Laurelhurst Historic District Nomination

Portland, Oregon

Project

In 2017, the Laurelhurst Neighborhood Association (LNA) hired Peter Meijer Architect, PC (PMA) to assist in the survey and historic district nomination of the Laurelhurst neighborhood in Portland, Oregon. The project consisted of the following tasks:

(1) in-depth historical research of the neighborhood,

(2) preparation for and organization of the architectural survey,

(3) execution of the survey that covered all 1,853 houses and 10 non-building resources of Laurelhurst, and

(4) the creation of the nomination document that was sent to the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO).

PMA worked closely with the LNA, representatives from the Oregon SHPO, preservation students from the University of Oregon, and resident-volunteers from the neighborhood during the different phases of the project. These parties, especially residents of the neighborhood, offered invaluable information about the history of Laurelhurst and the people that had lived there. After 10 months of hard work, the final nomination was submitted in July 2018.

a brief history of the neighborhood

Once the first streetcar lines were extended east from downtown Portland to the other side of the Willamette River by 1909, development in this area was booming. The boundaries of the nomination were based on the original 1880's plat lines of William Sargent Ladd's Hazelfern Farm. In 1909, Paul Murphy of the Laurelhurst Company bought Hazelfern Farm from Ladd's son and established Laurelhurst. By 1920, at least 700 houses had been constructed (estimating about 50% of the neighborhood) and only 10% of the lots remained undeveloped by 1935. 

Laurelhurst was characterized by recurring motifs throughout the neighborhood, some of which still exist today. These include horse rings that predated the popularization of cars in the 1940's, signature lamp posts, old street car tracks, and the famous Laurelhurst sandstone entry gates. 

A NEIGHBORHOOD OF SOCIAL TRENDS

Laurelhurst was designed to be a high-class, community-oriented neighborhood with eclectic style and marketed as a "better way of living" in comparison with the grunge of Portland's City Center. Residents were encouraged to participate in activities at the Laurelhurst Club, where dances and sports events were hosted, and to frequent Laurelhurst Park. The neighborhood's homes boasted a variety of architectural styles that held a greater level of "culture" in comparison with Portland's urban downtown buildings.

LAURELHURST'S ECLECTIC VARIETY OF ARCHITECTURAL STYLES