Benson Hotel

Last updated
Benson Hotel
Portland Historic Landmark [1]
Bensonhotel.jpg
The Benson Hotel complex: original 1913 building (center), 1959 annex building (to its left)
Downtown Portland.png
Red pog.svg
Location within downtown Portland
Location309 SW Broadway
Portland, Oregon
Coordinates 45°31′19″N122°40′43″W / 45.521918°N 122.678561°W / 45.521918; -122.678561
Built1913
Architect Doyle, Patterson & Beach
Architectural style Second Empire Style
NRHP reference No. 86003175 [2]
Added to NRHPNovember 20, 1986

The Benson Portland, Curio Collection by Hilton [3] [4] is a 287-room historic hotel in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. [5] It is owned and operated by Coast Hotels & Resorts. It was originally known as the New Oregon Hotel, [6] and is commonly known as "The Benson". It has a reputation as one of Portland's finest hotels. The hotel is named after notable businessman and philanthropist Simon Benson. The Benson is the seventh largest hotel in Portland based on the number of rooms. [7]

Contents

History

The Benson Hotel in the 1920s Benson Hotel 1920.jpg
The Benson Hotel in the 1920s

Early history

The first hotel on the site was the Hotel Oregon, which was located on the southern half of the current hotel's location. Originally designed as an office building, it was constructed by local Chinese businessmen Moy Back Yin and Goon Dip. With the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition expected to draw massive crowds in 1905, the Wright-Dickinson Company, based in Washington state, leased the structure during construction and completed it as a hotel, which opened early that year. [8] The Hotel Oregon was an immediate success, and an annex was soon added in the rear. [9]

Current building

With the city's population booming, Wright-Dickinson partnered in 1911 with local businessman Simon Benson to construct a modern tower wing addition to the Hotel Oregon on the northern half of the block. The firm of Doyle, Patterson & Beach designed the building in the French Second Empire style, with Chicago's Blackstone Hotel serving as a design inspiration. [6]

The new wing opened on March 4, 1913, timed to coincide with the inauguration of President Woodrow Wilson. A telegram was sent from Washington, so the hotel's doors could be opened just as he took the oath of office. [10] The new wing was known as the New Oregon Hotel for the next 16 months, and operated jointly with the existing hotel.

Benson Hotel

In 1914, Simon Benson assumed direct operation of the new wing and renamed it the Hotel Benson, operating it now as a separate business. [11] Benson sold the hotel to William Boyd and Robert Keller in 1919. The adjoining Hotel Oregon closed in 1924, due to the economic effects of prohibition in the United States, but reopened in 1932, still operated by Wright-Dickinson. [12]

Boyd and Keller sold the Hotel Benson to Seattle-based Western Hotels in 1944. [13] The 1905 Hotel Oregon building was purchased and demolished by Western in 1957, to make way for a 200-room annex to the Hotel Benson, built at a cost of $3,000,000, which doubled the hotel's size. Designed by Jones, Lovegren, Helms and Jones, it opened in 1959 and contained a Trader Vic's on the ground level. [14]

Western International Hotels was renamed Westin Hotels in 1981, and the hotel became The Westin Benson. The Westin Benson was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. [2] Westin Hotels sold the hotel to WestCoast Hotels (now Coast Hotels & Resorts) in 1988 and it returned to its original name.

El Gaucho Restaurant [15] is on the ground floor of the 1959 wing, where Trader Vic's was once located.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell died in his hotel room at the Benson Hotel on November 12, 2008. [16] [17] [18]

On October 6, 2021, the hotel was rebranded as part of Curio Collection by Hilton, a division of Hilton Hotels. [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitch Mitchell</span> English drummer and child actor (1946–2008)

John Graham "Mitch" Mitchell was an English drummer and child actor, best known for his work in the Jimi Hendrix Experience, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2016, Mitchell was ranked number 8 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Drummers of All Time".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DoubleTree</span> American hotel chain managed by Hilton

DoubleTree by Hilton is an American hotel chain managed by Hilton Worldwide. DoubleTree has been the fastest growing Hilton brand by number of properties since 2007, and by number of rooms from 2007 to 2015. As of December 2019, it has 587 properties with 135,745 rooms in 47 countries and territories, including 122 that are managed with 35,122 rooms and 465 that are franchised with 100,623 rooms.

