Edgar M. Lazarus

Edgar Marks Lazarus (June 6, 1868 – October 2, 1939) was an American architect who was prominent in the Portland, Oregon, area for more than 45 years. He was best known as the architect of the Vista House on Crown Point in the Columbia River Gorge.

Early life and education Edgar Lazarus was born on June 6, 1868, in Baltimore, Maryland.

Career

Lazarus came to Portland in 1892 with a letter of introduction to a prominent citizen. He formed a partnership with William M. Ellicott that same year. Lazarus & Ellicott continued until 1895, after which Lazarus practiced alone until 1910. For a year he partnered with Morris H. Whitehouse and J. André Fouilhoux as Lazarus, Whitehouse & Fouilhoux. In 1911, he formed Lazarus & Logan with Frank Logan; the firm lasted until 1914. Lazarus then practiced alone for the rest of his career.

Early in his career, Lazarus designed many houses for notable Portlanders, especially among the city's Jewish community, like Bernard Goldsmith, Portland's mayor from 1869 to 1871. Lazarus' residential designs were predominantly shingle style, but with his characteristic features, including unusual shapes and extremely steeply pitched roofs. Clatsop County Courthouse, Astoria, 1904–1907 (NRHP) John S. Bradley House, Portland, 1906 (NRHP) Taft Hotel, Portland, 1906 (NRHP) George L. Campbell House, Portland, 1910 (Lazarus, Whitehouse & Fouilhoux) J. C. Campbell Flats, Portland, 1910 (Lazarus, Whitehouse & Fouilhoux) Wickersham Apartments, Portland, 1910 (NRHP) (Lazarus, Whitehouse & Fouilhoux) Edward A. King House, Portland, 1910 Oregon State Hospital Receiving Ward (the "Dome Building"), 1909 (NRHP contributing), and south wing of the "J Building", 1912 (demolished 2009), Salem Vista House, Corbett, 1918

Later life, death and legacy Lazarus was an avid horseman, artist, real estate entrepreneur, and ardent advocate for the architectural profession. In 1931, Lazarus' wife Fanny inherited a large fortune from a New York uncle. Lazarus died on October 2, 1939, in Portland, survived by his wife.

In 2011, Edward H. Teague, head of the Architecture and Allied Arts Library at the University of Oregon, and curator of the digital collection Building Oregon: Architecture of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, presented his discovery of several works not previously attributed to Lazarus, including some that are still standing in Portland.