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Applegate School (Portland, Oregon)
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| Object Name | Applegate School (Portland, Oregon)
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| View | Oregon Historic Site Form. Prepared by Iris Eschen. |
| Alternate Name | Applegate Facility (Portland, Oregon)
Farragut Primary School (Portland, Oregon)
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| Creator/Role | Wick & Hilgers (architecture firm, 1945-1959)
Clarence Herbert Wick (architect, 1907-1970)
Albert William Hilgers (architect, 1907-1990)
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| Creator | Wick & Hilgers
Wick, Clarence H.
Hilgers, Albert W.
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| Date | 1954
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| Decade | 1950-1959
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| City | Portland
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| County | Multnomah
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| State/Province | Oregon
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| Country | United States
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| Site Detail | 7650 N Commercial |
| Cataloger | Edward H. Teague |
| Object Type | architecture
built works
views (visual works)
exterior views
schools (buildings)
schools (buildings)
public schools (buildings)
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| Notes | Oregon Historic Site Form Applegate Facility 7650 Commercial 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: Education- Related primary style: Northwest Regional secondary style: primary siding: Wood: Other/ Undefined secondary siding: plan type: School ( General) Portland historic name: Applegate Facility primary constr date: 1954 secondary date: 1990 height (# stories): 1 total # ineligible resources: 2 ( optional-- use for major addns) current/ other names: Farragut Primary 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/ 25/ 2009 external site #: 134 ( ID# used in city/ agency database) survey project name or other grouping name comments/ notes: ILS survey date: 6/ 25/ 2009 Gen File date: SHPO INFO FOR THIS PROPERTY NR date listed: GROUPINGS / ASSOCIATIONS Optional Information 7650 N Commercial Multnomah County ( former addresses, intersections, etc.) architect: Wick and Hilgers builder: NR date listed: ( indiv listed only; see Grouping for hist dist) 106 Project( s) PPS Historic Building Assessment 2009 Survey & Inventory Project East elevation Printed on: 10/ 14/ 2009 Page 1 of 3 Oregon Historic Site Form Applegate Facility 7650 Commercial 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 Applegate Elementary School is located at 7605 N Commercial Street in the Piedmont Neighborhood of north Portland. The 1.37- acre school campus is situated at the south end of Farragut Park. In addition to the primary classroom building ( 134A), the campus includes a portable classroom building ( 134P1) located at the west portion of the property. The main school building has a rectangular massing with a wood frame that rests on a poured concrete foundation. Designed in the Northwest Regional style, the building features a moderately pitched gable roof and overhanging eaves. Vinyl siding covers the single story building. Fenestration consists primarily of wood frame windows. Architectural Description Applegate Elementary School is located at 7605 N Commercial Street in the Piedmont Neighborhood of north Portland. The 1.37- acre school campus is situated at the south end of Farragut Park. Development in the neighborhood consists of a mixture of single family houses, multi- family residences, and mid- size commercial and industrial buildings. In addition to the primary classroom building, the campus includes a portable located at the west portion of the property. The rectangular, wood frame building rests on a poured concrete foundation. Designed in the Northwest Regional style, the building features a moderately pitched gable roof and overhanging eaves. Vinyl siding covers the single story building. Fenestration consists primarily of wood frame windows. Applegate Elementary School features a finger plan. The 26, 000 square foot school is oriented on an east to west axis along a double loaded corridor. The primary entry to the school is from the east. A gymnasium/ cafeteria, located on the south side of the building, provides the principal community space. Wood panels, stained a pale blonde, line the walls of the gymnasium/ cafeteria. The classrooms are primarily rectangular with built- ins on the interior walls. The corridors feature a composition tile wainscot, 12" x12" floor tiles, and an acoustic panel ceiling. Alterations/ Integrity Since its construction in 1954, there have been minimal alterations to Applegate Elementary School. The portable was built in 1969. Although the east end of the building was expanded in 1990 to provide additional classrooms and office space, the horizontal form, roof shape, and corridor configuration were retained. Other alterations include re- cladding the building in vinyl siding and building an accessible entry on the south elevation. Applegate Elementary School retains its integrity with its original wood windows and interior finishes including the classroom built- ins, gymnasium panels, and corridor wainscot intact. Statement of Significance Built in 1954, Applegate Elementary School was 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 new building program, PPS 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 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 partitions walls and 