the building to the Portland Development Commission in 1979, ending 73 years of family ownership. The Portland Development Commission demolished the building in 1980. The Justice Center is now located where the Lenox once stood.
Victor H. Jorgensen and his first wife, Marta, had three children, Victor, Jr., Marita, and Polly Ann, who grew up in the house. Marta died in 1941 from complications of abdominal surgery at the age of 54. Victor remarried and moved to Santa Cruz California in 1947, where he lived the rest of his life. He died at the age of 93 in 1977.
THE JORGENSEN HOUSE: UNIQUELY BROOKMAN
In Classic Houses of Portland, Hawkins and Willingham describe a trend in the 1920’s and 1930’s which ultimately led to the Moderne, International and Northwest styles. They describe this as a transitional period, where Portland’s residential architects like Herman Brookman, Morris H. Whitehouse, Richard Sundeleaf and Sutton, Whitney and Aandahl explored simplified traditional architectural forms with minimal ornamentation. The Jorgensen House reflects this transitional period. It is a unique house that is difficult to fit into a single stylistic classification. Instead, it reflects the confidence with which Brookman melded various styles to create a unique design of his own vision. Even among his own designs, the Jorgensen House is a unique expression of a mix of revival and forward thinking design, and a relaxed and comfortable adaptation to a very difficult site.
Although it does not fit into any single style, references to several styles can be seen in the Jorgensen House, including Arts and Crafts, Spanish Eclectic, and Moderne. The fine materials and impeccable craftsmanship reflect the Arts and Crafts style. The stucco, carved wood lintel, interior plasterwork, and parabolic interior arches reflect the Spanish Eclectic style. The rear of the house has a definite Moderne feeling. It has several intersecting geometric forms, a cantilevered bay, banks of single-light casement windows, and half-round balconies. The overall impression from this side is quite contemporary, especially for a house designed in 1929.
The interior of the Jorgensen House is a unique arrangement of varying levels rarely seen in a house of this vintage. The entry is at mid-level, between the sunken living room and the private upper hall leading to the bedrooms. The public spaces convey Brookman’s attention to detail, with the vaulted ceilings, subtly textured plaster walls, and the finely crafted mahogany paneled niche in the dining room. Expansive windows take in the valley view. The private spaces also reflect Brookman’s touch, from the walnut cabinetry in the hall to the rounded vaulting ceiling in the master bedroom and the pointed arch window in the celadon tiled bathroom. Like so many Brookman designs, the Jorgensen House seamlessly integrates many unique design elements to create a fresh, contemporary architectural masterpiece.
Herman Brookman was a prolific designer of houses in Portland, primarily for affluent clients. His designs are scattered throughout Portland, but the largest concentration of his houses are in the Southwest Hills area of the city. There are currently five Brookman designed structures on the National Register of Historic Places: Fir Acres (Lewis and Clark College), the Commodore Hotel, Temple Beth Israel, the Baruh-Zell House (3131 SW Talbot Rd), and the Alan and Barbara Goldsmith House (4140 SW Greenleaf Ct). Additionally, nineteen of his structures are on the Portland Cultural Resource Inventory.
Brookman was known for his artistry and attention to detail, and he designed buildings in a number of styles popular when he practiced. Each of Brookman’s designs was entirely unique and a work of art in its own right, so comparing them to each other is challenging, but there were certain elements that Brookman frequently used.
From 1924, when he designed his first house in Portland, Fir Acres, the huge estate of M. Lloyd Frank, until about 1940, Brookman designed primarily in traditional revival styles such as Colonial, Tudor and Mediterranean, with his characteristic attention to detail and propensity for stripping his designs down. After 1940, he began designing in more contemporary styles, such as Early Modern and Northwest Regional variations. Whatever style he worked in, no two Brookman designs were the same. Each was designed to suit the particular client and site he was working with.
The Jorgensen House is difficult to categorize architecturally. It was constructed during Brookman’s revival period, but its split-level plan and artful, relaxed blend of stylistic elements do not necessarily fit in any revival style. The house must have appeared very modern for its time, when split-levels were uncommon and traditional styles were the norm.
Brookman had a number of signature elements which appear on many of his designs including the Jorgensen House. These include designing houses perfectly situated on difficult sites, recessed entrances, curving design elements, casement and leaded glass windows, and masterful wrought iron work.
Many Brookman-designed houses are set on difficult or awkward sites, which tend to provide spectacular views. But as with the Jorgensen House, Brookman managed to not only fit the house to the setting but site it in such a way as to take maximum advantage of both the view and the lot. The Lee S. Elliot House, at 1475 Vista Avenue, while a masterpiece of design, is set on a difficult site, which required that the façade face inward toward a private lane. The lot of the Eliot House slopes steeply down to the rear, a situation that is remedied with a massive retaining wall. The Grace Kern House, on SW Westpoint Court, is also sited on an awkward sloping lot. In that case, a massive concrete retaining wall on the rear of the lot raised the entire lot to a more workable level.
Like many Brookman houses, the Jorgensen has a recessed entrance. Other houses with this element include the Baruh-Zell House, and the much more Moderne Keith Gilbert Powers House (287 NW Cumberland Rd) built in 1947.
Brookman’s unique use of curving elements lent a modern air to his more traditionally styled houses. Throughout his career, curves played a major part in many of his designs, from traditional to contemporary style houses. Curves do not play as prominent a role on the exterior of the Jorgensen House as on some other Brookman houses, but they are present. A round tower entrance with a bellcast roof is tucked into the corner of the auto court. On the rear and south side elevations, half-round balconies contribute to the Moderne feel, and foretold of Brookman’s evolution towards that style. The Moderne Keith Gilbert Powers House, located at 287 NW Cumberland Road, has several curving walls reflective of Brookman’s earlier work.
The interior of the Jorgensen house has soft and subtle curves, from the rounded edges of the walls to the rounded vault ceilings in many rooms. Other Brookman houses are less subtle in their use of curves; the 1955 Kern House is unique in that the entire façade is a single concave curve.
Another signature Brookman element was his use of decorative wrought iron. He worked frequently with the noted metal artist Oscar B. Bach, of New York, whose work adorns the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building, among many others. Nowhere is Brookman’s use of decorative wrought iron more evident than in the Mediterranean style Harry A. Green House, at 3316 SE Ankeny, which has an over-the-top wrought iron entrance gate complete with a peacock, and a gracefully curving interior staircase. Most of his other commissions had more restrained wrought iron elements, such as those on the Jorgensen House. The Jorgensen House has a beautiful decorative wrought iron light fixture over the front door, a tall, delicate rooftop weathervane, and a cast iron decorative screen over the round window in the east wall of the garage. All of these elements are understated, but are also important character defining elements of the façade of the house.
Brookman was partial to casement windows and used them on most of his designs regardless of style. In some cases, such as on the Baruh-Zell House, the Green House, and the Adrienne Arnsberg House (1136 SW Davenport Street), three-light casements leant an air of modernity to traditional designs. Indeed, banks of casement windows are one element that can be seen on almost every Brookman house from the Frank House all the way through to the Grace Kern House. The Jorgensen house has primarily single light casement windows set in banks of two to five.
CONCLUSION
In summary, the Jorgensen House is a hard to categorize but masterfully designed house. It is perfectly situated on its lot to take advantage of the view and allow for an intimate and elegant entrance from the street. The interior is a forward-thinking split level plan with exceptionally detailed spaces featuring fine finishes, vaulted ceilings, banks of windows, and seamless transitions. It is unmistakably the work of a skilled artist. |
