Gustav E. Freiwald was a successful German brewer, who operated breweries and taverns in towns all along the Columbia River from Hood River to Astoria.  In 1905, he hired Emil Schacht, the well known German-born Portland architect, to design a grand house for him to be built in Irvington.  Schacht had already designed a number of brewery buildings and other commercial structures for Freiwald, and it was not surprising he got the commission for this house.  However, soon after the plans were drawn, Freiwald rejected them, and turned to a little known architect named H. H. Menges to redesign the house.  We'll never know exactly what the Schacht designs looked like, as the drawings do not survive, but his other houses in the neighborhood were strikingly simple and strongly Craftsman in their design (see the contemporary Nicolai-Cake-Olson house as an example).  Freiwald evidently wanted a home that was more traditional and more directly projected his wealth and influence.  In any event, it is believed that Menges took Schacht's basic design and its Craftsman form and added the somewhat retro Queen Anne elements of the turret and lush ornament that Freiwald preferred.

When constructed, this house cost somewhere between $11,000 and $16,000 (both cost estimates are listed in published records of the day), making it one of the costlier homes built in Irvington up to that time.  In its current day service as the Lion and the Rose Bed and Breakfast, the home is beautifully maintained, and graciously furnished in period style.  Its five bedrooms, grand living rooms and dining room are all filled with antiques and provide a delightful retreat for its lucky guests.