Everyone sightseeing Portland's contouring Southwest Vista Avenue has noticed the stately Georgian Colonial Revival-style mansion. Perfectly perched on an elevated lot, windows on three levels frame unimpeded views of the skyline and Willamette River below and, beyond city boundaries, Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens.
When the captivating Annand-Loomis House was built in 1908 at what is now 1825 SW Vista Ave., public streetcars and private, low-powered automobiles struggled to traverse the hill.
For more than a century, the white house fronted by towering square columns has be poised between two other icons: the 1908 James W. Cook House and the 1906 M.C. Banfield House.
Together, the trio creates a spectacular "visual gateway to Portland Heights," according to documents that helped successfully earned the property a spot on the National Register of Historic Places 20 years ago.
Today, the restored, majestic mansion is listed for sale at $2,275,000. Sitting on a third of an acre, the dwelling has 9,771 square feet of living space and a fascinating history.
The property was owned by ambitious Portland businessman and City Commissioner John Annand, who wanted a status house. He hired Clifton R. Lewthwaite, a house builder -- not an architect -- to draw plans inspired by lofty residences designed by the city's most prestigious architectural firm, Whidden and Lewis.
This classic Colonial Revival architecture was fashionable in Oregon between 1890 and 1915. Hallmarks of the style are dramatically displayed here: There is a two-story portico and a symmetrical three-bay facade.
Drivers daring to slow down may be able to see decorative wrought-iron railings wrapping the inviting veranda, which is mostly uncovered and open to the sky.
The entrance bay is adorn with plate glass panels and grillwork that was added for protection, according to the National Register of Historic Places document. Crowning the entrance is a graceful bowed balcony.
Inside, beyond the central stairhall are the front rooms -- the living room and parlor. The dining room, library, kitchen with a butler's pantry and breakfast room with bay windows fill out the main level.
Upstairs, there are five bedrooms and three bathrooms. Walls in the top-level ballroom were once painted by Annand's wife, Clara, who patterned her designs on motifs seen in their collection of Northwest Coast Indian Tlingit decorative arts.
According to the historic document, Vista Avenue, then known as Ford Street, was unpaved until 1906. Annand used his power as a City Commissioner and an influential member of the street committee to see that "structural reinforcement and grading of the main arterial passed beneath his select home site."
Financial reversals forced the Annands to move to a less expensive home in 1911.
Over its long life, the home has been owned by a lumberman and luminaries, including Lee Loomis, a former Yukon gold rush banker who founded Loomis Armored Car Service. His company is cited along with Wells Fargo in pioneering the cash handling industry.
During Prohibition and the Recession, Loomis' armored cars were made of heavy steel and had bullet-proof compartments and gun ports, according to company history.
Loomis lived in the wedding cake-white mansion with his wife, Grace, from 1947 until his death in 1949.
Afterward, a series of owners altered the interior. An Oregonian story in the 1950s showcased a modern remodel. Hardwood floors and glass tile were covered in linoleum, wainscot was buried by drywall and Douglas fir counters were hidden by Formica.
Fortunately, original features were preserved underneath these midcentury materials, and torn out moldings, mantels, balusters, newels, pilasters and built-ins were found in scrap piles in the basement.
Owners since the late 1990s have worked to carefully restored the home's turn-of-the-last-century grandeur while installing modern upgrades
The current owners bought the property in 2015, according to public records, and completed an impeccable restoration, says listing agents Libby Benz and Drew McCulloch of Windermere Stellar.
-- Janet Eastman
jeastman@oregonian.com
503-799-8739
@janeteastman
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