Killingsworth House Fireplace Surround and Insert

LOCATION: 323 N. Alberta Street

BUILT: 1890               DEMOLISHED: 1952

ARCHITECT: Henry Hefty

In 1890, real estate entrepreneur William Killingsworth and his wife Dora began the construction of the family house on an 80 acre tract of land in Walnut Park, at 323 N. Alberta. The Killingsworths selected prominent architect, Henry Hefty, who was Swiss-born and the son of an architect. They devoted exceptional care and attention to the selection of light fixtures, hardware, carpeting and furnishings befitting the grand home of a preeminent Portland family. The Killingsworths saved all of the contracts and documents related to construction of the house, leaving a complete record of the tastes and costs of the day.  William Killingsworth had come to Portland from Eugene in 1880. He went on to be a state legislator and a transportation investor and Killingsworth Street was named for him. 

After World War II the landmark Killingsworth house was demolished like many buildings of its era.  A portion of the land had already been sold to Portland Public Schools for Jefferson High School. Family heirs sold the remainder of the property to a developer for the Killingsworth Park residential development. The two living Killingsworth daughters, however, not only kept all of the documents, but also salvaged and kept some of the architectural elements and original furnishings of the house.

James Neill, whose mother was the last surviving Killingsworth heir, selected the Bosco-Milligan Foundation to receive the collection. It includes construction documents and contracts, photographs, Povey windows, glazed tile, hardware, an oak mantel, china, a cook stove, roof cresting, interior millwork, and other artifacts, including this fireplace surround and insert.

The Killingsworth house, not long after it was built. (AHC Library)