National Register of Historic Places

Journal Building

Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon
Listed
September 11, 1996
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
96000995

About this property

Jackson Tower, formerly The Oregon Journal Building, is a 12-story, 188 ft (57.3 m) glazed terra-cotta historic office building in downtown Portland, Oregon. It is located on the corner of Broadway and Yamhill Streets adjacent to Pioneer Courthouse Square. The building was constructed to house the operations of the now-defunct Oregon Journal. The Journal occupied the structure from its completion in 1912 until July 4, 1948, when the newspaper moved to the larger quarters of the former Portland Public Market building on the Portland waterfront. In 1951, the structure was renamed Jackson Tower to honor the newspaper's founder, Charles Samuel Jackson. The impressive clock tower results from the common practice, at that time, of newspapers' integrating such structures into their headquarters. Additionally, 1,800 light bulbs illuminate the tower after dark. There were originally 2,400. The Jackson Tower was renovated in 1972, and placed on the National Register of Historic Places (as the Journal Building) in 1996. The base of the building measures 100 ft × 100 ft (30 m × 30 m). The north portion of the ground floor has housed Margulis Jewelers for several decades. Each of the 1,800 light bulbs screw directly into the facade. In addition to the tower's illumination, at one time the clocks used to chime every 15 minutes, but the bells were moved to the Journal's new building on the waterfront in June 1948. Each clock face is 12.5 feet (3.8 m) in diameter. The clock itself does not currently function as of summer 2011. Media related to Jackson Tower (ex-Journal Building) at Wikimedia Commons

Location

806 Broadway, SW
Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon
45.51866, -122.67984

Categories

COMMUNICATIONSARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Broadway Building
Industrial
0.1 mi
Northwestern National Bank Building
Industrial
0.1 mi
Liebes, H. and Company, Building
Industrial
0.1 mi
Pacific Building
Industrial
0.1 mi
Pioneer Courthouse
Industrial
0.1 mi

Questions about this property

When was Journal Building listed on the National Register?

Journal Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 11, 1996.

What type of historic resource is Journal Building?

Journal Building is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Journal Building?

The period of significance for Journal Building is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Journal Building?

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