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The Lewis T. Gilliland House

A "True" Craftsman Style Home Realized by Ellis Lawrence
2229 NE Brazee

Gustav Stickley's magazine, The Craftsman, gave its name to a style of houses that came to be built in large numbers around the country.  These "Craftsman Style" houses, with their wide overhanging eaves, liberal use of locally native woods, casement windows, built-in furniture, and other features advocated by Stickley, represented the spirit of Stickley's residential design philosophies as set forth in his publication.  

From 1903 through 1916, The Craftsman offered its readers one free set of blueprints for any of the Craftsman house designs featured in its pages. Houses actually built to plans from the magazine itself are considered "True Craftsman Style" houses in contrast with the more generic "Craftsman Style" houses based on Stickley's ideals.  While there are hundreds of thousands of the generic "Craftsman Style" houses around the country, probably thousands in Portland alone, there are only a few hundred True Craftsman Style houses known to have been built.  This is one of them, and the only one known to exist in the Portland area.

This design was published in The Craftsman in April, 1907, and again in Stickley's book Craftsman Homes, a compendium of designs from the magazine, published in 1908.  The owner apparently acquired the plans from the magazine and then hired noted Portland architect Ellis Lawrence to customize them and supervise the construction.  Lawrence kept the exterior and the first floor of the home close to the original plans, while customizing the second floor for the needs of the owner.  The first floor interior detailing is completely intact, including all light fixtures and leather wall coverings, making this a treasure of Arts & Crafts design.

With the burgeoning interest in Arts & Crafts and Craftsman architecture in the late 1990's and early 2000's, this house has become the subject of much architectural interest due to its connection with Gustav Stickley.  However, its placement on the National Register was entirely on account of its connection with Ellis Lawrence.  In 1989, a large number of Lawrence's structures were listed on the Register in a single "Multiple Property Submission".  Lawrence was pivotal in the development of the architectural profession in Oregon as President of the local American Institute of Architects and later founder of the School of Architecture at the University of Oregon.

For more information on Ellis Lawrence and an example of a home that was entirely Lawrence's design, see the Henry B. Dickson House listing.