Let's Save a Bridge Tower (or Two)

July. 27, 2024
By: Fred Leeson

One of the towers on the Burnside Bridge (structurae.net)

Two diminutive, octagonal towers each a mere 11 feet wide rate high among Portland’s best-known landmarks.

Ask almost any Portland resident where the image above is located and the answer likely will be: “Burnside Bridge.”

Two operator’s towers with tile roofs were built on the two heavy bridge piers to provide controls for opening and closing bascules large ships pass.  Both have small staircases; one has a bathroom and the control equipment while the other is used for storage.

Neither will survive when Multnomah County builds its new “earthquake ready” bridge now in the preliminary design stage.  The “new” Burnside will replace the one that opened in 1926.

There is no need nor space for retaining the historic towers in whatever form the new bridge takes.  Which begs the question: Will they be demolished or can a new use be found for or even both?

The county is well aware of the significance of the towers to the city’s landscape.  However, the budget for the new bridge must be limited to new bridge construction, and not for potential preservation and re-use of the towers somewhere else.

However, because the bridge and towers are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the county cannot destroy historic fabric them willy-nilly.  Steve Dotterrer, a board member of the Architectural Heritage Center, sits on a committee charged with monitoring what happens to the bridges historic elements, including the towers and balustrades (railings). He said there have been “exploratory” talks with the county, but it is clear that the county budget cannot be used for erecting a tower at a new location.

Heather Flint Chatto, the AHC’s executive director, said preservationists probably need to figure out a public/private venture that could preserve one of the towers perhaps in Waterfront Park as some sort of kiosk that includes a historic description.

The towers were designed by the Portland architectural firm of Houghtaling and Dougan.  They may have been added when one of the bridge design engineers criticized Portland for having ugly bridges.  Houghtaling and Dougan also are known for designing the former Washington High School and the classical downtown Portland Elks Lodge that is now part of the Sentinel Hotel.

While destruction of the operators’ towers is not eminent, it is a good time to start working on a preservation plan.  Given their compact size, it amounts to a “small” but important project.

Fred Leeson is a former president of the Bosco-Milligan Foundation and a member of the foundation's Board of Advisors.