Musings of a Designer on Jewelry, Crochet, Crochet Patterns, Knitting, Running a Crafty Business, Movie Costumes, Books, Art, Design, Steampunk & the Geek Girl Life

Saturday, June 04, 2011

Pittock Mansion: Visiting Local History

High above the hills of Portland, Oregon is the Pittock Mansion, an early 1900's French Renaissance-style mansion that has been restored and opened to the public. My parents recently came for a visit and we all went and toured this fabulous piece of history. Our children were fascinated by all the old-fashioned technology. A great time was had by all!!

pittock mansion from wikipedia

The mansion was completed in 1914, complete with progressive features of the time, including a central vacuum system and intercoms. The Pittocks hired Oregon craftsmen and artisans, and used Northwest materials to build the house. The final estate included the mansion, a three-car garage, a greenhouse, and a gate lodge servants’ residence, all situated on 46 acres of woodland and garden 1,000 feet above bustling downtown Portland.
An old fashioned intercom installed in the wall.

This is a crocheted bedspread. What an amazing creation! Can you imagine all the hours to handcrochet this out of crochet thread? Truly an heirloom piece.

They were having a special exhibit on beaded purses while we were there. Gorgeous collection of more than 50 well-preserved purses beaded and mesh purses (two of which were owned by Pittock family members) from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This type of elaborately decorated purse peaked in popularity between 1900 and 1930 and it was fun to see all the techniques and decorations used in the creation of them. This special exhibit is on display until July 10 if you are in the area.

4 comments:

BluMoon said...

I love visiting the old houses, this one looks to be very nicely built and finished I like how they have tried to add old pieces of the times it certainly adds to the ambience. In England many of the old estates are owned by the National Trust, if you ever get to visit over here I think you would enjoy a tour of some of them.
Jackie

Artifax said...

Hi Jackie! I actually have been to England several times. I had a great time and toured several wonderful estate homes with their gardens .. just beautiful! I never get tired of looking at beautiful architecture, especially the more unique commissioned designs that are one-of-a-kind. Hope to go back to England one day :)

Taking Heart said...

Gorgeous!!!

Waterrose said...

Well it looks like you made it to the mansion....too bad we weren't there at the same time!