614 SW 11th Ave.
The Sentinel Building you see today is actually made up of two historic buildings that were joined together and restored. It was originally built more than 100 years ago and has changed names and purposes many times.
The first part of the Sentinel was built in 1909 as the Seward Hotel. Its architecture used Early Modern and Arts and Crafts–influenced design with a fully glazed terra-cotta exterior that was unusual and exciting for Portland at the time. The building was bold, inventive, and showed that Portland was growing into a big city.
In 1931, the Seward Hotel was renamed the Governor Hotel. Over the decades, it went through many changes, including periods when parts of it were closed or underused. By the mid-1980s the building needed restoration, and in 1992 it was restored and joined with a neighboring historic building, the former Portland Elks Temple (built in 1923), to become a larger hotel and meeting venue complex.
The Elks Temple was originally built for the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, one of the largest fraternal organizations in the United States. At the time it was completed, it may have been one of the largest Elks lodges in the country and included meeting spaces, ballrooms, gym areas and a swimming pool in the basement. The Elks organization used the building until the early 1930s, after which it served many different purposes before being connected to the hotel.
Both buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places because they are important examples of early‑20th‑century architecture and because they helped shape downtown Portland’s history.
In 2014, after another extensive renovation, the large hotel was renamed the Sentinel Hotel. The name comes from the robot-like sentinel sculptures that sit along the roofline of the old Seward building. These statues look outward over the city and give the building its distinctive identity.
The Sentinel’s architectural features reflect different periods in Portland’s development. The terra-cotta exterior, decorative roof sculptures, and historic façades connect visitors to the city’s past, while the careful restoration has preserved details that make the building a living piece of history.
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Discussion Questions::
Why do you think two historic buildings were joined together instead of being replaced?
How do the rooftop sculptures give the building its identity?
Vocabulary: facade, terra cotta, Sentinel
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State Education Standards:
Social Studies 3.11. Describe how individuals, groups, events, and developments have shaped the communities and regions. Historical Knowledge
Social Studies 3.12. Compare and contrast the history of the local community to other communities in the region. Historical Knowledge
Social Studies 3.17. Use a variety of historical sources (artifacts, pictures, documents) to identify factual evidence. Historical Thinking