In historic architecture circles, Ellis F. Lawrence is a big deal. He was the founder and first dean of the University of Oregon’s School of Architecture and Allied Arts in 1914, and also referred to as the “Father of City Planning in Oregon” for his advocacy of the field. Not only that, as a prolific architect, he designed more than 500 buildings, including 25 on the UO campus and many houses in Portland, until his passing in 1946. Despite that, architectural historians claim that Lawrence is not very well-known, with many of his projects gone misattributed or unidentified all together.

So it goes with this house on NE 20^th Avenue in Irvington—it is believed to be by Lawrence, but there isn’t the documentation to prove it. For starters, Irvington was a favorite neighborhood of the architect, who built his first house in Oregon there. It’s just around the corner on NE 21^st Avenue, a 1906 duplex designed with one side for Lawrence and his family, and the other for his mom and sister.

Lawrence was considered eclectic for his approach, which involved not sticking to any one style, but combining elements from different ones to achieve the form and function he wanted. (His most famous commentary on the matter was: “Harmony in diversity.”) This particular house on NE 20^th Avenue is Arts & Crafts, same as Lawrence’s own, which is thought to be the first example of the style in Oregon, and was built only two years before this one.

This home has a traditional center hall plan, with the front porch and entry feeding into the foyer, and the interior staircase at the rear. To the right is the main living room, with the primary dining room to the left. These are not tight, segmented rooms like the Victorians that came just before. The floor plan flows from larger rooms to cozier nooks, like the sitting room and library that bookend the living room, the butler’s pantry off the kitchen, and on the second floor, a sunroom that was probably once a sleeping porch.   

As the name implies, Arts & Crafts is primarily about the incorporation of handcraft into the build, and merging the decorative arts with architecture was essential to Lawrence’s philosophy. Here, this comes through in all of the surviving handbuilt wood elements, from the trim encasing the wide arched doorways to the dining room built-ins and arched cut-outs in the kitchen cabinets.

The home has 4,998 square feet covering three floors and a basement, including four bedrooms, two baths, and a large upstairs den with a built-in window seat and wood-clad walls. The primary suite was recently remodeled so that vintage-style tile covers the walk-in shower—a move that Lawrence, who loved merging modern and traditional, would certainly have approved.

Listing Fast Facts 

• Address: 2136 NE 20th Ave, Portland, OR 97212
  
• Size: 4,998 square feet, 4 bed/2 bath
• List Date: 1/9/2024
• List Price: $1,300,000
  
• Listing Agent: Ronda Joseph, Cascade Hasson Sotheby's International Realty

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].