Crow Manor has gone by many names in its 120 years. Most recently the Peace House, a refuge for those in need, the home has ever been of service to the community. Even the original owners were citywide organizers; Walter M. Cook and wife Louise Harriet Hoyt were deeply involved in community organization, serving in official positions and committees, including helping to organize the first Rose Festivals.

The house also has architectural significance that is a part of the greater Portland and Irvington story. The architect was John Virginius Bennes, an associate of Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Sullivan in his Chicago days. He was also business partners with the builder architect Marcus Delahunt, and together the two of them designed and built, often with help from other contractors, houses all the way along Tillamook Street, elsewhere in Irvington, and beyond.

The house’s temporary title of Crow Manor is just the first of many ways it will continue to enrich and enliven the neighborhood.

Crow Manor itself is one of new owner John McCulloch’s wacky and wonderful plans. After John and his artist mother, Sue-Del McCulloch, painted one of the Wildwood crows now displayed as part of the ‘Follow the Crows’ trail (you can visit ‘Flying Fields Forever’ at Director’s Park downtown), John couldn’t stop thinking about building some kind of “crow house people could visit”. It seemed so perfect! Portland, city of crows and human corvophiles (and crowbros), currently hosting a crow art walk trail in celebration of a Portland-based film studio about to release a crow themed movie set in Portland, itself based on a book series written by Portland natives! How could we not be a bigger part of bringing something more of this to the community! In classic John McCulloch style, once he had the idea, there could be no doubt that it would happen.

The only real question remaining was venue. The last thing the McCulloch Construction team needed was another house, having acquired 3 lovely old Irvington houses at 14th and Tillamook and promptly taken them down to the studs to begin the reimagining, they were unsuitable locations for people to gather. John’s right-hand-woman, Cait, had even begun to think the chaos monster was temporarily tamed.

Until one day a month or two ago when the two first visited. Though the exterior design was a little odd, the first glimpse inside was captivating. From the Honduran mahogany and plentiful hand-carved composite columns to the Richardsonian brick fireplace and seemingly endless details. Additionally, that first visit brought McCulloch Construction into contact with POIC for the first time, and the spark was ignited.

After days of careful calculation, Cait reported to John that there wasn’t a way to do a remodel in the magnificent McCulloch Construction style that would not be financially ruinous. The math didn’t work. It wouldn’t work for anyone, unless they separated the corner lot and opened it up to development, or worse, tore down the old historic home that, due to a fire in the 1980s that changed the exterior enough that it was a non-contributing structure in the historic district, would be possible despite the general difficulty of demolition in Irvington’s Historic District. When John heard that developers and a tear-down plan was inevitable, he became even more determined to save the house and serve the community. Cait was soon swept into the delightful madness of Crow Manor, volunteers appeared through luck, or karma, or both, and momentum grew and grew and grew. Crow Manor’s existence is due to so many wonderful people, but its success is up to you. Come, help support Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, and enjoy the mystery, the art, the spookiness, and the community. We can’t wait to have you.