Built in 1872, the New Market Theater is regarded as one of the most historic and significant buildings of early Portland, Ore. It once held a 1,200-seat theater and public market on its main floor.
The building architectural heritage traces back to the Italian Renaissance in Venice. The structure strongly resembles the famous Palazzo Vendramin. The architects used cast iron and wood, in place of Italian travertine marble, painted white and contrasted with red brick. It’s one of the last two remaining cast-iron Victorian Italianate buildings in Portland.
The site was originally the home of pioneer Captain Ankeny. Excavation, 110 years after initial construction, revealed a brick-lined 23-feet deep, capped well that contained numerous artifacts from the Ankeny household. The artifacts are now displayed in a case on the mezzanine.
Today, this legendary hub of culture and commerce is once again a center of innovation and creativity. The The New Theater Market Block captures Portland’s legacy of discovery, independence, and invention in captivating workspaces.
The four-story building was originally designed by Warren H. Williams and completed in 1888. Blagen Block was originally built for N.J. Blagen, an immigrant from Denmark, who arrived in the United States in 1871 with nothing but determination. In 1877, Blagen became a resident of Portland, Ore., where he engaged in a contracting and milling business.
Blagen Block is the last remaining example of the rhythmic rows of columns and arches that once united hundreds of building fronts lining the streets of Portland.
In 2014, San Francisco-based company Airbnb, an online marketplace that connects travelers and locals willing to rent out their homes, chose the Blagen Block as its North American Operational Headquarters. Today the tech power player inhabits the entire building.
This 12-story office building was designed by Whidden & Lewis in 1913 and is similar to the pair’s Failing Office Building (1907) and Wilcox Building (1911). Most of the building’s original tenants were doctors, dentists, and their patient clinics, and the building’s design was adapted to accommodate them. The Stevens Building was renovated in 1954 to designs by architect Pietro Belluschi and has undergone renovations by NBP Capital’s in-house construction team, Path PDX.
The Stevens Building offers 360-degree views of the West Hills, Willamette River, all of downtown Portland and, on a clear day, Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens.