For DECADES, this delightful pink stucco, vine-covered building has sat prominently on the corner of SE Belmont Street and 55^th Avenue, inspiring questions in more than a few Portland passersby. Is it someone’s home? An office? A train club headquarters? Turns out it's been all three since its construction in 1921.

The first occupant of the building was the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company, which purportedly used both floors to house switchboard operators connecting calls. Rumor has it that operators wore roller skates to expedite their work, which just sounds really fun. In 1952, the building was purchased by a Freemason order to become a Masonic lodge. Up into the ’90s, the Masons were good about letting different groups use it for gatherings, from Hare Krishnas to neighborhood drum circles.

Then in 1996, artist and folk art collector Patty Merrill bought it. The same year, Merrill opened imported goods store Cargo, the beloved Portland institution that melds home goods emporium with dusty art museum. Merrill and her architect husband, Tim, gradually divided the structure into three separate units. And, perhaps more important, they painted it pink, thus earning its nickname, the Pink Temple.

Aside from the rough stucco, the exterior is distinguished by its corner entrance, where three square brick columns are topped with segmental-arched pediments. Huge windows—we’re talking seven feet high—line both levels and all sides of the building, and are painted a crisp black and adorned with white decorative lintels. At the roofline, the Masons removed the original parapet to cover it with corrugated metal. No one knows why.

The main floor has a one-bedroom apartment with a door to the private, gated parking lot. Then there’s the common entrance via the corner porch, with access to the three-bedroom apartment, as well as a bonus office, and stairs down to the basement. There, find 3,329 square feet of high-ceilinged storage, workshop, and flex space. Since the ’70s, a portion of this was occupied by the large-scale train models of the Mt Hood Model Engineers Club, which long had its sign posted on Belmont.

The upper floor hosts the main residence, a capacious 3,412-square-foot penthouse, with soaring ceilings, wood floors, many windows, and plaster accent walls here and there. The layout affords a lot of living space, including a large living room with a stage, that’s balanced by cozy nooks and crannies, thanks to three bedrooms and an additional office/craft room.

The best part is how the history of the building comes together in all the little details sprinkled throughout. In the bathroom, a shower is encased in sky-blue mosaic tile, beside double vanities and mirrors that look like Cargo goods. The living room’s stage is a vestige of the Masons, complete with a bank of five costume closets turned storage tucked along the hall behind it. Some of the wood flooring may even be the original that was skated over by the telephone operators. It’s enough to have anyone asking what it will become next.

Listing Fast Facts

• Address: 5500 SE Belmont St, Portland, OR 97215
• Size: 10,192 square feet/7 bedroom/3.5 bath
• List Date: 8/4/2023 
• List Price:  $1,950,000
• Listing Agent: Todd Peres and Deborah Thomas, Debbie Thomas Real Estate Inc

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

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].