Portland Aug 21, 2008 at 3:05 pm

Comments

1
take lots of photos when you get in there, please.
2
That's a lot of "no".

Obviously, that must be where they're storing the dead bodies.
3
Someone needs to break in.

Matt, I assume you are a first time offender, right? How much could bail possibly be? I think we can pool the money to bail you out, that is, if you get caught. Then again, your tender ass won't last too long in jail. Maybe we should send someone else.

Any volunteers?
4
If Matt Davis is not a naturalized US citizen, this may not be worth it. Breaking and entering might just be a deportable offense.

But whatever. I'm curious.

5
I'm sure as an esteemed member of the fourth estate you asked for a guided tour from a HAZMAT suited safety crew ... to highlight of course, the environmental sensitivity NWN treats historic properties with for the benefit of your thousands of intrigued readers ...
6
That looks like a hat I lost last winter on MAX.
7
Ezra: my tender ass is not a citizen's. And yes, I could be deported for breaking and entering. Or voting. Or both.

But I think your ass could probably survive the experience.
8
I am a historic preservation student at the University of Oregon and that building is part of what set me out on that path.

http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=6622

Thats a link to an article written about it in 2001 by Portland tribune. nothing you don't already know but the readers might be interested in it. tomorrow I am going to call the State Historic Preservation office to see if perhaps interiors were ever taken of it as part of a Historic resource survey.

I know that the original clock from the building resides somewhere on Oregon State University's campus. To move it there someone had to go inside. maybe they have pictures or even better if you can find out who orchestrated the move that might be the type of contact that could get you inside.

I checked U of O's architectural photo archive online and only found one exterior shot. I might sift through the actual slides later and see if maybe something was missed.

http://boundless.uoregon.edu/u?/archpnw,8200

None of this was much help but if I think of anything else I promise I will comment again.

Good luck
Mike from timberpalace
timberpalace.wordpress.com
9
Mike again...

So the Oregon State University Archives has file of records pertaining to the clock-works transfer from the Gasco company to Benton hall.

The name of the man who made it happened is David Parson's and it all went down in 1988. I was seven and lived in another state back then so i have no memory of any of this but maybe someone else does. If you were able to get him on board he might prove more helpful.

The description of the archive file says nothing about interior photos unfortunately but it is something.
10
Maybe my dad was right. It was a home for naughty children. I read on the internet that it's a "superfun" site.
That's probably how they lured the kids into it.
It's not like they have security guards or camera's. Wire cutters and a sledgehammer Matt. Do it! Save the children!
11
Let's fucking do this! I have a ninja suit. And I eat espesdos for freakin breakfast.
12
It hurts sooo much that I cant see the frickin inside. SHOW ME SHOW ME SHOW ME!!!
13
"I could be deported for breaking and entering."

That's a risk I think we're all willing to take. Now to answer your question, yes you should break in and take lots of pictures.
14
You know vampires totally "live" in there.
15
is the guard 24/7? Surely you could bribe him with some $$
16
Must...get...in....
17
I heard about someone today who reportedly broke in 7 years ago. Said there were loads of BATS in there.
18
test
19
Hi Matt--

Your source is correct, although his details are a little off.

I got in nine years ago and kept a momento from the trip. It was actually one of the first dates I had with my now wife.

No bats there, but several hundred dead pigeons upstairs. Granted, we were there during the daytime, so maybe the bats were sleeping. Still, the upstairs felt pretty damn eerie. It had a very Nightmare on Elm Street feel to it, but still was really, really cool.

The main floors were more Cherynoblish -- it was like folks left for lunch and never came back. There were still ledgers scattered around from the turn of the century.

I love this building, especially how it looks with the St. John's Bridge behind it. I ended up buying my first house a stone's throw away a few months later partly because I was fascinated by the structure.

NW Natural has beefed up security since -- and secured all doors and windows -- but deserve props for not tearing the thing down. They should let you in, but above all else, should not raze the damn thing.

It doesn't have any obvious re-uses, but the quixotic idea I had for it -- at least when I was living next to it -- was turn it into some sort of bridge museum.

Great post. Good luck getting in.

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