A Double 'Save' at the Woodlark House of Welcome

 

Political demonstrations in downtown Portland and the COVID-19 pandemic dealt harsh blows to the downtown hotel industry.  When your correspondent wanted to write about an exciting architectural preservation breakthrough last year, the Woodlark House of Welcome hotel was locked tight.

Thankfully, the doors have reopened and the lobby was busy during a recent visit.  The comparatively “new” hotel of 151 rooms was composed by joining into a single hotel the original Cornelius Hotel, completed in 1908, and the neighboring the 9-story Woodlark Building erected in 1912.

The conjuncture of the architectural neighbors was approved by the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission and tinkered into reality by the Portland firm, MCA Architects.  It is an excellent example of how a new use can provide new life for old buildings, in addition to being a creative “double whammy” to find enough rentable rooms to make the project economically viable.

The Woodlark House of Friends opened early in 2019, but then suffered in 2020 when pandemic-related closures smacked downtown hotel occupancy rates from 77 percent to less than 27.  Most downtown hotels including the Woodlark were closed for at least parts of 2020.

At first glance, the more interesting building is the old Cornelius, which was developed by Charles W. Cornelius, an early Multnomah County coroner.  The “House of  Welcome” on the big blade sign is a throw-back to the informal reputation gained by the hotel in its early era when it hosted an affluent clientele.

A historic picture postcard view 

The Cornelius was designed by a firm headed by John Virginius Bennes, who practice architecture in Portland for 37 years.  He designed many notable buildings on the Oregon State University campus in Corvallis.  His firm – though Bennes might not have been the guiding force – also designed the big Hollywood Theater that still presides over the Hollywood District in Northeast Portland.

A notable feature of the Cornelius design is the steeply pitched Mansard roof that sits atop the sixth story.  The Mansard design with windows peeking through was a device invented in Paris in the 19th Century to squeeze one more story out of the Parisian height restrictions.  There are only a few of these French Renaissance examples in Portland.  Regrettably, it is difficult to see the roof with its gabled dormers from the street level.

Until the recent renovation, the past several decades were tough ones for the Cornelius Hotel.  It eventually devolved to low-income housing, and then a fire devastated three floors.  The building appeared headed for demolition in 2014, but was saved when a new development team advanced its plan to merge it as a hotel with the Woodlark Building.

Next door, the taller Woodlark Building with its gently arched main entrance was an early “skyscraper” from the firm headed by A.E. Doyle.  In fewer than 20 years, Doyle’s office designed 19 downtown buildings, making his team the still-reigning design champions for downtown Portland.

 Many of Doyle’s later buildings are taller, but the Woodlark showed his interest in terra cotta ornamentation and his fundamental “base, middle and top” strategy for arranging tall buildings. 

While the middle of the Woodlark and its heavy original cornice remain, the ground floor facades have been substantially modified over the years.  Regardless, the building is an interesting and peaceful example of an early 20th Century office tower.  Its creamy terra cotta fares well in Portland’s cloudiest months.

One hopes that  the demise of the pandemic (if ever) will allow for a successful future for this interesting amalgam of historic Portland buildings from the early 20th Century. 

----Fred Leeson

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