Wells Fargo Building (Portland, Oregon)

The Wells Fargo Building is a historic office building in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. The large doorstep at the building's entryway required the largest slab of granite ever shipped to Portland at the time.[4] Completed in 1907, the steel-framed building is considered the city's first true skyscraper. At 12 stories and with a height of 182 feet (55 m),[5] it was the tallest building in Portland[2][3] (and indeed in all of Oregon), exclusive of towers,[5] and remained so for four years. The clock tower of the 1892-completed Oregonian Building, which measured 194 feet (59 m) in height, made that building the tallest in the city overall.[5]

Wells Fargo Building
Location in Portland
Alternative names	Porter Building US National Bank Building
General information
Type	Commercial offices
Location	309 SW 6th Avenue Portland, Oregon
Coordinates	45.521620°N 122.677575°W
Construction started	1905
Completed	1907
Height
Roof	56.4 m (185 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	12
Floor area	20,903 sq ft (1,942.0 m^2)
Design and construction
Architect	Benjamin Wistar Morris, III
Wells Fargo Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Portland Historic Landmark[1]
Architectural style	Neo-Renaissance
NRHP reference No.	86002839
Added to NRHP	October 9, 1986
References
[2][3]

In 1946,[6] the building was purchased by the United States National Bank of Portland, whose headquarters was located in a smaller building located directly adjacent, immediately to the south. U.S. National Bank used the Wells Fargo Building to expand its downtown Portland headquarters.[7]

In 1986, the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.[8]

See also

• Architecture of Portland, Oregon
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Southwest Portland, Oregon

References

1. Portland Historic Landmarks Commission (July 2010), Historic Landmarks -- Portland, Oregon (XLS), retrieved November 13, 2013.
2. Wells Fargo Building at Emporis
3. "Wells Fargo Building". SkyscraperPage.
4. King, Bart (2001). An Architectural Guidebook to Portland. Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith. p. 25. ISBN 9780879059910.
5. "Yeon Skyscraper Starts March 10". (February 6, 1910). The Sunday Oregonian, Section 4, p. 12.
6. "$875,000 Annex for U. S. National; Porter Building Pioneers City's Steel Construction". (September 26, 1946). The Oregonian, p. 18.
7. Pratt, Gerry (October 28, 1970). "Bank Offers Bonus: New Life to Old Area". The Oregonian. p. 38.
8. "Oregon National Register List" (PDF). Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. June 6, 2011. Retrieved June 26, 2011.

External links

• Media related to Wells Fargo Building (Portland, Oregon) at Wikimedia Commons
• Portland Business Journal: Portland's first skyscraper passes the century mark