Oriental Theatre west elevation - Portland Oregon

Lee Arden Thomas (1886–1953) was an architect in Bend and

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, United States. He graduated in 1907 from

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

.George P. Edmonston Jr
Up Close and Personal: Campus Tour
Oregon State University Alumni Association He completed many projects in Bend, often partnering with local architect Hugh Thompson. His work in that area includes the planning for Bend Amateur Athletic Club Gymnasium (1917–1918), Redmond Union High School, and the Washington School in Corvallis (now known as the Benton Center). Thomas was an architect in Bend during the

1910s File:1910s montage.png, From left, clockwise: The Ford Model T is introduced and becomes widespread; The Sinking of the RMS Titanic, sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic, ''RMS Titanic'' causes the deaths of nearly 1,500 people and attracts global and h ...

. His work in the area includes the Lew Franks Building, St. Francis Catholic Church, St. Charles Hospital, First Methodist Church, Bend Amateur Athletic Club and the new Central School. He later formed a partnership with another Bend architect, Hugh Thompson. The pair designed the O. C. Henkle Building, Kenwood School, the Central Oregon Bank, and the Vandevert & Whitington Garage. In Portland, Thomas helped design the Weatherly Building with Sutton & Whitney and partnered with Albert Mercier on the adjacent Oriental Theatre (1927), as well as several other theaters. He also designed the Memorial Union (MU) at Oregon State University. Thomas was also a member of the

Oregon Board of Architect Examiners Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and the group's treasurer.

In Bend, Oregon

In Bend, Oregon, Thomas worked with local architect Hugh Thompson. Thomas designed the Bend Amateur Athletic Club (1918) and Old Bend High School (1925). Both use lava rock as foundation material laid out as uncut rubble. Lee Thomas designed Redmond Union High School, "the largest and most impressive structure in all of Redmond". The $100,000 building was constructed by "famed Central Oregon contactors, Olson & Erickson" using about 400,000 bricks from the Bend brick yard and "served a district of over 500 square miles." A gymnasium was added by Freeman & Hayslip of Portland in 1944 "under the supervision of A.W. Manchester of Julius Johnson Construction, the gym was completed in January 1945." The O. C. Henkle Building remains in use and plans are underway for its renovations.

Memorial Union

Thomas designed the Memorial Union (MU) on

's (OSU) campus, said to be "one of the finest examples of

Neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

in Oregon." It was one of the few OSU buildings of that era not attributed to

John Bennes John Virginius Bennes (August 23, 1867 – November 29, 1943) was an American architect who designed numerous buildings throughout the state of Oregon, particularly in Baker City and Portland. In Baker City he did an extensive redesign of the ...

, and has been "known to generations of Oregon Staters as simply the "MU". It "was built in 1927-28 as a monument to those who have given their lives in defense of the nation, as well as a center for student life on campus." The building was funded entirely with private donations and gifts at a cost of around $750,000, and a $3 per term assessment Oregon State students implemented beginning in January 1922. It was dedicated on June 1, 1929. The east and west wings (bookstore and commons) are later additions that were added in 1960 and extensively renovated in the 1990s. The MU was owned by the Memorial Union Corporation until 1965 when it transferred the facility to the State Board of Higher Education.

Washington School (Benton Center)

Thomas designed the Washington School, a somewhat eclectic

Classical Revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

or Neo-Classical-style building in

Corvallis, Oregon Corvallis ( ) is a city and the county seat of Benton County in central western Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton County. As of the 2020 United ...

. It has plaster

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s framing the main entryway as well as a Tuscan

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

with cast stone columns including

capitals Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

and

apophyge An apophyge (Greek , a flying off), in architecture, is the lowest part of the shaft of an Ionic or Corinthian column, or the highest member of its base if the column be considered as a whole. The apophyge is the inverted cavetto A cavetto is ...

. The columns support an

architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can ...

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

and

corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 di ...

.Oregon Inventory of Historic Properties Historic Resource Survey Form
April 29, 1984 Mark K. Weber (Recorder) Local Number: 585B SHPO Number: 737 The building is one of the most elaborate buildings in the area from the 1920s and is "one of the oldest extant Corvallis school buildings". It is a two-story brick building with wood framing, a high masonry foundation, and a full basement. "Only Corvallis' former Methodist Church South and the former Congregational Church '(currently, a National Register property)' are comparable in terms of style." Additions were made in 1952 by the architectural firm of Gathercoal and Jeppsen and in 1954 by "Jeppsen, architect". L. N. Traver was the contractor, D. W. Powell and Oregon Architectural College's "Professor Peck" did the surrounding

landscape design Landscape design is an independent profession and a design and art tradition, practiced by landscape designers, combining nature and culture. In contemporary practice, landscape design bridges the space between landscape architecture and garde ...

. The school closed in 1975 and the building was purchased by Linn-Benton Community College for use as an extension center.

Movie theaters

Thomas partnered with Albert Mercier on the design of several historic movie theaters including the

Egyptian Theater Egyptian-style theatres are based on the traditional and historic design elements of Ancient Egypt. The first Egyptian Theatre to be constructed in the US – which inspired many of the identically-named theatres that followed it – was Grauma ...

Coos Bay, Oregon Coos Bay ( Coos language: Atsixiis) is a city located in Coos County, Oregon, United States, where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The city borders the city of North Bend, and together they are often referred to as one en ...

; (41 pages, with 9 figures and 14 photos from 2009)

McDonald Theatre McDonald Theatre is a theater and music venue in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Opened in 1925 as a movie house, the building was converted to a theater for performing arts, and is still in business. The theater is listed on the National Register ...

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

;

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

Blue Mouse Theatre The Blue Mouse Theatre title was used for several historic vaudeville and movie venues opened by John Hamrick in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The name may have been inspired by a lounge in Paris. Hamrick is said to have used the co ...

and

Bagdad Theatre The Bagdad Theatre is a movie theater in the Hawthorne District of Portland, Oregon, United States. It originally opened in 1927 and was the site of the gala premiere of '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' in 1975, and of ''My Own Private Ida ...

; The Bobwhite Theatre in Portland Oregon 1924, They also designed the Oriental Theater for George Weatherly next to the ice cream businessman's Weatherly Building.

Projects

Weatherly Building - Oriental Theatre - 1927 - Portland Oregon

* Bend Amateur Athletic Club Gymnasium (1918)Bend Amateur Athletic Club Gym
March 18, 1983 National Register of Historic Places Inventory- Nomination Form * Weatherly Building (1927) with Sutton & Whitney * Oriental Theatre (1927) * Memorial Union, Oregon State University (1927–1928)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Lee Arden Architects from Portland, Oregon 1953 deaths 1886 births