john bridges house

The John Bridges house in Southwest Portland's Goose Hollow neighborhood may be headed for demolition. The house is noted in part for its wood ornamentation.

(Elliot Njus/The Oregonian)

An 1884 home in Southwest Portland once considered for inclusion in a proposed architectural preservation district now appears headed for demolition.

A demolition permit has already been granted for the John Bridges house, a Queen Anne-style, single-story house at

. in the Goose Hollow neighborhood. The home is listed as registered with the state as a historic site, though it's it's not included on the National Register of Historic Places.

The house was designed by Justus Krumbein, a prominent 19th century Portland architect. Its owner, John Bridges, was a general contractor who built Union Station and the Dekum Building in downtown Portland.

In the early 1990s, the house was one of four suggested to be moved to a historic district to preserve examples of 19th century architecture threatened by redevelopment, but that plan fizzled.

Developer Mark Madden said he’s put a hold on the demolition while waiting to hear from the Goose Hollow Neighborhood Association and historic preservation groups who might want to save all or part of the structure, and that the house's foundation is deteriorating. He said he’s willing to hold off on the demolition until this summer if someone wants to preserve the house.

“(I’m) trying to be the good developer,” Madden said in an email.

Madden hopes to build a three-story, 18-unit apartment building on the site.

Peggy Moretti, the executive director of preservation group Restore Oregon, called the home “a rare Portland example of the Eastlake style.”

“Knowing that change is inevitable, if the goal is to keep a few tangible examples of the best of the neighborhood’s past, this is one to keep,” she said.

-- Elliot Njus