ELECTRIC BUILDING (1910)
621 Southwest Alder Street
Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon


NRIS # 89000059
Listing date:  02-23-89

Statement of Significance – Correction

The purpose of this continuation sheet is to correct the erroneous identification of Edgar M. Lazarus and Carl L. Linde as architects of the Electric Building.  The architect of the Electric Building was David C. Lewis and Carl L. Linde was superintendent of construction.

There are at least three different sources that confirm the identification of the architect and superintendent of construction.
“Good Start is Made; Rapid Progress Shown on New Electric Building,” Morning Oregonian, May 9, 1909, p. 4.
Quoted from the article are two relevant statements:  “D. C. Lewis is the architect of this latest addition to the big office buildings of Portland, and the accompanying picture shows what an important and imposing building this talented architect has worked out. “ “Carl L. Linde is the superintendent of building construction, and yesterday was engaged in checking up the specifications for interior work on the building, indicating that no delay is probable after the building is under way.”
“A Difficult Engineering Feat; A Nine Story Building to be Erected at Seventh and Alder Sts. Without Disturbing Power Plant Now There,” Portland Daily Abstract, February 24, 1909, p. 1.
Quoted from the article:  “Architect D. C. Lewis has been commissioned to prepare the architectural plans and work on the construction will commence as soon as the plans are completed.”
Shellenbarger, Michael. “Portland RL&P, Headquarters Building,” An Index and Summary of Oregon Building Information in the Portland Daily Abstract (1906-1910). Eugene, Oregon: Historic Preservation Program, 1992.  p. 955.
The citations in the Shellenbarger index trace the history of the building’s design, building permits, and construction.

There is no contemporary source identifying Lazarus as the architect of the Electric Building.  The nomination’s identification of Linde as superintendent of construction is accurate, but the narrative that Linde was also an architect of the building is unsubstantiated speculation.

The error of identification probably stems from a 1906 commission Lazarus received to design a new office building for the General Electric Company.  The designs for the proposed building, not executed, are illustrated in the Morning Oregonian, May 30, 1906, p. 10.  These designs were drafted by Charles Kable, according to Kable’s Time Book.   In 1906, as the nomination describes, three electric/railway entities merged to form the Portland Railway Light and Power Company.  The Electric Building, as it was commonly known, was the headquarters of this new company, and the building was designed and constructed in 1909 with completion in early 1910.   The original nomination failed to track the progress of design and construction between 1906 and building’s completion in 1910.


Edward H. Teague, ehteague@uoregon.edu
Head, Architecture & Allied Arts Library, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon
April 18, 2011





______________________________________________	Date: ___________________, 2011
Deputy Oregon State Historic Preservation Officer