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The Coleman-Scott House

A Timeless Colonial Revival Classic
2110 NE 16th Avenue

This stately home has remained in the same family since the time of its construction -- a circumstance which accounts for the remarkable state of preservation of its sumptuous interior and its abundance of period furniture and fixtures.  John Bennes was at the height of his career in designing grand homes for the upper classes when John D. Coleman, a prominent insurance executive, engineer and lawyer, hired him to build this special home.  Coleman's specifications included the requirement for a pipe organ as the centerpiece of the home.

Upon Coleman's death, the house passed to his daughter Elizabeth (Coleman) Scott and her husband Leslie M. Scott.  Mr. Scott was the son of famous Oregonian editor Harvey W. Scott, and himself went on to an illustrious career in both business and academia.  He served as Vice President of the Oregonian Company, State Treasurer, and chairman of the Oregon Historical Quarterly.  He served more than 40 years on the Board of the Oregon Historical Society and compiled a six volume History of the Oregon Country, an account of early settlers and settlements.  In 1978, the house passed to the Scott's children, who have retained ownership into modern times.

In recent years when this home was on the Irvington Home Tour, visitors were astonished by the "time machine" feel of the house.  The 17-stop Estey pipe organ still can be played, and its case, like most of the interior trim in the house is the now-rare Honduran mahogany.  Wall coverings include original tapestries and fabrics in a remarkable state of preservation.  Even the paint finishes are original, having simply been touched up here and there with paint manufactured to the specifications of the original materials.  Much of the furniture in the home was manufactured by the local firm Tull & Gibbs for exhibit at the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition.

The house was placed on the National Register in 1985 due to its association with Leslie Scott.