The subject of a heroic Portland architectural preservation “save” finds itself in limbo again thanks to the pandemic and disarray downtown.
The 1883 Ladd Carriage House, one of downtown’s last and
most artistic wooden buildings, is now up for sale following the closure of the
upscale Raven & Rose restaurant and bar near the end of 2021. While its landmark status likely will save it
from demolition, there is now way of knowing what its future holds until a new
buyer takes control.
Though its windows are now boarded up for protection, the
building is still turn-key ready for use as a restaurant and bar. But in its many earlier decades, the one-time
horse and carriage barn also housed retail shops, a dance hall, architectural
office, construction office and a law office.
The historic three-story building was threatened with
demolition starting in 2004. After
considerable hand-wringing and advocacy by preservation advocates, the building
was jacked up and moved three blocks where it sat in a parking lot in 2007 and
2008 while underground parking was constructed on its original site.
Upon its return, the building needed a lot of restorative
help. “A tremendous amount of time and treasure went into saving the
building and converting it into a first rate restaurant,” said Paul Falsetto,
an architect deeply involved in the project.
“I can only hope the eventual new ownership would continue with that
use.”
Among old-building lovers, the carriage house is significant for
its interesting design and exterior craftsmanship, as well as for its historic
connections to downtown and to William S. Ladd, a pioneer businessman, banker,
developer and early Portland mayor. The
glorified horse barn as built across what was then S.W. 7th Ave. (now Broadway)
from Ladd’s 30-room mansion that was demolished in the 1920s.
Falsetto said the carriage house “displays
its historic value to the city through its elaborate exterior visage, and the
advantage of a restaurant use is that people can experience its interior as
well. The second floor ‘hayloft’ is one of the great historic spaces of its
era, with its original and unique truss work in full display.”
Unlike the long-departed Ladd mansion, the carriage house was designed in the English Stick Style by architect Joseph Sherwin, a native of England. It is Sherwin’s only known work in Portland. In its original guise, the structure included space for twelve horses, Ladd’s personal carriages, a hayloft, and residential quarters for the estate’s coachman and gardener.
The Raven & Rose restaurant, which opened in 2011, was hurt
economically by the pandemic and by homeless campers who set up tents along the
Columbia Street frontage. While Portland
has made efforts to clean up the tent sites, downtown remains less populated
during daytime and evening hours because many employees continue working from
home instead of downtown offices.
Those of us who believe that vibrant urban centers mark a pinnacle
of civilization have to wonder how downtown Portland and urban centers will
survive in the years ahead.
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