Longtime Property Watch readers are familiar with the glitz that usually comes with Portland Heights homes, from a mansion giving off White House vibes to the postcard prettiness of the Annand-Loomis House, and the dramatic glam of a remodeled Colonial Revival. After all, the neighborhood was once referred to as the “playground of the wealthy” by a historian.

Technically part of the Southwest Hills neighborhood, the area colloquially known as Portland Heights got its start in the late 1880s and early 1890s, thanks to the installation of a cable car up Vista Avenue in 1889. Then came the streetcar and two residential building booms, the first in the early 1900s and the next in the 1920s. The neighborhood’s early appeal, and a selling point in real estate ads, was its grand elevation, granting not just stunning views but higher ground from the smoke and sawdust of the city’s riverfront industries.

Compared to the grandeur of some of its neighbors, this English-style home smack in the middle of the “Grid”—that would be the neighborhood’s original street layout, which ran between SW Montgomery Drive and 16^th Avenue from west to east, and Jackson and Elizabeth Streets from north to south—is charming for its low-key coziness. Plus, it still has a few design surprises inside.

Built in 1927, the home sits far back from the street. Its steep gables and contrasting façade, painted a bright white with black windows, peeks out from between two mature trees and a front hill covered in ivy. It’s interesting how the garage is inserted into that berm: a nod to the growing car culture in the 1920s, and a marker of status at the time. (It was connected to the home by a dry, underground tunnel.) “The automobile helped open up the steep slopes of the Portland Heights neighborhood to residential development, as well as the ability to access the Heights with the convenience of personal transportation,” explains one Historic Register document. “Given the affluence of the neighborhood, residents were at the forefront of the trend of owning an automobile.”

The meandering front walk weaves between the trees to the entrance under a porch at the center of the plan. There, a board-and-batten front door with exposed metal hinges evokes the English style, while, just adjacent, a new, multipaned glass door hints at the more recent changes inside.

To the left of the foyer is the main living room, with thick plastered walls, built-ins, a marble-fronted fireplace, glass pocket door, and deep reveals around the black-framed windows, a few of which have peekaboo city views. To the right of the foyer is where you’ll find a newer open-plan kitchen and dining space. There, charcoal herringbone tile floors, marble counters, and subway tile to the ceiling feel both fresh and apropos to the original historic style, as do the tall, multipaned windows that echo the older casements sprinkled about.

Up the staircase, past a stained-glass window, the second floor packs in the bedrooms and bathrooms in a comfortable arrangement, including a primary en-suite bathroom with all new finishes, and a second full bathroom for the other two bedrooms. Add to that bonus spaces up and down, tucked under the steep ceiling on the third floor and in the unfinished basement that’s perfect for a home gym.

English-style homes like this one were already grounded in the past, as they were loosely based on late medieval and early Renaissance English cottages and manors alike. From its chunky clinker brick exterior that resembles stone to the green-tiled kitchen backsplash that speaks to today’s trends, this one still gets that balance between nostalgia and modern living just right—all the more reason it was purportedly featured in a Rejuvenation catalog recently.

Listing Fast Facts 

• Address: 1826 SW Myrtle St, Portland, OR 97201
• Size: 2,723 square feet/3 bedroom/2.5 bath 
• List Date: 2/19/2024 
• List Price: $1,350,000
• Listing Agent: Christy MacColl and Carrie Gross, Windermere Realty Trust

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].