Hello sweet friends! Welcome to another installment of Travel Tuesdays. This is the second installment in this limited summer series on DTA. Today I have a true gem. It is The Pittock Mansion and Gardens located in Portland, Oregon.
The Pittock Mansion and Gardens
The Pittock Mansion is a French-Renaissance style chateau which features amazing panoramic views of Portland, the Willamette River, and the distant Cascade Mountains. In 1912 construction was begun on the mansion. By 1914 The Oregonian newspaper publisher Henry Pittock and his wife Georgiana moved in.
The mansion was designed by San Francisco architect Edward T. Foulkes. The 46-room estate is built of Tenino Sandstone. A marvel of its time the home featured a central vacuum system, elevator, intercoms, a walk-in refrigerator and much more.
Georgiana Pittock was an avid gardener. She was one of the founding members of the Portland Rose Society. She hosted the first Portland Rose Show in 1889 and helped launch the Portland Rose Festival. I wrote about the Portland Rose garden HERE.
It is no surprise that the grounds of the estate are absolutely gorgeous. The original landscape design was created by C.C. Colburn. It featured dogwoods, hydrangeas, rhododendrons, lilacs, magnolias, and roses of course. The garden grounds are free to tour.
On a clear day visitors can see five Cascade Mountains. They include Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams, Mount Rainer, and Mount Jefferson.
It is truly a lovely place to walk. Numerous benches are provided for visitors to stop and admire the various vistas.
A Grand Interior
You can view interiors of the mansion on a self guided tour. Tickets can be purchased ahead of time HERE.
The Pittock family remained in residence at the mansion until 1958.
Extensive damage was caused by the 1962 Columbus Day Storm and the owners considered just demolishing the property.
Thankfully, a group of citizens banded together and raised $75,000 in three months to help the city purchase the property in 1964 for a final cost of $225,000.
It took fifteen months to restore the home.
It was a worthwhile gamble as roughly 80,000 people visit the Pittock Mansion every year.
The Kitchen
I always love a good turn of the century kitchen.
The original flooring is a truly fun design.
Classic white subway tile makes my heart happy!
The pantry is pretty charming too.
There was some lovely artwork gracing the walls. But this darling wee one was my favorite.
The mansion has five large bedrooms.
All of the original bathrooms would be right at home in a good cottage remodel.
The Sewing Room
My favorite room just might have been the ladies sitting and sewing room. I couldn’t even imagine working in such a grand space.
Would I ever be able to look away from such a gorgeous view?
I’ll be back on Friday with a fun craft.
Laura
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Wow! That’ s just so beautiful! I love to tour old homes.