Custom House once again up for grabs

The historic U.S. Custom House at 220 N.W. Eighth Ave. is up for grabs once again, as Nathalie Weinstein reported in Monday's Daily Journal of Commerce.

Back in 2005, the US General Services Administration chose two finalists to redevelop the U.S. Customs House, Venerable Properties of Portland and The Pochter Group of Chicago.

Venerable was trying to turn the Custom House into a new home for the University of Oregon Portland center. The Pochter Group plan, which the GSA instead selected, was to turn the building into an 82-room boutique hotel with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. Pochter held the building for two years and Wyndham backed out of the hotel deal.

In July of last year, Pochter then partnered with Marcus Hotels & Resorts of Milwaukee, and the GSA were supposed to sign a new lease with Pochter within 60 to 90 days. But earlier this May, the GSA terminated negotiations with developer Keith Pochter for unannounced reasons.

Built in 1901, the U.S. Customs House was designed by James Knox Taylor and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It's an absolute gem of Portland architecture. James Knox Taylor (1857-1929) was supervising architect of the US Treasury when he designed this building. An advocate of classical design, Taylor worked with Cass Gilbert (architect of the US Supreme Court Building) before establishing his own practice. Building supervisor Edgar Lazarus is well known for his distinctive Vista House design in the Columbia Gorge.

In his Architectural Guidebook to Portland, Bart King writes of the Custom House,

"This massive and somewhat unusually designed building sits regally within a full city block...Variously described as French Renaissance or Italian Renaissance Revival, the ornamentations of this classical, granite-faced building are fascinating. Columns, scrolls, quoins, arches, dentils and keystones abound...Inside, with over 100,000 square feet, there is a lot of building to explore. A 1977 restoration helps the marble and classical plaster moldings welcome the eye, and a grand cast-iron stairway rises to the fourth floor. The top floors of the east and west wings were added in 1938...In 1906, a small metal tower was built near the north chimney that dropped a large 'time ball' at noon each day. Sailors would sight it and set their ship clocks accordingly."

Weinstein reports the GSA will follow a federally mandated disposal process, which begins by offering the building to other federal agencies. GSA public affairs manager Bill Lesh suspects that the building won't be taken by a federal entity, however. "Since the building has been vacant for four years, I don’t believe there will be federal interest," he told the DJC. "A federal agency would also have to spend a lot of money to upgrade the building." Eligible public agencies have 30 days to notify GSA of their interest.

Meanwhile, if we were to do a little quick daydreaming, what architectural future for the Custom House would be best for it and for Portland?

The last time around, I was rooting for UO to get the building instead of it being developed into a hotel, but now the university has already committed itself to its new Old Town location beside the Burnside Bridge. A boutique hotel might be a lot of fun, but I don't see a hotelier being willing to go forward until both the economy improves and North Broadway develops some more. I mean, there's still a boarded up abandoned Burger King at one end of Broadway at Burnside, and vacant lots growing weeds on the other end by Union Station. As the Pacific Northwest College of Art moves in down the street and the vitality of NW Broadway improves, the Custom House will be ideally situated. But I don't know if that future is yet close enough for a private developer to move on the property right now.

Besides a hotel, what else might become of the Custom House? I think most of us can agree we just want the building to be preserved with integrity, and for its occupants to be tied with the surrounding community.

(Note: I usually use my own photos for posts, but in full disclosure, this time around since I din't have any of the Custom House, these photos I gleaned from Flickr.com, in a public account of shots taken by 'Fristle'.)

Comments

[goose]

i don't know what the floor plan is like inside since i have never seen the inside of this building, but i would love if it were publicly accessible, rather than somewhat closed off. that said, while a hotel or aparment conversion would be cool, i think a small-business incubator situation would be the most effective in terms of public access and local flavor. start-ups could have an elegant and dignified building in which to start their business and the mix of tenants could feed off of each other and the neighborhood. as the businesses grew, they could move out and new businesses could move in.

[val]

Back in August, the GSA held an open house so people could see the inside of the building. It is spectacular and monumental in design - and well constructed too. Even the old double hung sash windows still open and close with ease - I wish I could say as much for my own house. If I remember correctly, in general, each floor is sort of divided into quadrants, meaning that at one time there were large corner offices on each floor. In many of these spaces there are vaults, which probably aren't very practical for re-use but are fun to look at. All in all the building seems to be in very good condition - although we weren't allowed into the uppermost floors. there is certainly some ugly remodeling that was done in some parts of the interior but even the bathrooms had original or at least very old fixtures - it would make an ideal school space or hotel as was once planned. My co-worker an I even daydreamed about how our organization could acquire it for use with our architecture and preservation-themed education programs but unfortunately it's probably way out of our (financial) league.

