I spent the morning at the mechanic. They were very thorough, first they flushed the brakes, then my wallet. Newly poor, I decided to see how the rich live and made a visit to the Pittock Mansion. Newspaperman Henry Pittock seems to be the Hearst of the Pacific Northwest, albeit less well known and poorer. The 16,000 sq ft house sits on 46 well-maintained acres and looks down on the city of Portland. Completed in 1914 the home has a central vacuum system, elevator, central heating, a walk in refrigerator, and both electricity and gas. 100 years later, my apartment has none of these. Pittock was way ahead of Portland culture and may be the original hipster, his mansion was locally sourced. From architect to materials to craftsmen everything involved in the making of the French chateau inspired home came from Oregon.
One of the coolest things about the house was its location. The house is kind of crescent shaped and the altitude gives a stunning view of Portland, all rich people should literally look down on the poor. Today a low bank of clouds gave the illusion that Mt. Hood was hovering off in the distance, a sight visible from nearly every room in the mansion.
Also of note was the bizarre shower setup. The master shower looked like an iron maiden, piping and handles everywhere. There was even a nozzle for shampoo, and, apparently, a bidet that rose from the floor. I’m not sure how it worked and it looked more trouble than it was worth, maybe why this design never took off.
But the less fortunate needn’t worry. Pittock was a self made man, arriving in Oregon penniless before becoming wealthy. And, at one point the house was abandoned and taken over by vagrants before the city restored it. So there’s hope that we can all live in a place at beautiful as this. Perhaps I’ll get my own mansion one day. It’ll probably be down the street from my mechanic.