This is the mausoleum, started in 1901, that is five blocks from our house. It shows up in several of my photos from time to time because it's close and just too big to ignore. Plus, the architechture of the place tickles my fancy to photograph it in some way. Our recent foggy day seemed appropos to the subject. This is one of the entrances to the funeral office; doorways to the mausoleum are in the back. My daughter, Carolina, and I took an explore here when she was visiting a few weeks ago. We tiptoed through several of the 8 floors of crypts. It's not as spooky inside as I'd expected and is generally well lit, though chilly. It has many floor to ceiling windows looking out over Oaks Bottom, lots of statuary with fountains, faux skylights, some stained glass. Here's some info I found on Yelp* :
The Portland Memorial is a funeral home and mausoleum. And the
mausoleum is huge: 3.5 acres. It houses more than 58,000 bodies and has room for another 120,000.The mausoleum was started in 1901, melds a variety of
architectural styles (Victorian, art deco, etc.) and contains floor after floor
and wing after wing of strange, spiraling architecture, Portland history (many
pioneer families are entombed here). It's a fine place to marvel at history, at
the variety of ways in which people choose to memorialize their lost loved ones, or just to chill-- literally. (posted by Christen M, Portland, OR)
2 comments:
Thanks for the info! My husband & I moved to Portland 2 years ago and that building had us puzzled for quite some time. On our rides down Springwater Corridor we were certain that it was an old Asylum. We moved from NY and here are tons of abandoned asylums there, usually set on large sprawling acres. The architecture of this building seems very strange to us for a mausoleum, but I suppose this is the west coast! Great photos of that creepy place in the fog!
Thanks for commenting on my photo. Nice to hear others see and read my blog and that in some cases it provides information or insight! lh
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