1803 NE Thompson Street A Brilliantly Conceived Craftsman Bungalow

Edward J. Ellison was the president of the Portland Typewriter Exchange in Portland with a side business of designing and building houses in the Irvington and Holladay Park neighborhoods from 1908 until their move to California in 1917.  He and his wife built and then lived in each house for a year before moving on to their next project -- except for this, their last and most ambitious design dating to 1914 -- and costing $10,000.  And no wonder they kept this house for themselves until they left town -- it remains today as one of Portland's most beautiful bungalows, filled with fine architectural details and is a wonderfully livable home.  Ellison may not have any formal architectural training, but was clearly a talented designer.

As architect and author Bill Hawkins points out in his book, Classic Houses of Portland Oregon, the house belongs solidly in the Craftsman Bungalow tradition.  "What is amazing", he writes, "is the quality that was incorporated in the house: large covered porches with balustrades, a fireplace, banked casement windows,...quality shingle siding, a glassed-in trellised bay, and beautiful interior amenities."  The concrete bench welcomes visitors and helps place the home on a pedestal without making it aloof.  For more on this home and its architecture, see the 2006 Home Tour Lecture: Ovation and Overview, Architects of Irvington pages.

When the Ellison's left Portland, they sold the house to Charles P. Powell. The home remained in the Powell family until 1981, when Charles' second wife and widow, Marjory, sold it to the current owners, along with many of the fine art deco era furnishings acquired by the Powell family.  The Powell family left their own imprint on the home, most notably in the wonderful hand-painted stained glass windows in the dining room and elsewhere on the ground floor, which Mrs. Powell bought during travels in Italy.

This fascinating home has many unusual features. The complex gables and eaves of the roof intersect and overlap, and all are covered in interlocking tile. Every room on the first floor has an exterior door leading to either the large porch or a small balcony. Even the maid's room (now an office), has a balcony.  The living room woodwork is oak; the dining room mahogany. The French doors connecting the two rooms are veneered with both woods. And modern technology was not neglected... as built, the home had a three car garage with electric garage door openers -- a notable feature for the day.