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Terwilliger School (Portland, Oregon)

Alternative Title
  • Terwilliger Facility (Portland, Oregon)
  • Portland French School (Portland, Oregon)
Creator Display
  • Floyd Archibald Naramore (architect, 1879-1970)
Date
  • 1970
  • 1916
Description
  • This image is included in Building Oregon: Architecture of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, a digital collection which provides documentation about the architectural heritage of the Pacific Northwest.
  • Oregon Historic Site Form. Prepared by Iris Eschen.
View Date
  • 2009
Temporal
  • 1910-1919
  • 1970-1979
MODS Note
  • Oregon Historic Site Form Terwilliger School 6318 Corbett Portland, Multnomah County block nbr: lot nbr: tax lot nbr: township: range: section: 1/ 4: LOCATION AND PROPERTY NAME elig. evaluation: eligible/ significant primary orig use: School secondary orig use: Education- Related primary style: Colonial Revival secondary style: primary siding: Brick: Other/ Undefined secondary siding: Wood: Other/ Undefined plan type: School ( General) Portland historic name: Terwilliger School primary constr date: 1916 secondary date: 1970 height (# stories): 1 total # ineligible resources: 1 ( optional-- use for major addns) current/ other names: Portland French School; Terwilliger Facility ( c.) ( c.) orig use comments: prim style comments: sec style comments: location descr: assoc addresses: vcnty address: ( remote sites) siding comments: PROPERTY CHARACTERISTICS farmstead/ cluster name: zip: total # eligible resources: 1 apprx. addrs resource type: Building NR status: RLS survey date: 7/ 7/ 2009 external site #: 366 ( ID# used in city/ agency database) survey project name or other grouping name comments/ notes: HRI Rank II. ILS survey date: 7/ 7/ 2009 Gen File date: SHPO INFO FOR THIS PROPERTY NR date listed: GROUPINGS / ASSOCIATIONS Optional Information 6318 SW Corbett Multnomah County ( former addresses, intersections, etc.) architect: Naramore, F A builder: NR date listed: ( indiv listed only; see Grouping for hist dist) 106 Project( s) PPS Historic Building Assessment 2009 Survey & Inventory Project West elevation Printed on: 10/ 14/ 2009 Page 1 of 4 Oregon Historic Site Form Terwilliger School 6318 Corbett Portland, Multnomah County ARCHITECTURAL / PROPERTY DESCRIPTION ( Include expanded description of the building/ property, setting, significant landscape features, outbuildings, and alterations) HISTORY ( Chronological, descriptive history of the property from its construction through at least the historic period [ preferably to the present]) Description Summary Terwilliger School is a one story brick veneer building designed in the Colonial Revival style. The school is situated in the Lair Hill neighborhood of Southwest Portland at 6318 SW Corbett Street. Terwilliger School is a one story brick veneer building designed in the Colonial Revival style. The campus consists of a U- shaped building ( 366A) and a portable ( 366B). Constructed in 1916, the school features boxed cornices, brick soldier courses, and eyelid dormer vents along the roofline. Symmetrically arranged aluminum and multi pane casement windows provide the fenestration. The front façade features a central portico with entablature supported by square columns. The cornice of the entablature is ornamented with modillions. Along the roof line is an octagonal cupola with domical roof and weather vane. These Colonial Revival elements, in addition to the building’s symmetrical plan and fenestration, serve to reinforce the ideals of order, balance, and formality. Architectural Description The Terwilliger School is situated in the Lair Hill neighborhood of South Portland at 6318 SW Corbett Street. The neighborhood consists of single family residences built primarily between 1920 and 1950 ( Sanborn Maps 1924- 1928, Sanborn Map updated to 1950). The campus occupies a long, narrow parcel that is located between SW Carolina and SW Dakota. The school is located roughly in the center of the parcel, with open space located to the west ( front) and play areas located to the east ( rear) of the building. A linear walkway extends from SW Corbett to the building entrance. A 1948 portable building ( 366B) is located to the northeast of the primary building. The Colonial Revival building is constructed of wood with brick veneer arranged in a running bond pattern. Each wing of the building is capped by a gable roof with eyelid dormer vents and boxed eaves. The roof of the central ( or main) wing features