<i>Hendrix in the West</i> 1972 live album by Jimi Hendrix

Hendrix in the West is a live album by Jimi Hendrix, released posthumously in January 1972 by Polydor Records (UK), and in February by Reprise Records (US). The album tracks are split between those recorded in 1969 by the Jimi Hendrix Experience with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell and in 1970 with Billy Cox and Mitchell during The Cry of Love Tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haystack Mountain (Connecticut)</span> Mountain in Connecticut, United States

Haystack Mountain is a 1,680-foot-high (510 m) mountain topped with an observation tower that is the chief features of Haystack Mountain State Park, a 354-acre public recreation area in the town of Norfolk, Connecticut.

This is a list of the properties and historic districts in Stamford, Connecticut that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The locations of National Register properties and districts for which the latitude and longitude coordinates are included below, may be seen in an online map.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Portland Historic District</span> Historic district in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The South Portland Historic District is an historic district in Portland, Oregon's South Portland neighborhood, in the United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barnum Hotel</span> United States historic place

The Barnum Hotel, also known as the Hotel Grand, is located in Medford in the U.S. state of Oregon.

This is a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, United States. The locations of National Register properties and districts for which the latitude and longitude coordinates are included below, may be seen in a map.

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otho Poole House</span> Historic building in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Otho Poole House is a Spanish Revival house constructed in 1928 in northwest Portland, Oregon. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on 28 February 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Jeppesen House</span> Historic house in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Peter Jeppesen House is a house located in north Portland, Oregon listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaver–Bilyeu House</span> Historic house in Oregon, United States

The Shaver–Bilyeu House, located in Tigard, Oregon, is a house listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josef Jacobberger House</span> Historic building in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Josef Jacobberger House at 1502 SW Upper Hall Street in Portland, Oregon was designed and built during 1906–07. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. It was a work of architect Joseph Jacobberger to serve as his own residence. Stained glass windows flanking its front door and elsewhere in the house are believed to be works by the firm of David L. Povey.

The National Register Information System (NRIS) is a database of properties that have been listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places. The database includes more than 84,000 entries of historic sites that are currently listed on the National Register, that were previously listed and later removed, or that are pending listing. The database includes approximately 45 pieces of data for each listed property. Accuracy of the NRIS database may be imperfect. For example, a 2004 paper addressed accuracy of spatial location data for part of the NRIS content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Van Dyke House</span> United States historic place

The Van Dyke House near Rivals, Kentucky was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. The county that surrounds the Van Dyke House is Spencer County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reverend Dan Foster House</span> United States historic place

The Reverend Dan Foster House is a historic house in Weathersfield, Vermont built in 1785 and expanded in 1825. It is part of the National Register of Historic Places designated Weathersfield Center Historic District.

The María Dávila Semidey School, at 300 Muñoz Rivera St., Patillas, Puerto Rico. The school was designed by Architect Francisco Gardón Vega. The school building was designed in the Mission Spanish Revival style and built in 1925. It was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places on November 14, 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shafer Building</span> Building in Seattle, Washington, U.S.

The Shafer Building, also known as the Sixth and Pine Building, is a historic building in downtown Seattle, in the U.S. state of Washington. The structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wachsmuth Building</span> Building in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Wachsmuth Building is a building in Portland, Oregon, United States. The structure was built in 1883. It is a contributing property to the Portland Skidmore/Old Town Historic District.

References

  1. Portland Historic Landmarks Commission (July 2010), Historic Landmarks -- Portland, Oregon (XLS), retrieved October 30, 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Oregon National Register List" (PDF). Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. June 6, 2011. p. 30. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 9, 2011. Retrieved December 25, 2011.
  3. Benson Hotel (official website)
  4. Hotel Oregon
  5. "Portland — Benson Hotel". Quikbook.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  6. 1 2 "Benson Hotel". The Oregon Encyclopedia .
  7. Stevens, Suzanne (February 24, 2012). "List: Top Portland hotels". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
  8. https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/86003175 [ bare URL ]
  9. https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/86003175 [ bare URL ]
  10. https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/86003175 [ bare URL ]
  11. https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/86003175 [ bare URL ]
  12. https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/86003175 [ bare URL ]
  13. https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/86003175 [ bare URL ]
  14. https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/86003175 [ bare URL ]
  15. El Gaucho Portland Archived January 19, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  16. "Hendrix drummer Mitch Mitchell dies in Portland hotel room". 13 November 2008. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
  17. Times, Los Angeles (13 November 2008). "Mitch Mitchell dies at 61; drummer for the Jimi Hendrix Experience". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2016-09-16.
  18. NME.COM. "Jimi Hendrix's drummer Mitch Mitchell found dead | NME.COM". NME.COM. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
  19. "The Benson Hotel in Portland Converts to the Benson, Curio Collection by Hilton".

Further reading