The Simon Benson House is a 19th-century house located in downtown Portland, Oregon. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.[3]

Simon Benson House
Portland Historic Landmark[2]
Simon Benson House in 2012
Simon Benson House is located in Portland State University OR
Simon Benson House
Location1803 SW Park Avenue
Portland, Oregon
Coordinates45°30′44″N 122°41′07″W / 45.512258°N 122.685409°W / 45.512258; -122.685409
Built1900
Architectural styleQueen Anne
NRHP reference No.01000155[1]
Added to NRHPOctober 25, 2002

[4]

History edit

The Queen Anne style house was built of wood-frame construction in 1900. Norwegian immigrant Simon Benson (1851-1942) was a leading businessman, innovator, and philanthropist. Benson helped build Benson Polytechnic High School and gave the iconic bronze Benson Bubbler drinking fountains to the City of Portland. He had the house built as a residence for his family. The Benson family moved from the house in 1913 when the Benson Hotel was completed. [4] [5] [6]

During the 1930s, the house was turned into a boarding house, and then later divided into apartments. The house was originally located at SW 11th and Clay Avenue. It was moved to its current location at SW Park and Montgomery Street at Portland State University (PSU) in 2000. It is currently owned by Portland State University and is the former site of the PSU Alumni Association.[4] [7][8]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ Portland Historic Landmarks Commission (July 2010), Historic Landmarks -- Portland, Oregon (XLS), retrieved October 30, 2013.
  3. ^ "Oregon National Register List" (PDF). Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. June 6, 2011. p. 30. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 25, 2018. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "Simon Benson House". oregonencyclopedia.org. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  5. ^ "Benson Hotel". oregonencyclopedia.org. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  6. ^ "Simon Benson (1851-1942)". oregonencyclopedia.org. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  7. ^ Killen, John (February 4, 2015). "Simon Benson House filed a change of address 15 years ago". The Oregonian. p. A12. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  8. ^ "Simon Benson House". PSU Alumni Association. Retrieved October 1, 2020.

Further reading edit

  • Alice Benson Allen (1976) Simon Benson: Northwest Lumber King (Hillsboro, OR: Binford & Mort Publishing)

External links edit