Governor Hotel Celebrates 100th Birthday in 2009

Historic Landmark kicks off a year’s worth of centennial festivities in conjunction with Oregon’s sesquicentennial.

100 years in Portland, Oregon; the Governor Hotel in 1909 and 2009. Photos: Governor Hotel

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Providing luxurious accommodations and classic early 20th century style to Pacific Northwest travelers for 100 years, The Governor Hotel is pleased to announce the celebration of its 2009 centennial.

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places and a member of Historic Hotels of America, the newly renovated Governor was originally opened as the Seward Hotel on March 9, 1909, and is one of the longest standing first-class hotels in Portland, Oregon.

“We are proud to celebrate 100 years of timeless memories with our guests and friends, especially as 2009 is also the 150th birthday of the State of Oregon,” said John Cullen, CEO of Grand Heritage Group which manages the hotel.

“The Governor is one of several cherished historic properties in our family of hotels and we look forward to enjoying many more successes in years to come.”

Commemorating the culture, art, music and fashion of the early 1900s, the hotel is honoring the 100th anniversary and the 150th anniversary of Oregon throughout 2009.

Guests and the public are invited to enjoy free historical hotel tours, a centennial hotel Open House complete with period-dressed guides, a special anniversary-themed accommodation package, and more.

“An architectural treasure and a true Pacific Northwest Landmark, The Governor is a symbol of a very important time in American history,” said Thierry Roch, Executive Director, Historic Hotels of America.

“Preserving the elegance of the early 20th century even through various updates and a major multimillion-dollar renovation, the hotel still remains true to the classic style that defined the period in which it and the city of Portland was born.”

An immaculate six story building, The Governor boasts 100 beautifully remodeled rooms and suites and was built in the boom years immediately following Portland’s 1905 Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition.

Pioneering the use of early Viennese-influenced arts and crafts style design, the hotel’s architect William Christmas Knighton is the first known Oregonian to use fully-glazed terra cotta on the exterior of a building. Full of turn-of-the-century charm, Knighton’s guilded archways, ornate sconces and rustic chandeliers attest to the glamour of the early 1900s, while Lewis & Clark expedition murals, Native American-inspired themes and the hotel’s early years as an official Fraternal Order of the Elks temple capture the romance of Oregon’s past.

When the hotel first opened, reservations ran from $1.50 a night for a sleeping room to $2.00 a night for a private bath and breakfast.

For more information, visit the Governor Hotel Website: GovernorHotel.com