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Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....Tourtellotte, John E. February 22, 1869 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/or/orfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Ila L. Wakley iwakley@msn.com April 21, 2008, 2:43 pm Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company JOHN E. TOURTELLOTTE. Imagination is a priceless crystal in the vision of the man who achieves. Liberally endowed with this quality and also possessing the creative instinct, John E. Tourtellotte has risen to the top of his profession and is known throughout the northwest as an architect of superior attainments. He has been a resident of Portland since 1913 and is a scion of one of the colonial families of New England. A native of Thompson, Connecticut, he was born February 22, 1869. His parents were Charles W. and Hannah J. (Leach) Tourtellotte. Gabriel Tourtellotte, the American progenitor of the family, was a native of France and came to this country in the seventeenth century, settling in the east, where he married a Miss De Signey, a granddaughter of Roger Williams, who was a Welshman and became the founder of Rhode Island. The great-grandfather of John F. Tourtellotte was a surgeon of high standing and served in the Revolutionary war under General Washington. Charles W. Tourtellotte was a prosperous agriculturist and also owned a grist mill. After the completion of his high school course John E. Tourtellotte studied architectural drawing at Worcester, Massachusetts, and in 1885, when a youth of sixteen, entered the employ of the firm of Cutting & Bishop, prominent architects of that city. It was in 1899 that he yielded to the lure of the west, going to Pueblo, Colorado, and in the fall of 1890 went to Boise, Idaho. There he embarked in business as an architect and builder and his ability soon won recognition. He designed the state capitol and had charge of its construction. The sum of two million, one hundred thousand dollars was expended upon the building, which was completed in 1920 and represents the highest expression of Mr. Tourtellotte�s art. He enjoys the distinction of being one of the seven living architects who have designed a state capitol and examples of his skill are also found in other parts of Idaho, namely the buildings of the Industrial School at St. Anthony; the Liberal Arts building of the University of Idaho; the Technical School at Pocatello; the buildings of Gooding College at Gooding; the Owyhee Hotel at Boise; Washington Hotel at Weiser; many school buildings the Roman Catholic cathedral in Boise and one- half of the churches in that city. In 1913 he established his headquarters in Portland but still retains the Boise office, which has been operated continuously for a period of thirty-six years. It is conducted by C. F, Hummel, who became associated with Mr. Tourtellotte in 1896 and has been his partner since 1900. Mr. Hummel is the junior member of the firm, which has erected twenty Episcopal and fifteen Catholic churches; the Administration building of Willamette University; the normal training school, the junior high school and the grammar school at Ashland, Oregon; the junior high school at North Bend, Oregon; the high schools at Medford, Grants Pass, Enterprise, West Linn and Coquille, Oregon; the public schools of Wasco and The Dalles, Oregon, and Asotin, Washington; the grammar and high schools of Haines, North Powder, Wasco, Athena and Pilot Rock, Oregon, and Ilwaco, Washington; and the Lithia Springs Hotel at Ashland, Oregon; the Astoria Hotel; Hotel North Bend; the Sacajawea Hotel at La Grande, Oregon; Union Hotel at Union, Oregon; the Antlers Hotel in Baker City, Oregon; the Redwoods Hotel at Grants Pass, Oregon; the Pendleton Hotel at Pendleton, Oregon; Pilot Butte Inn at Bend, Oregon; the Washington Hotel at Pullman, Washington; the Evergreen Hotel in Vancouver, Washington, and Yreka Inn at Yreka, California. Since coming to Portland, Mr. Tourtellotte has remodeled the Multnomah, making it one of the finest hostelries in the Pacific northwest, and has designed and erected more hotels than any other architect in the northwest. He is now building a courthouse at Roseburg, Oregon, and was one of the eleven competitors for this contract. His work is of high character and an ornament to every locality in which it is found. Mr. Tourtellotte was married November 24, 1892, in Boise, Idaho, to Miss Della Wallace, a daughter of John N. and Eliza (Parsons) Wallace, the last named a second cousin of General Custer. Mr. Wallace was born in Missouri and went to California with the �49ers. He engaged in placer mining and was also a builder. In the �60s he migrated to Idaho, where he spent the remainder of his life, attaining the ripe age of eighty-nine years. His connection with the Masonic order of Idaho exceeded in length that of any other resident of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Tourtellotte have two sons. The elder, Neal Everett, went to France with the American Expeditionary Force. His overseas� service covered two years and merit won him a captain�s commission. After his graduation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology he became identified with building operations and is now engaged in contracting, specializing in floor covering. He married Miss Janet Powell, of Seattle, Washington, and in that city they make their home. Ralph N., the younger son, received his higher education in the State Universities of Oregon and Washington and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and is an architectural draughtsman, residing in New York city. Mr. Tourtellotte adheres to the Methodist faith and is serving on the official board of his church. His fraternal affiliations are with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Masons and he is also a member of the Kiwanis Club. He has chosen the best medium for the expression of his talents and his has been a successful career in the fullest sense of the term. Additional Comments: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. II, Pages 485-486 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/multnomah/bios/tourtell477gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/orfiles/ File size: 6.4 Kb