A Portland house with a provenance like no other is for sale. The groundbreaking dwelling was created 82 yrs ago by modernist architect Richard Neutra for lily hybridizer Jan de Graaff and his spouse, Peggy, heir to the Macy’s division store owner who died on the Titanic.
The spectacular, 3-amount dwelling, celebrated for its unadorned, window-abundant Global model, was profiled in a 1942 Dwelling & Back garden magazine distribute a calendar year immediately after it was done, transformed in the 1980s past recognition and restored to Neutra’s eyesight more than two many years by the latest owners.
On Thursday, May perhaps 19, the home at 1901 South Comus St. was set on the industry for the 1st time given that 2003. The inquiring selling price: $3,750,000.
The primary tackle of the storied, non-public residence was 1900 Southwest Palatine Hill Highway.
“This luxurious estate is a person of only two Oregon properties developed by globe-renowned architect Richard Neutra,” stated listing agent Tracy Hasson of The Hasson Firm. Both of those avant-garde, modern day properties were being owned by the wealthy de Graaff relatives.
The house for sale is “more than wooden and nails,” Hasson explained, noting Neutra’s sleek use of flooring-to–ceiling sliding doorways and other functions that grant seamless access to the outdoors. “This dwelling is for somebody who appreciates background and the work” of the late, Los Angeles-primarily based architect.
Neutra vaulted into the highlight with the steel-framed 1927 Lovell Health and fitness House in Los Angeles and was regarded as the 2nd most influential American architect immediately after Frank Lloyd Wright when he was a Time Journal include tale in 1949.
In 1940, the cosmopolitan de Graaffs commissioned Neutra to design a house for their fashionable household furniture and artwork assortment. Neutra chosen Portland’s James Van Evera Bailey as the supervising architect.
Neutra had planned for a stucco exterior, but Bailey recommended cedar siding as a materials that would climate the damp local climate and add a feeling of heat, a strategy mastered by Northwest modernist architects Pietro Belluschi and John Yeon.
The siding change was designed, the architectural push piled on praise and “the de Graaff Residence strike conservative Portland like a lightning bolt,” wrote the authors of “Classic Houses of Portland, Oregon 1850-1950.”
The 6,887-square-foot household was diligently oriented on its .85-acre great deal to current unobstructed mountain, metropolis and river sights.
The key suite has a gas hearth, double bathroom and patio, a person of four related to the property and extending spots for entertaining below the stars.
There are 4 additional bedrooms, three bathrooms and a powder area.
A bonus room over the a few-auto garage was a kindergarten in the Jan de Graaff period, reported Hasson. The basement has a workshop and two bedrooms.
The home is made up of two tax plenty: the .61-acre major great deal and .25-acre next good deal.
Jan de Graaff, ideal, receives 1962 American Dwelling Achievement Medal at yearly flower exhibit of Men’s Backyard Club of New York for “remarkable contribution to gardening enjoyment.”The Oregonian
Dutch-born botanist Jan de Graaff started Oregon Bulb Farms in Gresham, in which he released extra lily kinds than any individual in the entire world, starting off in 1941 with Enchantment and later on Stargazer lily. He was also after the major U.S. producer of daffodil and tulip bulbs.
Peggy was the granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Straus, who gave up their seats in a lifeboat and died on April 15, 1912, right after the gilded Titanic strike an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage in the Atlantic Ocean.
In this undated WWII-era image, Peggy de Graaff, standing in the center, was honored for helping registered nurses in armed service and civilian hospitals as a member of the Multnomah County chapter of the American Red Cross.The Oregonian
Peggy’s mother, Sara Straus, lived in a 12-room condominium on Manhattan’s Park Avenue. Peggy’s father, medical professional Alfred Hess, researched the dietary price of new foods and is credited in a Nobel Prize for his contributions to function to avert scurvy and rickets.
Peggy was honored by the American Red Cross in Washington, D.C., for offering a lot more than 2,000 hrs of service all through Planet War II helping registered nurses in military and civilian hospitals as a member of the organization’s Multnomah County chapter. She also served on the board of the Portland Youth Philharmonic.
The de Graaffs marketed their Oregon bulb enterprise in 1968 and moved to Manhattan.
— Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072
[email protected] | @janeteastman
Additional on the Portland and Oregon actual estate current market:
• Architect John Storrs’ midcentury present day house for sale in Hillsdale’s fabled ‘Storrs Quadrant’
• Midcentury modern day architect William Fletcher’s initially Portland household is for sale for the initially time
• Portland homes created by Pietro Belluschi appear with camaraderie
• Oregon’s ‘Terrible Tilly’ lighthouse on private island for sale at $6.5 million
• Two Pearl District townhouses in former prepare station are for sale, starting at $1,575,000
