Now your walls can talk!

Jan 28

↳ House histories give you a little peek into your home’s past.

Dwellings, no matter how unremarkable they may seem, hold within their walls unique and fascinating stories. They’re the repositories of the joys, sorrows, triumphs, and struggles of the people who inhabited them over the years. Even properties that seem like they’ve led uneventful lives have something to tell. Below are some satisfying surprises and coincidences I’ve run across lately:

↳ An Alameda resident was told by her neighbors that she had bought the “Helen Bernhard house.” She assumed it was because her house’s brick facade resembled the entrance to the famous bakery. It turns out the house actually belonged to Helen Bernhard’s son, who managed the bakery for decades after she retired. Maybe the Bernhards just really liked bricks.

A little glimpse of the beautiful brickwork on the Alameda house, thanks to Google Maps.

↳ A local community organizer found out the original owners of her home were 1) a man who was discharged from the Army in 1918 as a contentious objector and 2) a woman who hosted meetings for a variety of Portland’s progressive women’s organizations. Needless to say, she was tickled.

*The Oregon Daily Journal, May 24, 1959*

↳ Finding an original photo or illustration of someone’s 100-year-old house is pretty rare, but sometimes you find BOTH! According to The Oregonian, these impressive structures were evidence that Portland’s 1924 real estate market was booming—and showing no signs of letting up in ‘25.

I know the family that owns this Colonial gem in Irvington, and it’s just as beautiful today:

This illustration of their house was featured in real estate ads in the 90s:

↳ In researching a family’s house, I found out that it served as the Capri model home for their housing development in the 1950s. Model homes were typically furnished so visitors could get an idea of what the house would feel like once it’s occupied. Occasionally, model homes would serve other purposes before they were sold: an ad hoc office for the designated realtor or short-term housing for VIPs. Case in point: this family’s house was temporarily occupied by a major in the US Air Force and his family while he was helping to create Oregon’s Air National Guard at PDX back in 1957.

↳ A lot of people discover that their houses were model homes and remained unoccupied so prospective buyers could tour them. I was excited to tell my neighbors that their house was the Capistrano model home for our neighborhood and featured in the newspaper practically every week:

↳ A couple was curious as to what caused the previously-repaired fire damage in their house. It turns out a man who was convicted of murder in 1974 had attempted to burn their house down for the insurance money in 1973. Somebody was busy!

↳ Many people are surprised to find that their ultra-modern subdivision was once a farm. These stray animals wandered off on the property that is currently the very chic Somerset West neighborhood: