Troy Laundry Building

Ellis F. Lawrence (American Architect, 1879-1946)

Troy Laundry Building

1913

1025 SE Pine Street, Portland, Oregon

Colonial Revival

Heather Alley, Medieval Portland Capstone Student, 2020

The Troy Laundry Company was established in 1889 by John F. Tait. Tait came to Portland from Scotland, where he had apprenticed in the laundry trade.[1] His knowledge of the business and his spectacular management skills led to the establishment of a successful and one of the longest-running laundry businesses in the city of Portland. The original Troy Laundry building was located on the west side of the river but was destroyed by a fire in 1894. At that time, Tait moved the laundry into a building on the east side.[2] By 1913, the laundry had outgrown its earlier building, and the Troy Laundry building was built. The Troy Laundry Building was designed by Ellis Lawrence, a notable architect who is known for having founded the University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts in Eugene, Oregon. 

The Colonial Revival architectural style of the Troy Laundry Building can be seen in the angular brickwork, small stacked windows, and symmetrical features. The tall double-layered windows and the decorative brickwork in even intervals high up on walls are also examples of the Colonial Revival style. Colonial Revival style is often associated with Centennial Exhibitions, which reawakened Americans to the architectural traditions of the colonial past.[3] It wasn’t until 1910 that American society was really interested in the Colonial. Forty percent of United States homes built in this style were built in the subsequent twenty-year period.

The Troy Laundry building is classified as a Colonial Revival building, but aspects of other architectural styles are seen throughout. Renaissance Revival architecture drew inspiration from a wide range of classical Italian modes.[4] Many nineteenth-century architects and critics gained inspiration from early fifteenth-century artwork and architecture. The building also has aspects of Egyptian Revival architecture, such as motifs and imagery that resemble that of ancient Egypt.[5] The angular wall faces and design of the upper portions of the Troy Laundry building are excellent depictions of this stylistic choice. 

The Troy Laundry building has an extensive history within Portland, and its unique design and style make it a site to behold. The history of one building can uncover much of our past, and it is important to keep the memory and history alive. The Troy Laundry Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 27th, 1989.[6]

Notes

[1] United States Department of the Interior; National Register of Historic Places Registration form. Troy Laundry Building. Federal Register No.: 10024-0018 (January 27, 1989)
[2] “Ellis Fuller Lawrence Papers, 1909-1929  PDF.” Archives West: Ellis Fuller Lawrence Papers, 1909-1929, archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv35243.
[3] Roth, Leland
[4] Roth, Leland M., and Amanda C. R. Clark. American Architecture: a History. Routledge, 2019.
[5] Roth, Leland
[6] United States Department of the Interior; National Register of Historic Places Registration form. Troy Laundry Building. Federal Register No.: 10024-0018 (January 27, 1989)

Sources

“Ellis Fuller Lawrence Papers, 1909-1929  PDF.” Archives West: Ellis Fuller Lawrence Papers, 1909-1929, archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv35243.

“Intrinsic Ventures Troy Laundry Building.” Intrinsic Ventures, www.intrinsicventures.com/troy-laundry-building/. 

McAlester, V., Matty, S. P., &; Clicque, S. (2018). A field guide to American houses: The definitive guide to identifying and understanding America's domestic architecture. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

National Register of Historic Places; Multiple Property Documentation Form. Architecture of Ellis F. Lawrence. Federal Register No.: 1024-0018 (September 04, 1990)

Potter, Elisabeth W. The Oregon Encyclopedia, 6 Mar. 2020, oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/lawrence_ellis_f_1879_1946_/#.XrJPR6hKiUk.

Roth, Leland M., and Amanda C. R. Clark. American Architecture: a History. Routledge, 2019.

Shellenbarger, Michael, et al. Harmony in Diversity: the Architecture and Teaching of Ellis F. Lawrence. Museum of Art and the Historic Preservation Program, School of Architecture and Allied Arts, University of Oregon, 1989.

United States Department of the Interior; National Register of Historic Places Registration form. Troy Laundry Building. Federal Register No.: 10024-0018 (January 27, 1989)

“University of Oregon Libraries.” University of Oregon Libraries, library.uoregon.edu/architecture/oregon/lawrence.