Picturing Portland's Past
A preview of the AHC's acclaimed Minor White exhibit "Part Shots," which showcased the esteemed American photographer's work next to artifacts featured in the photos
Minor White in Portland
The photographs in this exhibit show White’s budding artistry as a photographer while he was recording real conditions on the streets of downtown Portland during the World War II era.
Junk Shop (1939) by Minor WhiteArchitectural Heritage Center
The Great Depression
By the 1930's, the heart of the city had been suffering economically for many years, even before the onset of the Great Depression. Through his photography, White captured a mood that was less than sentimental.
Demolition of Opitz Building (1939) by Minor WhiteArchitectural Heritage Center
Demolished History
Most of the buildings represented in the exhibit were demolished within a few years of being photographed by White, although in some instances, he vividly captured demolitions in progress.
Minor White Exhibit : View looking east (2017) by Nina JohnsonArchitectural Heritage Center
Past Photo, Present Pieces
For the first time on record, White’s photographs were presented alongside physical remnants from buildings that were featured in his work. The building pieces on display are part of the AHC's permanent collection of over 20,000 architectural artifacts.
Minor White Exhibit: View of Exhibit Wall (2017) by Nina JohnsonArchitectural Heritage Center
The Jacobs-Dolph House
Ralph Jacobs and Isaac Jacobs were the founders of the Oregon City Woolen Mills. In the early 1880s, they hired Portland’s most prominent architect at the time, Warren H. Williams, to design a pair of nearly identical Italianate houses on the downtown South Park Blocks.
Jacobs-Dolph House, Pocket Door View, Drawing Room (1995) by Minor WhiteArchitectural Heritage Center
The Jacobs-Dolph house, as it came to be known, was richly decorated inside and out.
Jacobs-Dolph House Interior (1995) by Minor WhiteArchitectural Heritage Center
The interior was replete with frescoes, a winding staircase, and elaborate woodwork, while the exterior ornament included ornate Corinthian columns, urns, medallions, and large brackets, indicative of Italianate architecture.
The Jacobs-Dolph house was demolished in late March 1942, just days after White photographed the house for the Portland Art Museum.
Minor White Exhibit: Cast Iron Lion Head Doorway Lintel Ornament (2017) by Nina JohnsonArchitectural Heritage Center
Ladd Block
Architect Justus Krumbein was at his professional peak in the 1880s, designing several of Portland’s most architecturally interesting commercial buildings, including the Kamm, Bickel, and Ladd Blocks.
The Ladd Block featured an array of zinc metal ornament in patterns ranging from animal heads to fruit and floral motifs and ironwork such as lion’s heads and brackets at building entries.
Minor White Exhibit: Wooden Figural Head 2 (2017) by Nina JohnsonArchitectural Heritage Center
The building also featured a bigger-than-life hand-carved, wooden human head that was mounted on the second story over one entrance.
Minor White Exhibit: Knapp House Objects and Images (2017) by Nina JohnsonArchitectural Heritage Center
Richard B. Knapp House
Richard B. Knapp made a fortune in real estate and railroad development in Portland and the Willamette Valley. In 1882, Knapp hired architect Warren H. Williams to design his new house.
Minor White Exhibit: Knapp House Woodwork and Paneling 1 (2017) by Nina JohnsonArchitectural Heritage Center
When completed in 1884, local newspapers described the Knapp house as the most expensive in the city at a cost of $90,000, roughly equivalent to $2,000,000 in 2017.
Knapp House Interior with Fireplace (1995) by Minor WhiteArchitectural Heritage Center
Unfortunately, Knapp lost much of his fortune in the 1893 nationwide economic collapse and in 1897, the house was foreclosed upon.
Shortly before he was inducted into the US Army in 1942, White was hired by the Portland Art Museum to photograph the Knapp house.
Minor White Exhibit: New Market North Wing (2017) by Nina JohnsonArchitectural Heritage Center
New Market North Wing
In 1871, Captain Alexander P. Ankeny began developing the block on the west side of First Avenue between Ash and Ankeny streets. Ankeny’s third building on the block, the New Market North Wing, was completed in 1873.
Constructed on an oddly shaped lot, the North Wing was noted for its multiple storefronts along First Avenue that created a lengthy and impressive cast iron colonnade.
New Market North Wing (1939) by Minor WhiteArchitectural Heritage Center
White photographed the North Wing on at least two occasions.
His 1939 view from Second Avenue, on display here, shows that the building was still in use and occupied by a painting contractor.
The New Market North Wing was demolished in 1956, but fortunately, many of the cast iron columns were salvaged.
Minor White Exhibit: Title Panel Angle Right (2017) by Nina JohnsonArchitectural Heritage Center
White’s photographs not only enable us to look back at a city on the verge of dramatic change, but his images prompt us to consider how we might also document and remember the buildings we are losing to demolition and neglect today.
