Darcelle XV at Home
In this photo series and accompanying video, we explore the home and creativity of Walter Cole, also known as Darcelle XV, a local legendary Drag Queen
By Architectural Heritage Center
Images provided by Tom Cook Photo
Darcelle XV at Home
Through a series of portraits taken by Portland photographer Tom Cook in 2019, Darcelle XV at Home shows how a neglected Victorian home and a growing Pacific Northwest city were loved and made more fabulous by a determined, ebullient spirit.
"The Darcelle XV at Home photo series is an exploration and documentation of the vision of Darcelle’s creativity and expression that has manifested itself in her historic Portland home over the course of decades. Every square inch of her home has been considered, designed, and implemented to perfection, as Walter has crafted Darcelle herself, and the result is breathtaking."
-Tom Cook, Tom Cook Photo
In this photo series and accompanying video, we explore the home and creativity of Walter Cole, also known as Darcelle XV, creator and headliner of the Darcelle XV Showcase, the oldest continuously running cabaret in the United States.
Darcelle XV at Home, Walter by the Stairwell (2020) by Tom CookArchitectural Heritage Center
Walter Cole
Walter Cole became the funny, flashy female persona Darcelle in the 1960s, when being gay was often considered, as one Time magazine article stated, “a pernicious sickness.”
Darcelle XV at Home - Portrait in Blue Dress (2019) by Tom CookArchitectural Heritage Center
Darcelle XV
As the popularity of Darcelle’s club and drag show grew over the decades, mainstream audiences willingly opened themselves up, for the length of a show at least, to a way of being that was often well outside their norm.
The Elmer and Linnie Miller House
During these same decades, Cole was embellishing a Queen Anne style home he bought for $45,000 in the 1970's.The residence was originally built in 1896 by lawyer Elmer Miller and his wife Linnie.
Watch Walter's description of his decision to purchase the home! Click HERE to watch the full video.
Darcelle XV at Home - Standing in Starcase (2019) by Tom CookArchitectural Heritage Center
Restoration
Upon Cole’s purchase of the house in 1978, he undertook significant repairs and restoration. While some alterations were made, the home maintains much of its original layout and historic elements, such as fir floors, original door hardware, and a spindle-work stair railing.
Darcelle XV at Home, Stained Glass Window (2020) by Tom CookArchitectural Heritage Center
Stained Glass
Because the original windows had been removed by previous owners, in the early 1980s Cole hired two artists, Jerry Bosco and Ben Milligan, to design and build new stained glass windows.
Like Cole and other gay men in Portland in the 1970s and 1980s, Bosco and Milligan were early preservationists who led efforts to save parts of the city’s buildings through salvage, restoration, and education.
AHC Exhibit : Darcelle At Home, Stained Glass Designs (2020) by Tom CookArchitectural Heritage Center
Ben and Jerry's window designs
Before their death from AIDS in the 1980s, Bosco and Milligan were creators and restorers of stained glass, as well as avid collectors of architectural pieces from historic buildings that were being demolished.
I was in the back of the house, and they came to install the doors. I stayed away while they put them in, and when I walked into the foyer, I wept, it was so beautiful . . . they were just talented young men.
-Walter Cole
Darcelle XV at Home, Stained Glass Doors (2020) by Tom CookArchitectural Heritage Center
One of their glass making studios during this time occupied what is today the AHC’s exhibition gallery on the southwest corner of Grand Avenue and Alder Street. Bosco and Milligan’s glass art lives on in Darcelle’s home.
Darcelle XV at Home - Sitting in Green Room (2019) by Tom CookArchitectural Heritage Center
A Gathering Place
Over the years, as the home’s décor has taken on the lavish style of Darcelle XV, it has been the site of numerous significant gatherings, including political activist and gay rights events.
Darcelle XV at Home- Portrait in Red Dress (2019) by Tom CookArchitectural Heritage Center
In February 2020 the residence (as the Elmer and Linnie Miller house) was recognized with listing on the National Register of Historic Places as an outstanding example of Queen Anne style residential architecture in the historic Eliot neighborhood in northeast Portland.
While architectural style is the basis of this formal recognition, it is indisputable that Darcelle has left an amazing and unforgettable mark on the home.
"Darcelle’s home is a historical treasure that she has generously shared with all of us. Thank you for everything, Darcelle. "
Tom Cook, Tom Cook Photo
Thank you to Tom Cook for his generosity and partnership on this project.
Support for Darcelle XV at Home is provided by the Cathy Galbraith Educational Endowment.
Historical information about the Elmer and Linnie Miller house is drawn from the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, prepared in 2019 by Don Horn, Kristen Minor, Tanya March, and Val Ballestrem.
