Property Watch: A SW Portland Craftsman Returns to Its Roots

"Schacht, originally born in Germany and educated in Europe, moved to Portland in 1883 after the German government claimed his Hamburg home via eminent domain, and he decided to move as far away as possible. While his work over his four-decade career spanned a variety of architectural styles, it has been noted that after 1900, he was "among the first Arts and Crafts-influenced architects to practice west of the Rocky Mountains.""

"That's because in 1905, Schacht was tapped by Lewis Russell and Percy Blythe, two developers for the Willamette Heights neighborhood, to design a series of spec houses for their lots adjacent to the grounds for the Lewis and Clark Exposition. Schacht did, revealing six designs influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, with both Craftsman and European detailing. With 1.5 million attendees to the fair between April and October of that same year, Portland's population took off, as did the Craftsman style throughout the city."

"This house, known as the L. S. Carter House, is located in the Portland Heights neighborhood on a generous corner lot on SW Montgomery Drive, and attributed to Schacht. It was built in 1907, but less is known about its ensuing history, as the decades afterward saw years of remodels drastically alter it inside and out, making it a Frankenstein of its former self. Dormers were removed, the front porch torn down, and ornamental woodwork stripped away."

Emil Schacht emigrated from Germany to Portland in 1883 after his Hamburg home was taken by eminent domain. Schacht practiced for four decades across multiple styles and became one of the first Arts and Crafts-influenced architects west of the Rockies after 1900. In 1905 he designed six spec houses for Willamette Heights near the Lewis and Clark Exposition, helping spread the Craftsman style as Portland's population surged. The L. S. Carter House, built in 1907 and attributed to Schacht, was heavily altered over decades and later rebuilt in 2017 with its original architectural details painstakingly recreated.

Read at Portland Monthly