National Park Service Lists Burkes-Belluschi House In Portland, Multnomah County, In The National Register Of Historic Places (Photo) -03/07/25
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Burkes-Belluschi House is among Oregon’s latest entries in the National Register of Historic Places. Oregon’s State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation (SACHP) recommended the nomination at their October 2024 meeting for its significance in the area of architecture as the work of master architect Pietro Belluschi. The National Park Service, which maintains the National Register of Historic Places, accepted this nomination on February 7, 2025.
Located in northwest Portland’s Westover Terrace subdivision, the Burkes-Belluschi House was designed by Pietro Belluschi for Dr. D. C. Burkes and his wife Genevieve in 1944; due to World War II shortages, construction was not completed until 1948. In designing the house, Belluschi worked closely with the Burkes, who admired modernist architecture and in particular the International Style. Belluschi himself was a leading in developing the Northwest Regional Style, and he was sensitive to the house’s siting as well as its design and materials. The result is a house with expansive city views, a flat roof and deep eaves, ribbon-like windows, woven wood ceilings, and fireplaces of Mt. Adams stone. This is Belluschi’s only residential design in western Oregon to display elements of both the International and Northwest Regional styles of architecture.
After retiring as dean of M.I.T.’s School of Architecture and Planning in 1965, Pietro Belluschi and his wife Marjorie returned to Portland, acquiring the house from Genevieve Burkes and making it their last personal residence. Pietro Belluschi passed away in 1994, and Marjorie in 2009. The current owners of the Burkes-Belluschi House are Anthony and Martha (Marti) Belluschi, who engaged Diana Painter of Painter Preservation to prepare the nomination. The Burkes-Belluschi House is the ninth Belluschi-designed property in Oregon, and the sixth in Portland, to be listed in the National Register.
The National Register is maintained by the National Park Service under the authority of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. Properties listed in the National Register are:
-
Recognized as significant to the nation, state, or community;
-
Considered in the planning of federal or federally-assisted projects;
-
Eligible for federal tax benefits;
-
Qualify for historic preservation grants when funds are available;
-
Eligible for leniency in meeting certain building code requirements;
-
Subject to local laws pertaining to the conservation and protection of historic resources.
State law in Oregon requires local governments to offer a minimal level of protection for properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places; the decisions about how to accomplish that goal reside with local governments, which also have the authority to create and regulate local historic districts and landmarks.
More information about the National Register and recent Oregon listings are online at oregonheritage.org (under the heading “Designate”).