In 1957, four couples met at a cocktail party to see which of the four light ranch houses would be theirs. Together, they had bought about an acre of land in Southwest Portland's Hillsdale neighborhood and hired an Art Nouveau architect. John Storrs to design a floor plan with vaulted ceilings and glass walls. Two of the divided lots were a quarter acre. One lot was bigger, one smaller.
When the build was nearing completion, each pair drew a number that represented a lot.
“Luckily, everybody was thrilled with the house they got and they thought they had their favorite location,” said Brad Wilson, who grew up in one of the houses on or near Southwest 18th Drive. “They were able to do some customization and they all lived in their homes for 30 years or more.”
The cost of creating what is known as the Storrs Quadrant? Less than $50,000 per couple. The contractor and subcontractors were charged less per house as they worked on four at a time, and Storrs, now celebrated as an architectural change-maker, was still building his reputation.
Wilson learned from his parents that Storrs thought it was a fun project and that his fee was “low on the compensation scale,” even though the young architect had designed in 1954. Home of the Portland Garden Cluba modern building currently listed in National Register of Historic Places.
The couples, three in creative fields, plus the US attorney from Oregon Sidney Lezak and neuropsychologist Muriel Lezak, he liked the clean, spare lines of the modern. Storrs positioned the houses and decks to maximize natural light and views of the southwest hills and valley, while providing privacy for the homes.
“I don't imagine my parents were as analytical as (home buyers) are today,” said Wilson, who lived in the house from age 5 until she left at 18 to attend the University of Oregon in Eugene . She said her parents didn't factor in commute time, property taxes or future resale. “They just loved the area,” said Wilson, who lives in Lake Oswego.
For the first time, the four privately owned Storrs Quadrant homes will be open from noon to 4:30 p.m. on July 13 as a fundraiser for the nonprofit. Restore Oregona statewide preservation and education organization.
Admission to Oh my Storrs! A tour of four houses is $125. Guests will explore each residence at their own pace, said Nicole Possert, executive director of Restore Oregon. They will then follow in the footsteps of the original owners, meandering along the terraced and landscaped paths between the houses to a central courtyard area. Here, they can enjoy the scenery, mingle with others Restores supporters of Oregon modernism and chat with the current owners. Add to the cocktail atmosphere: Wine and appetizers will be served.
“There is no better way to learn about the creativity of John Storrs' modern designs than by standing in this central courtyard and having a 360-degree view of the four houses intentionally designed for this environment,” Possert told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
He also thanked the current owners for their “kind understanding” of the important role home tours and education play “in saving and managing Oregon's art nouveau design heritage.”
This Daylight Ranch is one of the fabled Storrs Quadrant, where four couples hired architect John Storrs to design similar Daylight Ranch homes, completed around 1957, on land divided into four lots around Southwest 18th Drive in Portland's Hillsdale neighborhood.Restore Oregon
Born in Connecticut, the Storrs received a master's degree in architecture from Yale University in 1949 and crossed the country five years later, inspired by the Portland architect. Pietro Belluschiwho lectured at Yale on the Pacific Northwest vision of modern design.
Storrs, whose projects include Salishan Lodge in Gleneden Beach, the World Forestry Center in Portland's Washington Park and more than 80 private residences, he enjoyed a long architectural career. He died in 2003 at the age of 83.
His widow, Fran Storrs, said they were often invited by their good friends, Sid and Muriel Lezak, to social events on the Lezaks' large front deck, oriented John Storrs to face away from the other Quadrant homes. Fran said that her husband, who was “an absolutely memorable person with a charismatic and outrageous personality”, designed to adapt to people's personal and social interactions.
The Lezaks' Friday afternoon gatherings were big, legendary and loud, but the neighbors never complained, said eldest daughter Anne Lezak. “Every house has a beautiful deck and they're all used,” he told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
While the adults were friendly, they had different interests and outside social circles, Lezak said, while the kids ran around together all the time, “using the whole area as a playground.”
Lezak said John Storrs was a genius at creating a relaxed atmosphere surrounded by nature. “We all lived in a beautiful, special place,” said Lezak, who moved into her family's new home when she was 3 years old. “My parents couldn't have been happier and we were very lucky.”
Storrs achieved an open, indoor-outdoor feel with all four houses, having windows that span the rooms and some interior walls and closets that stop below the ceiling. Sliding glass doors open onto a deck, stone patio and terraced lot, depending on the slope of the land.
He saw unpainted, textured wood as an “understandable and romantic material.” Storrs Quadrant homes have clear grain Douglas fir paneled walls, wood beam or wood paneled ceilings and built-in wardrobes.
“Storrs homes are known to incorporate beautiful natural materials that reflect the outside environment while maintaining a relaxed and accessible flow,” he said. Susan Gibson Stierwho bought Brad Wilson's childhood home eight years ago.
Over time, the living space was expanded as the new owners updated the basements with natural light. “In the 1950s, the ground floor space was typically concrete,” he said paths, a broker with Windermere Real Estate. “Large home offices, guest rooms and additional media space now play a larger role, so unfinished basements are too precious not to be remodeled.”
The space where Brad's father, Willard (“Bill”) Wilsonhad a workshop: “he was a putter,” Brad said of his father, an advertising executive, and Brad’s father and mother, Ellen Wilson, hosted informal bridge parties that now have two bedrooms, a media room and an office.
Other popular features then and now remain: a fireplace with a Roman brick surround that rises to the high ceiling in the living room, three or four bedrooms, some with clerestory windows that provide privacy, and two or three bathrooms.
Storrs, an affable perfectionist, he had a “hands-on, responsive approach to his projects” and spent time on site tweaking his construction drawings, according to Restore Oregon.
On August 18 Restore Oregon Modernism 2024 Program will celebrate the 125th anniversary of the birth of Storrs' mentor, architect Pietro Belluschi.
Storrs was hired as a consultant on one or two Quadrant home remodels, Stier said. The current owners of another home restored their updated home, bringing it back to mid-century modern style.
“The homes are unique and all of our neighbors share a special bond to restore and preserve them together,” Stier said.
Decades ago, the original couples met occasionally in the common area between the houses.
“Everybody stayed friends, but they also had other friends,” Wilson said. “It wasn't an exclusive arrangement, it wasn't like 'Lucy' and 'Ethel' (in the 1950s sitcom 'I Love Lucy'). No one's feelings were hurt if there was a party and someone wasn't invited. It was a simpler time.”
— Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072
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