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Bickel
Block
70
NW Couch
Portland, OR
The
gothic Bickel Block, at the southeast corner
of NW Naito Parkway and Couch, was designed in 1883 by Justus Krumbein
and owned by German candy-maker Frederick Bickel. Bickel was
business partners with Frank Dekum, and the two opened their first
confectionary shop in Portland in the 1850s. With the success
of their candy business, both men began to invest in real estate development
in downtown Portland.
The Bickel, a four-story commercial building, has complex geometric
patterns in its detailing and is an example of cast-iron architecture
built in downtown Portland in the 1880s. The intricate cast iron columns were made by Architectural
Iron Works of San Francisco—the western branch of the famous foundry
begun by Daniel Badger in New York in 1842. Some of the original decoration
is missing along with an elaborate cornice at the roofline, which was
removed at an unknown date. DeMuro said the cornice and missing decorations
will be recreated to reflect as close to the original as possible.
The building originally housed the Parke & Lacey Machinery Co., which used
the north half for retail and the south half for manufacturing and warehousing. Park & Lacey
made and sold engines, boilers, sawmill machinery, logging cars, etc. The
Fraser Paper Co. bought the building in the 1950s.
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Company
Info
Address:
70 NW Couch, Suite 207
Portland, OR 97209
503-224-2446
Services
*Development
*Historic Preservation Consulting
*Leasing/Sales
*Property Management
Staff
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