My last day in Portland was spent at the historic Pittock Mansion.
Pittock Mansion was built by the publisher of The Oregonian, Henry Pittock, and his wife Georgiana (who founded the Portland Rose Festival). It's a 22 room mansion built in the French chateau style, and it's pretty amazing. The views of downtown Portland, from the estate's 46 acres, are simply breath taking.
We had to watch the clock, as I had to be at Portland International at about 4:30pm. But we got there in plenty of time to explore the three floors of the mansion, as well as much of the grounds:
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| Pittock Mansion in Portland, Oregon... |
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| This is a damn fancy bathroom... |
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| I want a shower like this... |
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| One of the guest rooms in Pittock Mansion... |
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| The main staircase in Pittock Mansion: One flight up, one flight down... |
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| The front of Pittock Mansion... |
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| The back of Pittock Mansion... |
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| The porte cochere at Pittock Mansion (thank you, Caroline Wine!!) |
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| A walking path on the grounds of Pittock Mansion... |
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| The art gallery on the lower level of the mansion... |
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| A sitting room in the mansion... |
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| The family room in Pittock Mansion... |
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| Downtown Portland, Oregon as seen from the grounds of Pittock Mansion... |
The family stayed in the mansion until 1958, when the owners considered selling it. The mansion was severely damaged on Columbus Day in 1962, to the extent that the owners considered not selling it, but rather demolishing it. The City of Portland purchased the estate in 1964 for (I swear, you just can't make this stuff up) $225,000.00.
That's only $30,000.00 more than what I paid for my home in San Diego in 1999.
The City spent the next 15 months restoring the mansion, and opened it to the public in 1965. Rumor has it that, at one point, the Grateful Dead tried (unsuccessfully) to purchase the property.
If you find yourself with some time on your hands in Portland, I would have to strongly recommend taking a drive up to Pittock Mansion, take a camera, and kill some time...
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Yours truly, armed with my Canon 5D, on the grounds of Pittock Mansion in Portland, Oregon...
(Photo by Carrie Warlaumont)
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