Whidden & Lewis

Whidden & Lewis was an American architectural firm based in Portland, Oregon. The partnership was established in 1889 by architects William M. Whidden and Ion Lewis and was Portland's leading architectural firm into the first decade of the twentieth century.

History

The partnership of Whidden & Lewis was formed in Portland in 1889 by architects William M. Whidden (1857-1929) and Ion Lewis (1858-1933). Both were natives of Massachusetts, had been educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and had trained under leading eastern architects such as McKim, Mead & White and Peabody & Stearns. Whidden had the additional benefit of three years of study at the influential École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Whidden had first come to Portland early in the 1880s with his employer, McKim, to work on the Portland Hotel and returned in 1888 when that project was revived. Portland architect and author Richard Marlitt wrote that Whidden & Lewis was the first modern architectural office in Portland. The city had never before seen architects with their education and "polished ability."^{: xv–xvii} They introduced contemporary architectural developments, such as Beaux-Arts principles of design and the Colonial Revival style, to Portland and Oregon. Their reputation was established with works such as the Portland Library (1893, demolished) and the Portland City Hall (1895) and they would dominate local architectural practice for the next decade.^: 19–26 With a series of office buildings, beginning with the Concord Building (1891) and Hamilton Building (1893), they also introduced the most contemporary ideas in tall buildings.^: 26–28

In 1903 their reputation was such that Ion Lewis was appointed director of architecture for the upcoming Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition (1905). Lewis oversaw the design of all architectural work and his firm would directly design six of the fair's major buildings, which were to be designed in the Spanish Renaissance style. An exception to the rule was the firm's Forestry Building (1905, demolished), the so-called "Parthenon of Oregon." This, designed by employee A. E. Doyle under Lewis's supervision, was a highly original building in a rustic style but on a Neoclassical Beaux-Arts plan.^: 31

The fair prompted an economic boom in Portland and Oregon. New architects were needed to design the vast number of new buildings being proposed and built. Whidden & Lewis's position as leaders of the Portland architectural profession was soon taken by their long-time employee, Doyle, whose firm was to develop the talents of Pietro Belluschi.^: 43–44 His position was secured in 1911, when his firm was awarded the job to plan the campus and buildings of the recently-founded Reed College.^: 86 The specific cause of Whidden & Lewis's decline in status is not known. Doyle's biographer, Philip Niles, has argued that while their eastern sophistication was a novelty at first, it was not always an asset and became a liability as the city and its architectural community developed. Whidden in particular was seen as cold and aloof by his professional contemporaries. In 1909, when local architects established an atelier affiliated with the New York-based Beaux-Arts Institute of Design to train local draftsman in design, Whidden was approached to be its patron; that "he did not care to serve" was a lasting memory in the community.^: 54–55

Legacy

William Whidden died in 1929; Ion Lewis in 1933. When Whidden died, Jamieson Parker, president of AIA Oregon, described him as "one of the first really fine architects in Portland...[h]e came early, and built well indeed." In November 1930 AIA Oregon, now led by Folger Johnson, dedicated a memorial plaque to the partners in Portland City Hall, stating that the works of the firm represented "outstanding contributions to the beauty of the city."

Whidden & Lewis's residential buildings were mostly in the Colonial Revival style, while their commercial buildings were primarily in the 20th-century classical style. The commercial buildings often featured brick, along with terra cotta ornamentation. Many of their buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

Architectural works

See also

• Doyle & Patterson
• Carl L. Linde