an octagonal cupola with domical roof and weather vane. The brick walls of the building are interrupted by a series of horizontal elements that include brick soldier course and bands of aluminum and multi pane casement windows. The soldier course visually separates the concrete above ground foundation from the brick veneer walls. The above grade foundation is visible to the east ( rear) of the building where the terrain slopes downward. The most impressive expression of the building’s Colonial Revival style lies on the west ( front) elevation. The importance of the front ( west) elevation is emphasized through a central portico with entablature supported by square columns. The frieze of the entablature is ornamented by circles and the cornice is ornamented with modillions. The main portals are surrounded by pilasters and topped by transom windows. A series of doors that open into classrooms, punctuate the rest of the front elevation. The 1916 Terwilliger School consists of a U- shaped plan with a library and gymnasium sited between the wings that form the “ U”. The main U-shaped building rests on an above grade foundation, while the library and gymnasium are sited on grade. Rectangular classrooms are located along the U- shaped single and double- loaded corridors. The principal entrances open into an assembly room that is illuminated by windows flanking the entry door. The assembly room, which now functions as a reception and office area, features exposed rafters, wainscoting, and wood molding. The double- loaded corridors along the north and south wings are lined with wood baseboards and skylights. Tubular fluorescent light fixtures are suspended from the acoustic tile clad ceiling. The wood floors throughout the building have been covered in carpet. The building is heated by boilers that are located off the assembly room and between the wings that form the U shaped corridor. Metal heating units are located in the classrooms and hallways. Original wood two- panel and two- light doors provide entry to the classrooms. The classrooms are rectangular in plan with a recessed area that features cupboards and coat closets. Windows line the exterior walls of the classrooms and retain their wood surrounds. The Terwilliger campus also includes one portable building that is located to the east of the primary building. The 1948 portable ( 366B) is rectangular in shape, clad in shiplap siding, and features fixed and awning windows. Alterations/ Integrity On the interior, the building has undergone alterations to accommodate the evolving educational needs of Portland Public Schools. Classrooms along the south wing were converted into office space in 1970. The classrooms along the north corridor were adapted into offices for the Indian Education Program by 1990. Classroom 10 was converted into a home economics room in 1964. All of these additions have been reversed and these rooms function as they were originally intended— as general classrooms. In 1985, the assembly room was adapted into a reception and office area ( Terwilliger Facility Profile). In order to provide for this new use, the stage was removed and partition walls were added at the ends of the room. While these additions have altered the room’s function and some of the interior character defining features, the assembly hall still retains its integrity of design and feeling. In 1966 most of the original windows were replaced with aluminum casement fixed and awning sash windows. The north elevation of the building retains the original multi- light wood casement windows. Other alterations include the replacement of the original ceiling tile ( 1949), flooring ( 1949, 1970, 1989), and some of the classroom built- ins ( 1976, 1990), particularly on the north end of the building ( Portland Facility Profile). Currently, the building is leased to the Portland French School. Printed on: 10/ 14/ 2009 Page 2 of 4 Oregon Historic Site Form Terwilliger School 6318 Corbett Portland, Multnomah County RESEARCH INFORMATION Title Records Sanborn Maps Obituaries City Directories Census Records Biographical Sources Newspapers Building Permits Property Tax Records SHPO Files State Archives State Library Local Histories Interviews Historic Photographs Local Library: Multnomah County Library University Library: Portland State University Library Historical Society: Oregon Historical Society Other Repository: PPS Archives Bibliography: Bibliography Betelle, James O. “ Architectural Styles as Applied to School Buildings.” American School Board Journal. Vol. 58 ( April 1919). Cremin, Lawrence. The Transformation of the School: Progressivism in American Education, 1876- 1957. New York: A. Knopt, 1961. Cubberley, Ellwood Patterson. The Portland Survey: A Textbook on City School Administration Based on a Concrete Study. Yonkers- on- Hudson, NY: World Book Co., 1915. Evening Telegram. “ First Unit of the New Kennedy School.” 