Stephenson School (Portland, Oregon)

Title: Stephenson School (Portland, Oregon)
LC Subject: Architecture, American Architecture--United States
Alternative: Stephenson Elementary School (Portland, Oregon)
Creator: Koch, Robert
Creator Display: Robert Koch (architect)
Description: This image is included in Building Oregon: Architecture of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, a digital collection which provides documentation about the architectural heritage of the Pacific Northwest. Oregon Historic Site Form. Prepared by Iris Eschen.
Provenance: University of Oregon Libraries
Temporal: 1960-1969
Work Type: architecture (object genre) built works views (visual works) exterior views public schools (buildings) architectural drawings (visual works) plans (orthographic projections) plans, floor
Latitude: 45.44025
Longitude: -122.704409
Location: Portland >> Multnomah County >> Oregon >> United States Multnomah County >> Oregon >> United States Oregon >> United States United States
Street Address: 2627 SW Stephenson Street
Date: 1965
View Date: 2009
Identifier: OR_Multnomah_Portland_Stephenson.pdf
Rights: In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Type: Image
Format: application/pdf
Set: Building Oregon
Primary Set: Building Oregon
Institution: University of Oregon
Citation: PPS Historic Building Assessment 2009
Note: Oregon Historic Site Form Stephenson School 2627 Stephenson St Portland, Multnomah County block nbr: lot nbr: tax lot nbr: township: range: section: 1/ 4: LOCATION AND PROPERTY NAME elig. evaluation: not eligible/ non- contributing primary orig use: School secondary orig use: primary style: Northwest Regional secondary style: primary siding: Vertical Board secondary siding: plan type: School ( General) Portland historic name: Stephenson School primary constr date: 1965 secondary date: 1975 height (# stories): 1 total # ineligible resources: 1 ( optional-- use for major addns) current/ other names: Stephenson Elementary School ( c.) ( c.) orig use comments: prim style comments: sec style comments: location descr: assoc addresses: vcnty address: ( remote sites) siding comments: PROPERTY CHARACTERISTICS farmstead/ cluster name: zip: total # eligible resources: 0 apprx. addrs resource type: Building NR status: RLS survey date: 6/ 23/ 2009 external site #: 190 ( ID# used in city/ agency database) survey project name or other grouping name comments/ notes: ILS survey date: 6/ 23/ 2009 Gen File date: SHPO INFO FOR THIS PROPERTY NR date listed: GROUPINGS / ASSOCIATIONS Optional Information 2627 SW Stephenson St Multnomah County ( former addresses, intersections, etc.) architect: Robert Koch builder: NR date listed: ( indiv listed only; see Grouping for hist dist) 106 Project( s) PPS Historic Building Assessment 2009 Survey & Inventory Project South and west elevations Printed on: 10/ 14/ 2009 Page 1 of 3 Oregon Historic Site Form Stephenson School 2627 Stephenson St Portland, Multnomah County ARCHITECTURAL / PROPERTY DESCRIPTION ( Include expanded description of the building/ property, setting, significant landscape features, outbuildings, and alterations) HISTORY ( Chronological, descriptive history of the property from its construction through at least the historic period [ preferably to the present]) Description Summary Situated in the residential neighborhood of Arnold Creek in Southwest Portland, Stephenson Elementary School is located at 2627 SW Stephenson Street. The 1964 building ( 190A) features elements of the Northwest Regional style including a variety of cladding, roof types, and massing organized to furnish light and ventilation, and provide easy access to the outdoors. The one- story wood frame building features an irregular massing comprised of several wings. The various wings are covered by a mixture of gable, flat and hip roofs. Siding consists of vertical board with battens and wood shingle. Facilities provided by the building include classrooms, a gymnasium/ cafetorium, media center/ library and an administrative office. Architectural Description Situated in the residential neighborhood of Arnold Creek in Southwest Portland, the Stephenson Elementary School is located at 2627 SW Stephenson Street. The 8.88- acre campus provides plentiful space for play fields and future school expansion. There is an asphalt- covered half-circle driveway and parking lots located opposite the school’s main entrance. An asphalt- covered playground is located directly to the east of the school. Built in 1964, Stephenson Elementary School features elements of the Northwest Regional style including a variety of cladding, roof types, and massing organized to furnish light and easy access to the outdoors. The school is oriented on a north- south axis, and sits on a concrete foundation. The various wings that comprise the school are covered by a mixture of gable, flat, and hip roofs. The front ( south) elevation is dominated by the vaulted double height space of the gymnasium/ cafetorium on the east wing. A classroom wing extends to the southwest of the main entry. Two additional wings project in a pinwheel configuration from the north and west elevations. Siding consists of vertical board with battens and wood shingles. Fenestration consists of fixed single pane and metal and wood frame pivot windows. A pair of double- leaf metal doors are located at the two recessed entrances on the front elevation. A prominent skylight is situated on the hip roof of the southwest classroom wing. Another skylight is located on the east elevation of the Media Center on the north wing. The interior layout of the school is organized around a primary north- south corridor that connects to several classroom wings. The low, narrow, double- loaded corridors retain their original configuration and features, consisting of concrete walls, fluorescent lights, acoustic tile ceilings, wood display cases, linoleum floors, metal framing and molding and wooden classroom doors. The multipurpose gymnasium/ cafetorium, located immediately adjacent to the entry, is the most dominate feature in the school layout. The arched roof that covers the double height space is supported by horizontal metal beams. Hanging acoustic tiles and fluorescent lights are suspended from the horizontal wood plank ceiling. Other features include concrete and wooden walls, a wooden stage, and tile floors. The folding tables and benches that recess into the wall facilitate the use of the space as a cafeteria. The Media Center/ Library is a spacious, carpeted, open room divided into several work and study areas including a loft with chairs and desks and