By Living Room Realty, August 12, 2021
This 1909 listing was owned by my sweet sellers for 10 years, a decade well spent taking a diamond in the rough and infusing it with their love and energy. Their spirit could be felt throughout the home and was an energy that survived the genericizing touches of painting and staging. Perhaps the most wonderful part of the property is the magical gardens they created-every inch planted with tender beauty. What was a patchy dry lawn evolved into an oasis, thoughtfully designed and yet carefree enough to rival any wild Portland garden. The space reflected their love for the property and for each other — they were very, very happy here.
St Johns bridge is my favorite span and it hovers near the property, watching over the house and the neighborhood. It’s the only steel suspension bridge in Portland and pours smack dab into Cathedral Park, an area rich with history. Native Americans would camp and fish on the river banks here. Much later, it was one of the 14 landing sites of the Lewis and Clark expedition. James Johns, after whom St Johns is named, used to run the ferry across the river to Linnton, long prior to the bridge construction in 1931. The area was only officially named “Cathedral Park” in 1980 after years of fundraising to clean up the area and establish a park, so named for the Cathedral like arches of the bridge.
I think about the mark my dear sellers have left on the property. They were incredibly honorable stewards during their tenure, leaving the place better than before. I have every faith that the new owners will carry on the tradition (they took up to tending the gardens long before we closed!) and leave their own profound imprint. I’m hopeful, too, that they will still be in the house when the Cathedral Park time capsule, placed at the wall of history in the Memorial Garden in 1980, will be opened in 2030.
