Fairmount Apartments

 

How many times do we hear that an old building is too decrepit to save?

 Frankly, no building is beyond saving if there is enough willpower or a sharpened financial pencil or some combination of both.

Take the Fairmount Apartments on Northwest 26th Avenue, for example.  It was built in 1904-05 as an upscale hotel abutting the Vaughn Street entrance of the Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition.  The fair, created by Portland’s early civic and economic boosters, drew more than 2 million visitors during its four-month fun and fueled the young city’s rapid population growth.

The two-story hotel, built in the shape of an E with the spine on 26th and legs extending along Upshur and Vaughn Streets, had 150 rooms and a dining room that served more than a thousand meals a day.  Rooms rented for $1 per night; dinner was 35 cents.

Alas, the fair site had already been sold for industrial development, making it a difficult location for a hotel.  Located far from the heart of town, the hotel soon lapsed into inexpensive single-room housing.  Its physical condition deteriorated as the years passed.  Today, it is believed to be the last building built for the fair still in its original location. 

The nadir for the Hotel Fairmount, later known as the Evergreen Apartments, likely occurred in 1982, when city fire officials declared it to be possibly the city’s worst firetrap.  By then, fire safety equipment was either inoperable or nonexistent.  The roof leaked.  Units on the second floor had no functioning heat, and were warmed by kitchen stoves.  A fire marshal predicted that it would take less than an hour for the wooden, two-story building to burn to the ground, threatening the safety of 150 low-income residents.

A judge ordered the building to be vacated if repairs were not made quickly.  “If they think this place is so bad, they should check out living under the Burnside Bridge,” said one tenant who felt he could not find housing elsewhere.

The city government came through with a $65,000 emergency loan that year, but progress was tedious.  The building had many years ahead in a declining state.

In 2000, the building was owned by Brad Malsin who has a history of renovating historic buildings.  He funded an application that listed the Fairmount on the National Register of Historic Places, largely because of its connection with the fair and the urban growth it promoted.

The architect and builder of the Fairmount are not known.  Surprisingly, the registration form does not speak highly of the building’s architecture.  “Although the Fairmount is not of great merit stylistically, it is significant as a unique vernacular example of an early 20th century wood-frame hotel,” it says.  “Few wood-frame commercial buildings of this vintage remain in Portland today.”

Regardless, the building is still attractive to the eye with details common at the time, including paired brackets at the eaves and a simple cornice.  Porticos project from the west and south sides, set off with wooden quoins to define the corners.  A recessed, one-story porch covers all three sides, with simple square columns supporting the upper story.  The first floor is finished with rough stucco, and the second with horizontal wooden siding.

“Although it has been neglected and requires significant restoration, the mere fact that the Fairmount remains, essentially in original form, is astounding,” the registration form noted in 2000. “The current owner of this still rather notorious building is aware of its historical significance and intends to completely restore the Fairmount.”

It was no simple task. Funding ultimately was finalized by Urban Development+Partners, a firm that recruits investors for buildings both new and historic.  Finally completed in 2018, the $6 million Fairmount project completely revamped the interior into 80 apartments, including studio, one and two bedroom units.  The exterior was restored to close to its original appearance with historically-accurate materials.

While the Fairmount has seen a lot of change in its life, so has the Northwest Portland neighborhood near it.  Some heavy industry and trucking enterprises have disappeared, and more apartments have sprouted immediately to the south and west.  These developments over the years no doubt made the Fairmount more attractive as a restoration project.    

Now 115 years old, the revamped Fairmount should have a long life.  It gives the neighborhood a welcome taste of early 20th Century architecture and a hint of the big fair that helped place Portland as a major Pacific Northwest city.