a skylight. The classrooms also exhibit their original configurations, height, linoleum tile floors and wood framing and molding. Standard features include wooden book cases and cabinets, sinks and counters, and tubular fluorescent light fixtures suspended from an acoustic tile clad ceiling. Several of the classrooms have projecting “ greenhouse” type windows. Alterations/ Integrity In 1975 the wing that houses the media center and five open classrooms was added to the north side of the school. In 1987, the two classrooms that project to the east and additional two classrooms located in the southwest corner of the original building were added. Due to these additions, Stephenson School does not retain its integrity of design and feeling. Printed on: 10/ 14/ 2009 Page 2 of 3 Oregon Historic Site Form Stephenson School 2627 Stephenson St Portland, Multnomah County RESEARCH INFORMATION Title Records Sanborn Maps Obituaries City Directories Census Records Biographical Sources Newspapers Building Permits Property Tax Records SHPO Files State Archives State Library Local Histories Interviews Historic Photographs Local Library: Multnomah County Library University Library: Portland State University Library Historical Society: Oregon Historical Society Other Repository: PPS Archives Bibliography: Bibliography: McMath, George. “ A Regional Style Comes to the City.” In Space, Style and Structure: Buildings in Northwest America. Ed. Thomas Vaughan, 467- 499. Portland: Oregon Historical Society, 1974. ________. “ The Wood Tradition Expands” 528- 647. Ogata, Amy F. “ Building for Learning in Postwar American Elementary Schools.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 67, no. 4, December 2008: 562- 591. D. Cocking. Schools. New York: Reinhold Publishing Corporation, 1949. Portland Public Schools. Repairing, Rehabilitating and Modernizing the School Plant. Portland: Portland Public Schools. Office of the Superintendent, 1945. _______. School Chronology Binder. _______. Stephenson Elementary School Facility Profile. ( Check all of the basic sources consulted and cite specific important sources) Statement of Significance Named for John Stephenson, a pioneer who settled in the surrounding district, Portland Public School acquired the property in 1959 for $ 29,480 in response to the rapidly growing population in the southwest areas of the city ( Snyder 1979: 241; Portland Chronology Binder). Built in 1965, Stephenson Elementary School was one of the later schools constructed during a period of modernization and new construction initiated by Portland Public Schools ( PPS) after World War II. In 1945, the citizens of Portland approved a ballot measure that provided $ 5,000,000 over five years to construct, improve, and rehabilitate its public school buildings ( Portland Public Schools 1945: 2). The ballot measure enabled PPS to respond to the explosive growth in school- age children that had occurred in the city as a result of the arrival of defense plant workers and their families, as well as the deferred maintenance arising from the lack of funds during the depression ( Portland Public Schools 1945: 2- 3). Beginning with this initial bond measure, PPS embarked on an effort to improve its school facilities through renovations, additions, and new construction of over fifty schools between 1945 and 1970. For the design of Stephenson Elementary School, architect Robert Koch, adopted the call of architects and school planners across the country for new types of schools. Nationally known architects including Richard Neutra, the Architects Collective – led by Walter Gropius, and the Perkins Will architectural firm promoted new school types that reflected both evolving educational practices and design philosophies ( Ogata 2008: 567- 568; Perkins and Cocking 1949: 238- 246). Emphasizing the need for economy and rapid construction, the designers around the country and throughout Portland adopted new materials that were standardized and mass produced including steel, plywood, and aluminum. In many buildings, architects achieved flexibility through the building’s structure by employing non- load- bearing partition walls, zoned ventilation, and heating systems. Folding walls and moveable cabinets provided additional flexibility intended to enable teachers to rearrange rooms based on lesson plan and activities ( Ogata 2008: 568). Although many of the architects for schools in Portland continued to design their schools to be extensible, designers turned away from the two- story schools with centralized massing popularized by Naramore and Jones. Instead many architects adopted the principles of the Modern movement and its regional variant, the Northwest Regional style, choosing to express functional areas through massing and materials to create innovative forms ( McMath 1974: 628). Classrooms featured extensive built- ins that included sinks, slots for bulky rolls of paper, and coat storage. Many buildings incorporated interior courtyards, another hallmark of the Northwest style, which facilitated access to the outdoors and expanded the opportunities for passive ventilation and day lighting. Stephenson School does not retain a level of historical integrity commensurate with other Porltand Elementary Schools constructed in a similar style during the post war period; therefore, Stephenson School is not eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places ( NRHP). While the Northwest Regional style and finger plan type are discernable on the building, serveral additions have diminished the building's integrity of design and feeling. Due to the loss of integrity, Stephenson is not eligible for listing in the NRHP under Criteria A, B or C. Printed on: 10/ 14/ 2009 Page 3 of 3 South ( gymnasium) and west elevations Southeast elevation entry Southeast elevation; upper and lower parking areas Gymnasium east elevation Stephenson School Exterior Photos ENTRIX, 2009 North and east elevations Corridor facing north Corridor facing west Classroom Media Center Classroom built- ins Stephenson School Interior Photos ENTRIX, 2009 Stephenson School 2627 SW Stephenson St, Portland OR, 97219 Building Periods 1. Original Building ( 190A), 1964 2. Addition ( 190A), 1975 3. Addition ( 190A), 1987 Aerial photo © 2009 Metro, Portland OR Imagery Date: July 12, 2007 SW 27th Ave SW Stephenson St Stephenson School, looking northeast, 2009 View Site in Google Maps Historical Significance and Building Integrity Contrib: High Significance Contrib: Moderate Signif. Non- Contributing 0’ 50’ 100’ 200’ N sandy Blvd Lombard st powell Blvd 82nd ave MLK jr b lvd 1 2 3 3