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). In response to the growing population of north Portland, the district acquired Block 1 of lots 5 - 13 in the Lovewood Addition of Portland for $ 14,825.00 Named for Jesse Applegate ( 1811 1888) an Oregon pioneer who was active in Oregon's early government, the new school was constructed in 1954 for $ 198,580 ( Portland Chronology Binder, Snyder). The architects of Applegate Elementary School, Wick and Hilgers, were well versed in the design of academic buildings. Founded by Clarence Wick and Albert Hilgers, two graduates of the University of Oregon's School of Architecture, the firm was responsible for the design of many public facilities in the Northwest. In addition to working with a number of private architectural firms including the office of Herman Brookman, Clarence Wick gained additional design experience from working with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. Hilgers, a native of Portland who attended Benson Polytechnic School, worked for a number of Northwest architects before serving as the Resident Engineer for the Public Works Administration from 1937- 1939. He subsequently worked as an architect on the Bonneville Project in 1940 and 1941. In 1941 Hilgers entered into partnership with Wick and Gerald Scott. During this period Wick and Hilgers also worked together at the Housing Authority of Portland. At the Housing Authority Wick served as Director of Development from 1941- 1945 and Hilgers worked as an assistant director of development from 1943- 1944. In 1945 the Printed on: 10/ 14/ 2009 Page 2 of 3 Oregon Historic Site Form Applegate Facility 7650 Commercial 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: 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. 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. Perkins, Lawrence B and Walter D. Cocking. Schools. New York: Reinhold Publishing Corporation, 1949. Portland Public Schools Chronology Binder. Portland Public Schools. Repairing, Rehabilitating and Modernizing the School Plant. Portland: Portland Public Schools. Office of the Superintendent, 1945. _______. Applegate Elementary School. Facility Profile. Ritz, Richard. E. Architects of Oregon. A Biographical Dictionary of Architects Deceased – 19th and 20th Centuries. Portland: Lair Hill Publishing, 2003. Sanborn Map Company 1924- 1928, 1908- Dec. 1950 Sanborn Maps, Multnomah County Public Library, Portland, Oregon. Available at: https:// catalog. multcolib. org/ validate? url= http% 3A% 2F% 2F0- sanborn. umi. com. catalog. multcolib. org% 3A80% 2F. Accessed June 16, 2009. Snyder, Eugene E. Portland Names and Neighborhoods. Their Historic Origins. Portland: Binforrd & Mort Publishing; 1st edition 1979. ( Check all of the basic sources consulted and cite specific important sources) architectural practice was reestablished as the firm of Wick and Hilgers. The firm's first large commission was as the architects of record for the Portland Chamber of Commerce Visitors Information Center, designed by John Yeon ( 1945). The firm was responsible for the design of the School of Music ( 1949) and Commonwealth Hall ( 1951) at the University of Oregon and the Wolverton Memorial Pool at the Oregon College of Education ( 1955). In addition to designing the Applegate Elementary School, the firm was responsible for additions for Astor, Chief Joseph, and Faubion Schools ( Ritz 2003: 178- 179, 424- 425). Although Applegate School retains its integrity with its floor plan and many exterior and interior finishes appear intact, it is not recommended as eligible for the NRHP. The school was built during the PPS program of post- war construction but archival research does not indicate that it influenced the design of other schools buildings, the curriculum, or future planning for the schools. The school therefore, is not eligible for the NRHP under Criterion A. Although designed by a successful architecture firm in Portland, archival research does not indicate that the school was a major commission. Although the building exhibits some elements of the Northwest Regional style and mid- twentieth century school design, in comparison with other schools built during this period in Portland, Applegate Elementary School is not a strong example of the type or the style that would be eligible for the NRHP under Criterion C. Printed on: 10/ 14/ 2009 Page 3 of 3 North elevation facing south South elevation East Elevation Portable facing northwest Applegate School Exterior Photos ENTRIX, 2009 West elevation Corridor outside of office Classroom built- in Corridor facing west Gymnasium facing east Boiler Applegate School Interior Photos ENTRIX, 2009 Applegate Facility 7650 N Commercial Ave, Portland OR, 97217 Building Periods 1. Main Building ( 134A), 1954 2. Portable Classroom ( 134P), 1969 3. Classroom Add. ( 134C), 1990 N Baldwin St N Russet St N Commercial Ave N Vancouver Ave Aerial photo © 2009 Metro, Portland OR Imagery Date: July 12, 2007 2009 photograph of a gable end entry into the Applegate School. 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 |
| Metadata Notes | Description of this work is based initially on documentation supplied by the image provider. It is often the case with gift slides that very little information is provided. Review and updating of descriptive information by the collection cataloger is ongoing. |
| Digital Collection | Building Oregon: Architecture of Oregon & the Pacific Northwest
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| Source Collection | University of Oregon Libraries |
| Publisher | University of Oregon Libraries |
| File Name | OR_Multnomah_Portland_ |
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