Pittock Mansion has one of the most beautiful, expansive views in the city, overlooking Portland’s skyline from 1,000 feet up. On a clear day, panoramic vistas of five Cascade Mountains: Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams, Mount Rainier, and Mount Jefferson can be seen.
The original Pittock estate was comprised of 46 acres of land nestled in Portland’s West Hills and included the 23-room Mansion, a three-car garage, as well as greenhouses, a tennis court, and the Gate Lodge. The original landscape design created by C.C. Colburn featured plantings of dogwoods, hydrangeas, rhododendrons, lilacs, magnolias, and, of course, Mrs. Georgiana Pittock’s favorites–roses.
The Gate Lodge is a four-story, 2,400 square foot, Italianate-style craftsman home built of reinforced concrete with a stucco exterior and clay tile roof. As its name suggests, the Gate Lodge sits next to what was the original gated roadway leading up to the Mansion.
The Gate Lodge was first occupied in 1914 by the Pittocks’ chauffeur and his wife. After they moved out, the estate steward James Skene and his wife, Marjory, moved in. The couple had one daughter, Marjorie, who grew up on the Pittock estate. After the Skenes moved out in 1953, the Gate Lodge remained largely empty, unheated, and plagued with leaks until the City of Portland and the Pittock Mansion Society partnered to restore the building in the 1970s.
In the 1980s and 90s, the Gate Lodge was used as a tea room first by the Junior League of Portland and then by caterers. I remember taking our daughter Andrea to “tea” at the Gate Lodge during the time we lived in Fairview and Andi was a student at Portland State. The delightful tea tray contained freshly baked scones, muffins, pastries, along with pretty little triangular shaped finger sandwiches made with cucumber and cream cheese, or tuna, or ham, along with a grand assortment of teas served in delicate porcelain tea cups.
In the early 2000s, with the help of early resident Marjorie Skene, the Society restored the Gate Lodge, transforming it back to how it looked in the 1930s and 40s. Marjorie advised on historic colors, furniture, and fabrics, and she and her family donated original furnishings and household items.
The Gate Lodge now serves as a historic museum.
ADDRESS OF PITTOCK MANSION:
3229 NW Pittock Drive
Portland, OR 97210
COVID-19 Update:
Historic Pittock Mansion is open and timed tickets can be purchased in advance online. For more information visit Pittock Mansion website: https://pittockmansion.org/visitorguidelines
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