Ballou & Wright Company Building

The Ballou & Wright Company Building is a historic warehouse building located at 327 NW 10th Avenue in Downtown Portland, Oregon. It was designed by Sutton & Whitney and its construction was completed in 1921, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 30, 1987.[2]

Ballou & Wright Company Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Portland Historic Landmark[1]
Ballou & Wright Company Building in 2008
Location	327 NW 10th Avenue Portland, Oregon
Coordinates	45°31′32″N 122°40′54″W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1921
Architect	Sutton & Whitney
NRHP reference No.	87000698[2]
Added to NRHP	April 30, 1987

Design Details

It is a five-story, reinforced concrete historic warehouse building. It is significant "as one of the best-preserved large-scale, loft-type warehouses in the city; one which is distinguished by the quality of its exterior finish of sand grey brick on street elevations and its detailing in general. The square corner sprinkling tank and elevator tower at the northwest corner of the warehouse, also finely detailed, is a distinguishing and increasingly rare feature locally. Strip pilasters between structural bays are banded with contrasting cast-stone string courses, and the parapet is ornamented with the Ballou & Wright Company's distinctive logogram: an escutcheon displaying a winged wheel."

The Ballou & Wright Company was the leading wholesaler of bicycles, motorcycles and automobile parts in the region. The company grew to have 12 branch offices. The firm disbanded in 1960.[3]

References

1. Portland Historic Landmarks Commission (July 2014), Historic Landmarks -- Portland, Oregon (XLS), retrieved October 19, 2015.
2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
3. Heritage Investment Corporation (August 1986). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Ballou & Wright Company Building". and accompanying photos