Restore the Oregon Tour you can start in 3 of the most coveted modern houses from Portland into the mid -century houses

Three esteemed modern residences from the middle of the century will be presented on Saturday, September 27th, in the popular journey home of Oregon in the Portland region.

Entry into the self-shaped tour called Oregon Made: Experience Northwest Regional Modernism is $ 45 at Restororegon.org. All income is supported by the work of the non -profit preservative organization to save historical places of all styles across Oregon.

While two of the houses of early champions of the Pacific Northwest were designed modern, the architects Pietro Belluschi and van Evera Bailey, the architect of the third, a multi -stage Hillside house, unknown

In experienced hands, modern architecture from the middle of the century facilitates the visual boundaries between interior and out, and the replacement -aesthetic properties of open interiors have revolutionized the way in which the Americans live.

The natural environment of Oregon attracted architects and designers who created the unique regional northwest style of modernity. They recognized the value in the damp Pacific northwest of the use of local wood such as fir and cedar, stone from the Cascade Mountains and River Rock.

In the houses selected for the tour, Wall of Windows Scenic views and inner wood and stone bring a feeling of life in harmony with nature, said Nicole Possert, managing director of the Preservation Organization Restore Oregon.

Another characteristic of northwestern modernity is the use of extensive roof lines to protect against rain, snow and sun.

Each of the three houses on the tour tells the story of an architect that “is enchanted by the technological development of the natural world around them,” said Possert to Oregonian/Oregonlive.

Early followers of modernity are surprised to see that modern is now historical and that so much protection against the demolition ball as the Victorian era and centuries-old houses in craftsman style needs.

Through his advocacy and programming, Oregon hopes to inspire and inform the advantages of modern buildings from the middle of the century and find ways at the same time to make sustainable places in order to live, work and play in a contemporary way, said Possert.

For more than a decade, Restore Oregon has been organizing home tours, lectures and special events to explore the interface of modern architecture and the regional style of the Pacific northwest.

Here are highlights of the houses that were selected for the Modern Home Tour from 2025 Oregon:

1948 Burkes-Belluschi House

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Pietro Belluschi's last personal residence, the much more petroleized Burkes-Belluschi-Haus from 1948 in Portlands West Hills, which was later improved by his son, the architect Anthony Belluschi, was performed in February in the national register of historical locations.

Pietro Belluschi designed the one -tier apartment, which is one of the best examples of a mixture of international style and regional style in the northwest, for its customers, Portland Psychiatrist Dewitt Clinton (“DC”) Burkes and his wife Genevieve Burkes, 1944.

The Second World War, the rationing of building materials and other factors delayed the construction until 1947, and the house was completed in 1948.

Pietro Belluschi was revolutionary at that time and set local materials from complicated, rare woven wooden ceilings to a stone mine of the Berg Adams Stone and increased stove.

The house “deepens in its surroundings” with its windows, the view of the skyline of Portland and Mount Hood Beyond frame, said Restore Oregon again.

1954 Glassman House

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The Glassman House was designed by an unknown architect for a local radio station DJ. The multi -level construction completed in 1954 fits into the location of the hill.

The windows with floor to the ceiling “give an impression that they float in the trees,” said Oregon again.

Although the kitchen has been updated, the house has many original games and a bar in the basement in the middle of the century.

1962 pile house

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Only one family lived in West Linn in the 63-year-old Al and Brenda Pfahl, and tour visitors will experience their time capsule state.

The architect born in Portland Van Evera Bailey designed the floor plan to maximize the prospects, support energy-efficient passive house characteristics and to draw natural light.

Bailey visited the undeveloped location on the summer solstice to determine where the light would be. Then he determined the window placement.

The lubricate windows opened for ventilation. Plate glass walls rise from the floor to the ceiling of the elevated living room and the walls of the Clerestory window.

Built -in cupboards are also secretly transparent: open a closet door in the informal dining room and see who cooks in the kitchen.

At that time it was revolutionary to have a exposed structural ceiling. Bailey's method: Rough-Sawn Dougla's fir boards were laminated together and placed over the comb beam and the wall plate, creating a slanted ceiling, roof and overhang.

The walls and carpets were originally light green to extinguish the distinction between inside and outside. The deceased Brenda Pfahl added strawberry pink walls and purple carpet.

Simple cabinet doors in the utility room are a harlequin pattern made of pink, blue, green and yellow. There are frameless windows nearby, another Bailey signature.

Restoration of Oregon said that Bailey had created highly lively and unpretentious houses that focused on placing the structure on the site, the view from the house and a focus on collection rooms.

The terrace was designed by the landscape architect in the middle of the century, Barbara Fealy, who worked closely with many architects in the regional modernity of the northwest.

When you go: The self -driven, self -driven Oregon: Experience Northwest Regional Modernism Tour is on Saturday, September 27th, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A general admission ticket costs $ 45 ($ 40 to September 3) under Restororegon.org.

– Janet Eastman covers design and trends. Reach them at 503-294-4072, jeastman@oregonian.com and follow her on x @Janeterastman.