On a recent hike along Reed Lake (Portland, Oregon), I had occasion to walk up out of the ‘Canyon’ onto Reed College campus. I took a quick shot of a building and moved on across the Blue Bridge to the other side of the lake. Today, I was looking at the image and decided to use it here and a little research was in order (style, name, etc.) Well, as a result, I learned a few interesting things.
Eloit Hall at Reed College. Designed by A.E. Dooley in 1920. Gothic-Tudor style.
I learned that A.E. Dooley was a varied and prolific architect/designer in Oregon. He died at a young age of 53 (1928) of Bright’s Disease (Acute Kidney Stones). I also learned that Dooley was the architect behind two varied buildings I have fond memories of as a very young boy.
Forestry Building-Portland, Oregon-Lewis & Clark Expo, 1905
As a very little guy, there are pictures of me standing in front of this large log structure in 1951. We lived a few blocks away from this building and I can recall walking about inside in later years as a young boy. It burned to the ground years later from workman’s carelessness.
In the old days, as well as today, one always took out-of-town guests for a drive up the ‘Gorge’ (Columbia River Gorge). In the day, it was up the Scenic Highway, a narrow winding country road. The freeway (Interstate 84) was built later and then there was a quicker way East to the ‘Fall’s’ exit. Multnomah Falls and the Lodge were always a must see stop. Years later the Falls froze and an ice flow developed to such an extent that the left side of the Lodge was crushed necessitating reconstruction. This photo from 1925, shows the Lodge from my younger years (no not the cars).
So A.E. Dooley was quite the diverse designer until his untimely death…I guess they are often ‘untimely’. A little jaunt, a reflexive snap and followup research yielded a nice discovery today.