11- 03- 1915. Oregonian. “ Mayor Lane and the Schools.” 10- 31- 1906. ( Check all of the basic sources consulted and cite specific important sources) Statement of Significance Built in 1916, Terwilliger School was constructed during a period of progressive era growth that responded to changing city demographics and ideas concerning safety, sanitation, and child centered instruction ( Rippa, 1997: passim; Cremin 1961: 135- 153; Cubberley 1915: 283- 290). By 1905, it became increasingly clear that dramatic increases in school- age children outstripped the district’s existing classroom capacity and existing schools could not effectively serve areas of the city with new residential development ( Cubberley 1915: 283- 285, 288- 290). Portland Public Schools ( PPS) District Architect Floyd A. Naramore designed Terwilliger School. Floyd Archibald Naramore gained fame as the architect and superintendent of school properties for Portland Public Schools. Beginning in 1908, with the emergence of the Bureau of Properties, PPS district architects took on a more formalized role in the design and maintenance of school facilities ( Powers and Corning 1937: 182). A native of Illinois, Naramore attended the University of Wisconsin and graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1907. Naramore’s first employment after his arrival in Portland in 1909 was as an engineer for the Northwest Bridge Works. In 1912 Naramore began his tenure at Portland Public Schools, which would continue until 1919. During this period, Naramore designed 16 schools for the district including the Kennedy School, which gained fame as a single story response to the issue of fire safety in American public schools ( Evening Telegram 11- 03- 1915). Naramore’s success with Portland Public Schools led to a similar position in Seattle, where he designed many of the city’s most renowned schools. Architect Victor Steinbrueck credits Naramore for producing the best quality Motor Age architecture in the Puget Sound area ( Steinbrueck 1974: 508). Naramore subsequently founded several private architectural partnerships in the Seattle area. The best known firm, Naramore, Bain, Brady & Johansen, had early success handling large World War II building projects. The firm is now one of the largest architectural practices in the world ( Ritz 2002: 293). For Terwilliger School, Naramore adopted the building program and principles that dominated the discourse for school design during the first half of the twentieth century. After several well- publicized school fires in U. S. cities, calls for a more fundamental change in the building construction began as early as 1906 ( Oregonian, 10- 31- 1906). Like many of Portland’s new fire proof buildings, Terwilliger Elementary was constructed of brick and concrete. The school typifies the single- story U- shaped school plans that were seen as an exemplar of fireproof construction and rapid building egress ( The Evening Telegram, 11- 03- 1915). These new buildings often were constructed in units and contained more differentiated and increasingly specialized uses ( Powers and Corning 1937: 182). Terwilliger was constructed in two units: the original U- shaped building was constructed in 1917 and play courts were added between the wings in 1924. By 1924 the school, in addition to classroom and office space, consisted of an assembly hall, a boy’s play court, and a girl’s play court ( PPS Archives: 1917 Terwilliger Plan). Classrooms do not show the degree of specialization ( e. g. home economics, nature study, and manual training rooms) that existed in schools that were constructed during the 1920s. Terwilliger School was constructed in the Colonial Revival style, a popular style for educational buildings during the early part of the twentieth-century. The architectural details of PPS schools constructed during this period encompass the Classical Revival, Colonial Revival, and Collegiate Gothic styles; architectural revivals that were viewed as inspirational and appropriate for educational settings ( Betelle 1919: 28; Sibley 1923: 66; Patton 1967: 1- 8). Terwilliger School retains its integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association