Rogers, George, House - Lake Oswego, OR
N 45° 24.782 W 122° 39.784
10T E 526363 N 5028889
This home was owned by Lake Oswego grocer-entrepreneaur George Rogers (1888-1961).
Waymark Code: WMHRRY
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 08/10/2013
Views: 1
This two-story stone & brick building is a 2,028 square foot residence designed for Lake Oswego grocer-entrepreneaur George Rogers (1888-1961) , by Architect Van Evera Bailey in 1929 for a cost of $9,000. George and Lottie Rogers lived in the home for about 62 years, and passed to their grandson, Philip Rossi. The home was built about 8 blocks from the Rogers Grocery store that was situated at the corner of B and State Streets in Lake Oswego. The lot is also the location of the Roger's original home, which was a smaller cottage that existed from 1918 to 1929 and was torn down once this new residence was built. Grandson Rossi maintains ownership of the original architectural drawings.
The use of decorative rock work and bricks is a unique feature of the home. Comments in the Nomination Form for th National Register of Historic Places indicate that Philip Rossi reports that the bricks are "imprinted with Scottish names" and "were used as ballast on ships sailing from Scotland", then used in the construction of the nearby foundry of the Oregon Iron Company, and then later when the foundry was dismantled, it is reported that George Rogers selected all the brick and rock he felt suitable to recycle to be used in the construction of this home. (The foundry operated from 1867 to 1908) Part of the bricks were used for teh driveway, a back patio and barbeque pit also. Many of the rocks were selected from other areas of Lake Oswego, but also hand-picked by George Rogers.
In addition to the impressive and ornate exterior, the interior of the home has been preserved and includes "clear cut simplistic definition of interior spaces, sparseness of finishing materials including built in furniture that speaks of shaker simplicity, inclusion of natural motifs, materials which tied together interior and exterior space and designation of communal rooms such as the living and dining room which encouraged group participation."
There is a chapel on the northern side of the home, with stained glass windows. The chapel entrance is flanked by built in floor-to-ceiling bookcases The first floor has the original textured stucco finish which were painted a rose color with gold overlay, and the paint was still beautiful when the home was listed on the Historic Register in 1996. A massive stone fireplace dominates a wall in the living room, and there are exposed roofing beams in the vaulted ceiling. Original french doors lead to the brick patio, and the original hardwood floors are mostly untouched in the living room. The dining room has a built in china hutch. The kitchen was remodled by Lottie Rogers in the 1950s, and contains the access door to the basement. One bedroom is on the main floor, with 3 additional bedrooms and a sunroom upstairs (all are simple and plain with no unnecessary ornamentation). The home has extensive Mediterrain influence, (a nod to George Roger's Portuguese heritage, a native of Campanario, on the Island of Maderia in the North Atlantic) as well as elements of Arts and Crafts and the Northwest Regional Style which was just beginning to take hold in this decade. (He changed his original surname Rodrigues to Rogers upon becoming a naturalized citizen fo the United States). Rogers first arrived in Oregon in 1911, purchased lots by 1915, opened his first grocery store about 1923-24, and continued to increase his business holdings and civic activities, becoming a leading citizen of Lake Oswego. He retired from the grocery business in 1945.
ADDRESS:
59 Wilbur Street
Lake Oswego, OR 97034
Source: (
visit link)