Gordon House

Gordon House

The house was designed in 1957 for Evelyn and Conrad Gordon, and finished in 1963 (four years after Frank Lloyd Wright’s death). It was originally located adjacent to the Willamette River, near Wilsonville, Oregon. When its 2001 owners intended to destroy it, the Frank Lloyd Wright Conservancy obtained a three-month reprieve to dismantle it, and move it to the Oregon Garden, about 21 miles southeast of its original location. Dismantling began on March 9, 2001. The upper floor, containing two bedrooms and one bath, was moved as a single unit. Overall neglect required refurbishing of the structure’s siding and roofing, which was arranged by grants from the Architectural Foundation of Oregon and the Oregon Cultural Trust. A new foundation replicating the original was constructed. The house opened one year later as the only publicly accessible Frank Lloyd Wright home in the Pacific Northwest.

 

The house has 2,133 ft² of floor space with twelve-foot floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room and Wright’s classic horizontal designs and features, which connect the interior and exterior. It is constructed of cedar and cinder block and continues Wright’s tradition of custom patterned wood cutout window lattice known as fretwork.

 

The Gordon House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 22, 2004. It is cared for by the Gordon House Conservancy and available for small-catered gatherings. When not reserved, the house is available for public tours as a historic house museum.