Belluschi house still in search for permanent home

By Sam Bennett

The Lake Oswego Review, Mar 13, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

Sam Bennett / Lake Oswego Review

Ted Snider of the Rebuilding Center helped with the meticulous process of taking apart the Belluschi home in Lake Oswego in June. The home was put in storage and awaits a new site.

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The Belluschi house could go anywhere in the United States.

But for Tia Ross, the best place for the historic house is exactly where it was built: In Lake Oswego.

Ross is advocating that the home, designed by well-known architect Pietro Belluschi, be placed in one of the city parks.

The city Parks & Recreation Department board last month denied a request to put the house in George Rogers Park. At the board meeting, residents concerned about the proposal to move the Belluschi house said it would be out of context at George Rogers Park.

“They felt that the aesthetics of this house didn’t fit in with the site, in terms of looking at the long-term plans of the park,” said Kim Gilmer, director for Parks & Recreation. The 2002 master plan calls for structures that are consistent with the history of the park, using materials such as iron, stone and wood.

The proposal was to put the home in the lower portion of the park, near an existing picnic shelter.

At the board’s next meeting on March 19, the panel will take another look at the issue of establishing criteria to possibly place the home at another park.

Ross said she was surprised that the idea for placing the home in George Rogers was not greeted with more enthusiasm.

“We all assumed everybody knew this would be a good thing to do,” she said. “We think it’s the best location because it’s the living room of the downtown area.”

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