with its plan and exterior and interior finishes. The 1917 Colonial Revival school is recommended as eligible for the National Register of Historic Places ( NRHP) because the school was built during the PPS program of progressive era construction and is a strong example of the principles that characterized the design of schools during this era; therefore, it is eligible for listing in the NRHP under Criterion A. In addition, the school with its character defining eyelid dormers, boxed eaves, octagonal cupola, and central portico with entablature is a good example of the Colonial Revival style. Therefore, Terwilliger School is also eligible for listing in the NRHP under Criterion C. Printed on: 10/ 14/ 2009 Page 3 of 4 Oregon Historic Site Form Terwilliger School 6318 Corbett Portland, Multnomah County Patton, Glenn. “ American Collegiate Gothic: A Phase of University Architectural Development.” Journal of Higher Education. Vol. 38, No. 1 ( January, 1967). Portland Public Schools. School Chronology Binder. PPS Archives, Portland, Oregon. _______. Terwilliger Elementary School. Facility Profile. _______. Terwilliger Elementary School. School plans (orthographic projections); floor plans. Powers, Alfred and Howard McKinley Corning, History of Education in Portland. [ Portland]: Work Projects Administration, 1937. Rippa, Alexander. Education in a Free Society: An American History. New York: Longman, 1997. Ritz, Richard. E. Architects of Oregon. A Biographical Dictionary of Architects Deceased – 19th and 20th Centuries. Portland: Lair Hill Publishing, 2003. Sanborn Map Company 1924- 1928, 1908- Dec. 1950 Sanborn Maps, Multnomah County Public Library, Portland, Oregon. Available at: https:// catalog. multcolib. org/ validate? url= http% 3A% 2F% 2F0- sanborn. umi. com. catalog. multcolib. org% 3A80% 2F. Accessed June 16, 2009. Sibley, Ernest. “ Why I Prefer the Colonial Style.” School Board Journal: Vol. 66 ( January 1923). Steinbrueck, Victor. “ Everyday Architecture in the Puget Sound Area.” In Space, Style, and Structure. Ed. Thomas Vaughan. Portland: Oreg Printed on: 10/ 14/ 2009 Page 4 of 4 Main building ( 366A), west ( front) elevation, looking east. Main building ( 366A), north ( side) elevation, looking southwest. Main building ( 366A), south ( side) elevation, looking northeast. Main building ( 366A), east ( rear) elevation, looking southwest. Portable ( 366B), west ( side) and south ( front) elevations, looking northeast. Terwilliger School Exterior Photos ENTRIX, 2009 Main building ( 366A), assembly/ reception hall, looking west. Main building ( 366A), library, looking east. Main building ( 366A), gymnasium, looking southeast. Main building ( 366A), original classroom closets with roll- up doors, looking southeast. Main building ( 366A), south hall, looking east. Terwilliger School Interior Photos ENTRIX, 2009 1950 Sanborn Fire Insurance Company Map, Portland, Oregon, Map 192. Arrow points to Terwilliger Public School. School play ground is included in inset. Terwilliger Facility 6318 SW Corbett Ave, Portland OR, 97239 Building Periods 1. Main Building ( 366A), 1916 2. Addition ( 366A), 1927 2. Addition ( 366B), 1948 Aerial photo © 2009 Metro, Portland OR Imagery Date: July 12, 2007 SW Virginia Ave SW Dakota St SW Carolina St 1916 elevation drawing of the Terwilliger School. View Site in Google Maps Historical Significance and Building Integrity Contrib: High Significance Contrib: Moderate Signif. Non- Contributing 0’ 50’ 100’ 200’ N sandy Blvd Lombard st powell Blvd 82nd ave MLK jr b lvd 1 2 3
Street Address
  • 6318 SW Corbett
Identifier
  • OR_Multnomah_Portland_Terwilliger.pdf
Provenance
  • University of Oregon Libraries
Citation
  • PPS Historic Building Assessment 2009
Submission Date
  • 05/04/2015
Modified
  • 08/01/2022
Collections

APA

Building Oregon, University of Oregon. (19 Apr 2024). Terwilliger School (Portland, Oregon) Retrieved from https://oregondigital.org/concern/documents/df67rn998

MLA

Building Oregon, University of Oregon. "Terwilliger School (Portland, Oregon)" Oregon Digital. 19 Apr 2024. https://oregondigital.org/concern/documents/df67rn998

Chicago

Building Oregon, University of Oregon. "Terwilliger School (Portland, Oregon)" Oregon Digital. Accessed 2024-04-19. https://oregondigital.org/concern/documents/df67rn998

Wiki

{{cite web | url= https://oregondigital.org/concern/documents/df67rn998 | title= Terwilliger School (Portland, Oregon) |author= |accessdate= 2024-04-19 |publisher= }}
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