Visionary Architect & Educator: the Oregon Legacy of Ellis F. Lawrence

Ellis F. Lawrence (1879-1946) was born in Massachusetts and received his architectural training at MIT in the classical Beaux Arts tradition. In 1906, he came to Portland, embarking on a career that included over 500 building designs. Perhaps more important than Lawrence's architectural practice was his advocacy for the profession and his role in advancing architectural education. His role as founder and first dean of the School of Architecture and Allied Arts at the University of Oregon in Eugene was arguably his biggest contribution to the profession. Under Lawrence's leadership, the school was the first architectural training program in the nation to reject both the teaching method and stylistic dominance of the Beaux Arts. Lawrence helped mentor a new generation of architects in the less formalized approach of the Modern movement, away from the constraints of classic design and allowing for a more creative approach to architecture.

Judith Kenny explores the life and work of this important figure in Oregon's architectural history. Kenny is a retired professor of geography from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. She has previously presented at the AHC on the small houses movement of the 1920s-1930s and for several years has been an AHC education committee member and walking tour docent. 

This lecture program is held at the Architectural Heritage Center - 701 SE Grand Avenue

Seating is Limited. Pre-Registration is Highly Recommended.

Parking is on-street (free on Saturdays) or in the parking lot on the west side of Grand Avenue between SE Yamhill and Belmont Streets - just to the north of the Urbanite. Thank you to Bolliger and Sons Insurance for sharing their lot with us for our evening and Saturday education programs.

Image: One of Ellis Lawrence's more controversial projects, the massive Portland Public Market (later home to the Oregon Journal), stood between the Hawthorne and Morrison Bridges. AHC photo (c.1968).