by Gloria Baker

It is a shame that the “World’s Largest Log Cabin” constructed for the Lewis and Clark Exposition of 1905 burned to the ground in 1964. If one had unlimited funds it could not be built today.  The millions of board feet of old growth timber needed for the project no longer exist in the Northwest.

The mammoth wooden Forestry Building was the most popular attraction of the Exposition.  In a bit of advertising hype the Official Exposition Guide called it “the most original architectural creation ever offered to public view.”  The grand opening was June 1, 1905.  By the time it closed its gates four and one-half months later on October 15, 1905, the wonders of the northwest were seen by 1,000,000 people. At least 100,000 came visiting from the east.  An Eastern woman gazing around in wonder at the interior of the Forestry Building, supposedly said, “Isn’t it wonderful the way they grow; all in a line like that!”

News of Portland’s “great log cabin” and “Cathedral” had reached all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.  A New York syndicate offered $200,000 for the building plus costs to dismantle and ship it around the Horn.  They planned to show it off at a Coney Island amusement park.  Portland declined the offer.

Without a doubt it was one of the most interesting and unusual wood structures ever designed and built.  Ion Lewis and Albert E. Doyle were responsible for its spectacular dimensions.  Editors described the “Parthenon of Oregon” in Space, Style and Structure:

 “The symmetrical plan, measuring 209’ x 105’, was based on a “basilica” form with matching “transepts” at either end.  Massive logs 48 feet high by four to five feet in diameter formed the “nave” colonnade.  Embedded in the earth, the log columns with their rustic capitals supported trussed roof beams and the side gallery floors.  The unusual perimeter foundation was a log grillage of five alternating layers of fir logs 14-16 inches in diameter extending to within a foot or so of the finish grade.  On top of the grillage was set a five to six-foot diameter foundation log, the longest piece measuring 54 feet.  The walls up to the lower gallery floor were laid “log cabin” style with logs not less than three feet in diameter.  Above, the walls were framed with poles and sheathed with fir bark shingles.  Except for three large skylights along the ridge, the pole-framed roof was covered with four-foot long fir shingles.  Virtually all joints and connections in the 1.8 million board feet of logs and poles were hewn.”

     Building the massive structure created some massive construction problems.  If the logs were cut after "sap running", the sap would be a slippery layer between the bark and wood.  It would be difficult for the bark to hold fast to the logs while workmen handled them.  Since logging didn't start until April, 1904 and finished in June, some bark was lost during transport to the building site. 

Most of the huge Douglas fir logs were cut from forest lands owned by Simon Benson, near Oak Point, Washington, on the lower Columbia River.  It was important the log delivery coincide with high water on the Columbia.  After gathering the logs in two large rafts and holding them at Clatskanie, workmen waited for the flooding of Guild’s Lake inlet.  When the rafts reached the lake on July 2, crews from Burrell Construction Company hauled the logs to the site by using a special quarter-mile chute.  Its design minimized the damage to the bark.  The crew spent four days and nights completing the task.  Included in the huge log inventory were four Western red cedar and two hemlocks.  The rest were giant Douglas firs. 

In order to save the building when the fair was over, Portland purchased the land and the State Legislature passed a special act allowing donation of the building to the City.

In a few years rot developed in the foundations since they were not designed to be permanent.  (It was customary to demolish buildings when Expositions were finished.)  The mammoth structure began to settle.  James J. Hill, railroad builder, donated $6000 in 1914, which provided a concrete foundation and a small maintenance fund.  It wasn’t adequate and as the years of neglect passed, the old building was in jeopardy.  In 1952, lumbermen and citizens formed the “Gallery of Trees” committee and through the next ten years drastically needed repairs were made and new exhibits installed.  But, there was never enough money or enough interest in preservation to provide a fire detection system and fire sprinkler system.

Inevitably, disaster struck one summer afternoon, August 17, 1964.  The great monument to old growth fir disappeared in a monstrous fire.  Unlike the mythical Phoenix, it would never again rise from the ashes of destruction.