[Brian Libby]

My daydream would be for some kind of contemporary design and art museum, but it's usually not healthy to form such an institution after the building; should be the other way around. Still, if it's only daydreaming, I'd love to see something that showcases the wide array of sustainable architecture, graphic design, apparel design happening here, but also take on the role that smaller arts organizations like Portland Art Center, Disjecta or Organism have, featuring leading edge contemporary art. What if a variety of arts and/or design organizations like PICA and OBT partnered to renovate and occupy the Custom House just as a variety of schools are partnering with OHSU on the Life Sciences Collaborative project along the Willamette?

More likely, though, would probably be another boutique hotel once the economy improves.

[Carl]

I'm amazed that its sat empty for so long. I'm also surprised there isn't a government agency that needs more space.

Its beautiful and sits right on the North Park Blocks. Can I live there until they decide what to do with it???

[Robert]

In the plans for the U of O Center here the building also housed the Contemporary Crafts Museum.

[Paul]

McMenamins? ha ha

[brett]

Wouldn't it qualify for the same program that allowed an educational institution to get it for free, as PNCA did with the 511 building? In that case, I wonder if PNCA needs more room? I know I read that they were buying their currently leased space in the Pearl but then I heard a totally unsubstantiated rumor that might not happen after all. Is there another educational institution that needs a downtown Portland presence?

If not, how about using it for the contemporary arts center D.K. Row wrote about again recently and Brian mentioned above?

I looked inside during the open house, and although it was built much earlier, it reminded me a bit of the 1933 downtown Nashville post office that became the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. Having an art center so near the contemporary crafts museum and reinforcing the artistic connection between downtown and the galleries in Everett Lofts and the Pearl would be a dream....

[billb]

Yes to a Design Museum ! Imagine
sponsors like Columbia Sports and Nike , and working studios , like the place in Alexandria , VA.
So one can chat w/artists/craftsmen/women as they work.

[eenie]

I'd love to see a design / contemporary arts museum, though it's a little hard to imagine who would be able to put it together... It would be different if we had a well-established institution that needed a new home, but this would be a lot to take on for any of the smaller groups, or anybody new.

[Peter S.]

I'd love to see some sort of collection of architects, artists, artisans and such there. The inner organization might lend itself to that. Of course, I don't know how it could be financed...

[ws]

I'm not sure who or what would best be suited for this grand old building, but I'd certainly like to see it happen within something close to its original interior configuration. The hotel wasn't a totally bad idea except for the fact that in order for the company that planned to convert it for that use to make it economically feasible, they felt they needed to chop up the interior.

I'll tell you what....if only Finnegan's toy shop were a big enough business, that might be the perfect place for them. Or maybe as long as the Rose Festival Association wants to remain stuck back in the 19th century, this might be a great place for them to house the Queen of Rosaria.

[bill]

Tear it down, they could build a park there.

The last thing Portland needs is a reminder of the strangling grip of the Federal Government and the agenda of the Neo-Con Right-Wingers in Washington.

"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

-ironically spoken by Reagan

[chris]

Make it into an extension of the downtown Central library.

[Will]

I agree with most that a building of this size and style needs to serve the public. It reminds me a lot of the Art Institute of Chicago Building and a similar use for Portland seems natural with the flourishing art scene in the Pearl. Both the Custom House and the recent acquistion of the PNCA building together would make perfect pillars to create and mark an entrance into our Prized Pearl.

Perhaps a Photography Museum and Gallery.

Either way we cannot let this building go to waste as yet another hotel.

[Custom Home Builders Chicago]

Wow, that's a house? I'd kill to live there, that's for sure.

[Mondofresh]

This building was just awarded by the GSA to The International School, a local non-profit private school.

[Development Expert]

It is amazing how foolish people can be when totally misled about the actual process. None of what was reported is factual about previous efforts to develop the CH into a 5 Star hotel. It was no time to develop a hotel in Portland and the Chicago developer is a professional who notified GSA he would not proceed. Now you will get the French School in two or three years when maybe they can raise the funds needed which will amount to $20M or more!