Tucked behind a neat hedge in the Healy Heights neighborhood, high up on SW Council Crest Drive, this midcentury home comes with a little of Portland’s lesser known history. The house was originally built in 1951, and was commissioned by Karl Kurz, one of the chief design engineers of the View-Master toy, which was invented here around 1939.

View-Masters were the precursor to scrolling through photos: a handheld plastic "viewer" in which you'd insert a cardboard negative reel, hold the viewer up to your eyes, and click a spring-loaded lever to move through the images for a somewhat immersive experience. Early models were intended to be postcards for national parks, but in the ensuing decades the reels depicted trips to Disneyland, the moon landing, and even Michael Jackson’s Thriller.

Thus, this Council Crest house is dubbed the View-Master House, not least because of its original owner, Karl Kurz, who was specifically responsible for the Model C viewer, but also because of the incredible views. Ribbons of floor-to-ceiling windows line the back, capturing four mountain peaks on a clear day, the river, city, and a buffer of greenspace behind the house. Four projected ipe decks take you further into the surroundings, as does a tiered outdoor living and dining patio, anchored by a sleek fireplace set into a basalt wall.

The house’s original architect was Roscoe Hemenway, who typically designed in the Colonial Revival style. The most recent owners hired Bohlin Cywinski Jackson—the firm known for dozens of Apple retail stores, including the glass cube in NYC—for a 2011 remodel and expansion.

The remodel leaned into the home’s midcentury origins to streamline the floor plan, increase the glazing, and add an upper floor. Step through the hedge and note how the strong horizontal rooflines are underscored by bands of clerestory windows. A trellised roof protects the front walk against the house, while an exterior basalt and cedar slat wall ensures privacy from the street.  

The palette inside and out is a nod to PNW regionalism, with Douglas fir paneling wrapping the living room and melding with a refurbished credenza, and more basalt around the fireplace. The main living areas were opened up to one another, but with partial sight lines into the kitchen and breakfast nook, the latter which has windows on three sides. A staircase with floating oak tread increases the overall sense of airiness.  

Every one of the three levels boasts an en suite; two more bedrooms make for five total, with the entire top floor established as its own serene primary retreat. That has a lounge, private deck, fireplace, and study lined with built-in walnut shelves in addition to the bedroom, bathroom, and walk-in closet. The downstairs has another family room and gym, as well as access to the lower-level deck. And of course, the views are just as great there, too, seeing as how the house easily lives up to its storied nickname.

Listing Fast Facts 

• Address: 4230 SW Council Crest Dr, Portland, OR 97239
• Size: 6,178 square feet/5 bedroom/4.5 bath
• List Date: 6/9/2023 
• List Price:  $4,950,000
• Listing Agent: Suzann Baricevic Murphy, Where, Inc.

Melissa Dalton is a freelance writer who has focused on Pacific Northwest design and lifestyle since 2008. She is based in Portland, Oregon. 

Editor’s Note: Portland Monthly’s “Property Watch” column takes a weekly look at an interesting home in Portland’s real estate market (with periodic ventures to the burbs and points beyond, for good measure). Got a home you think would work for this column? Get in touch at [email protected].