"Ground Floor, Otis Elevator"

 

Jokesters used to tease Portland as being a city where the Otis Elevator Company was headquartered in a one-story building.

 

Well, true dat.

 

The company in 1920 built its one-story building with Italian Renaissance styling on a 5,000-square foot lot at N.W. 10^th Ave. and Everett St. The west end served as the office and the rear portion of the building was used for storage and fabrication.

 

The charming little building – which survives today in excellent condition – belies the importance of elevators in modern architecture. Paired with the advent of steel-frame construction, the elevator industry helped the world advance into the skyscraper era. The Portland Otis office was instrumental in assisting Portland’s early high-rise buildings such as the Wells Fargo Building, Meier & Frank, Jackson Tower, Benson Hotel, American Bank Building as well as many newer tall buildings.

Portland’s stylish Otis office was designed by an Otis company architect whose identity is now known. The firm was building many buildings around the nation at the time. The 1920 date is interesting because it came near the end of architecture’s tradition of using historic styles.

  

“Its classical facade expresses a central tenet of the Beaux Art influenced, classically derived architecture of the time, i.e., that even mundane uses should be housed in nobly-designed

structures,” states a history compiled for the National Register of Historic Places. “The Otis Building is noteworthy as a relatively late example of this tenet, since by the time of its construction it was already becoming common to house industrial uses in more functionally-designed structures.”

 

The west facade contains tall Romanesque arched windows office entry is decorated with an arched terra cotta pediment.  Above, a frieze, cornice and red tile roof are customary Italian Renaissance details.  The northern facade reflects the warehouse portion of the building with simpler design and fewer architectural details.

 

Otis used the building until 1975. The former office space is now home to a certified public accountant, and the interior by visual inspection (peeking in the windows) appears largely intact. The former warehouse is contains an artist-run art gallery.

 

Elisha Graves Otis invented his first elevator in 1852. The early ones were intended for hoisting machinery. By 1857 Otis elevators were adapted for carrying people; Otis also invented a safety mechanism that prevented the elevator from falling if its supporting ropes were severed.  His successful demonstration of the safety device launched his elevators as people carriers.

 

After 123 years, Portland’s Otis building reflects design, materials and craftsmanship of an architectural era that no longer exists. We should appreciate its presence and its charm --
and hope that its long life continues without harmful alterations.

And that’s no joke.

 

----Fred Leeson

 

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