Above: Main entry to The Chasselton Condominium, 701 NE 28th Avenue in Portland, Oregon.
An article on page 2 of the June 27, 1926 Oregonian called "Beautiful Homes Multiply Rapidly" stated, "E. T. Pape, Couch building, has made plans for construction of an apartment house, to cost $200,000, two stories high, on the triangle formed by Nelson [now Hoyt], Randall, and Buxton Streets, near East Twenty-eighth and Sandy boulevard, to be erected by Cleland & Hubble [sic], contractors."
Here is the plumbing permit, from September 17, 1926:
The permit includes a rough drawing of the building - I added the street names in red:
The main entrance to the building is in the deep-alcove area on the 28th Avenue side:
Directly on the opposite side of the building is another deep-alcove entrance on the Randall Avenue side of the building:
Another article in the January 9, 1927 Oregonian entitled "New Apartment to Open - Chasselton Building, Near Sandy Boulevard, Cost $150,000" had this to say about the structure:
A new addition to the rapidly growing east side apartment district is the Chasselton apartment on Twenty-eighth street, one block south of Sandy Boulevard.
This modern two-story brick structure, designed by E. T. Pape and built by Clelland [sic] and Hubble [sic], contains 36 three-room apartments. A feature of the design permits of all outside rooms.
Walls and hardwood floors are of approved sound-proof construction. Each apartment is equipped with tiled bath and shower, and an electric refrigeration system has been installed in every kitchen.
The owners, J. A. Hubbell and J[ohn]. H. Clelland [sic], will operate the apartment. The opening is planned for January 15. The cost was approximately $150.000.
Other entrances off NE 28th, north (above) and south (below) of the main entrance.
An April 28, 1928 ad in the Oregonian described the apartments as "Adults only, a refined home for particular people; electric equipment, including mangle, Frigidaire; steam heat, 3 rooms and bath, $52.50 to $60." I'm assuming those are monthly rents. The Frigidaire would be the refrigerator, and a mangle is a clothes wringer.
Like many apartment buildings, ownership changed many times over the years. A July 28, 1928, Oregonian article titled "Apartment House Sold - Chasselton Bought as Investment by Yakima Resident" stated John Jacob Miller bought it from Cleland and Hubbell. Sometime between then and April 21, 1933, Mabel B. Easter acquired the building in an exchange for her Reliance hotel in Spokane, Washington, but it appears she was not too happy about it. An Oregonian article on that date stated that she was filing suit for $4000 against the real estate broker and his surety company for fraud.
On August 12, 1934, an Oregonian article entitled "Portland Apartment Building Exchanged for Orchard" indicated that Easter was trading the apartments, "valued in excess of $100,000, for a 40-acre filbert orchard nine miles northeast of Vancouver, Wash." and that "W. H. Ambler, formerly an apartment house operator in Tacoma, Wash., takes over the Chasselton apartments."
The building was sold again, according to a November 29, 1936, Oregonian article (with photo) entitled "Metzger-Parker Company Announces Deal":
Announcement of the sale of the Chasselton apartments to the Moskee Investment company by the Diversified Investment company...The Chasselton apartments is a two-story and basement building....every apartment faces on an attractively landscaped garden.
The apartment is thoroughly modern and recently has been thoroughly redecorated. However, it is the intention of the purchasing corporation to expend considerable money in new carpeting and other interior decoration.
An ad in the August 15, 1937, Oregonian described a furnished apartment as:
...not only ... a delightful place to live, but also a charming background for your hospitality. Exceptionally attractive and convenient. In a distinctively beautiful brick building. Furniture caters to the man who likes to sprawl as well as the woman who likes things neat. Three large, well proportioned rooms. Tile bath. French windows. Ultra modern. Only $47.50, furnished.
Moskee Investments owned the Chasselton through at least early 1959. In 2007, it was converted from apartments to condominiums. A one-bed, one-bath, 671 square foot unit sold in May 2018 for $259,000 and included "windowed dining space...dressing room/small office space off bedroom...[washer/dryer] in unit [and] extra storage unit in basement." Some interior photos are here.
© Amanda Pape - 2018 - click here to e-mail me.
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