Slideshow

Slide Show: Pittock Mansion Turns 100

June 23, 2014

1853

Henry Pittock completes his journey to Oregon via covered wagon at the age of only 19. He arrives six years before Oregon is inducted into the Union and becomes a state.

1860

Henry is named owner of the Oregonian at 26 years old as a payment for back wages. He also marries 15-year-old Georgiana Burton (pictured).

1914

The Pittock family (all 11 of 'em) moves in to the mansion as construction wraps up.

1916

The 11 members of the Pittock family luxuriate in the grand estate: grandchildren are given free roam of the house, with Henry and Georgiana even allowing them to roller skate on the marble floor at the base of the great staircase.

1919

Henry Pittock passes away at the age of 85, leaving behind an estate worth $7.9 million.

1962

The Columbus Day Storm badly damages the mansion, which the Pittocks no longer reside in. Talk of destroying the home and developing the land begins to percolate.

1964

The City of Portland purchases the estate for $225,000 and opens it to the public as a museum.

1974

Sixty years after its construction and 10 years after the estate was purchased by the City of Portland, Pittock Mansion is added to the National Register of Historic Places.

2008

Emmy-Award winning reality series The Amazing Race uses Pittock Mansion as the finish line of its 13th season.

2014

Pittock Mansion will celebrates its centennial with a birthday cake in July and a black tie benefit in August.

This year, Pittock Mansion turns 100 years old—but it almost didn't make it that far. The home was severely damaged in the Columbus Day Storm of 1962, and talk of destroying the Pittock Mansion in favor of developing the land began to surface. Luckily, the City of Portland intervened and purchased the estate in 1964 for $225,000, developing the mansion into a museum the following year. On July 13, the city will celebrate the centennial anniversary of Pittock Mansion with a 100 Candles Birthday Party featuring free cake on the lawn, music in the terrace, and a vintage car show in the driveway. Later in the summer, on August 14, the mansion will host a ticketed centennial benefit with music, food, and drinks. Here, we take a brief look back at the mansion's history in photos.

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