March 2018
This time Cathrin and I did a Victorian period photoshoot. She got a beautiful period dress and we used two locations. The first was the William Temple house on NW Alphabet District. This mansion was originally built for Dr. Kenneth McKenzie, who was one of the founders of the Oregon Health and Science University, and lived in the home until his death in 1920. An architectural firm called McCaw & Martin designed the home between 1892 and 1893 in classic Richardson Romanesque and shingle style.
Featuring its own sense of mystery, the mansion has a diverse history of ownership. Once a speakeasy and then a flophouse, the ornate castle-like home was purchased and restored by the Oregon Episcopal Diocese in 1971, when it was renamed the William Temple House. More recently, the house has ranked as Portland’s fourth most iconic home in terms of architecture and history, according to Portland Monthly. The iconic home is constructed with Tenino stone and slate shingles, and the exterior also features a stag’s head gargoyle. Much of the woodcarvings, ornate tile work, hand-tooled leather, and copper work can be attributed to Cora McKenzie, who was a student of fine art. The William Temple foundation was kind enough to let us use the gorgeous living room for our photoshoot.
The other location that we used was the main building and gardens of Lewis & Clark University in Portland. Doing this photoshoot was very fun and rewarding.