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Tour the
History of the Professional
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History of the
George Carl House
From the city’s documentation regarding significance of the property…. Constructed in the early 1900’s, this may have been one of the earliest homes built in this section of Lake Grove. The Colonial Revival style building is referred to as “The Old Postmaster’s House.” Local informants remember George Carl, an Austrian who served as Postmaster in Lake Grove, residing in the house prior to 1930. Carl, who worked at the U.S. Veteran’s Hospital, later served as Lake Oswego Postmaster in 1954. He and his wife, Edna, were known for growing varieties of Austrian grapes for wine. According to title search records, this house, on property originally part of the Waters Carman Donation Land Claim, belonged to John Ward between 1899 and 1909. Louis Enrizzi was the next owner, holding title until 1933. Either or both of these owners presumably rented the house to Carl. Ruth and Joseph Giesy owned it for most of the remainder of the historic period. Joseph Giesy worked as a salesman for J.C. Green’s Market in Portland during the late thirties. The symmetrical façade arrangement, classically inspired columns and shutters, are characteristic of the early 20th century variety of the Colonial Revival style. The development of land at the west end of the lake, now Lake Grove, did not begin in earnest until 1913. The first subdivision was located on Lower Boones Ferry Road, which had been forged as one of the earliest roads opened in the valley. In the beginning, the more desirable locations were sought away from the lake rather than along the lake shore, as the lake was not considered attractive and transportation was more difficult. The Carl House is important as a good example of an early 20th century Colonial Revival style dwelling. For most of its existence, the house was a sweet family home nestled in the trees, and the Lake Grove area of Lake Oswego was rural countryside. Then, in the 1970’s, the home was purchased by a team of contractors: Dan Kehoe and Don Scholander. The main part of the home was converted to offices, and those offices became the base for a development called the Spring Creek Campus. This mixed use project included the neighboring office building at 15110 Boones Ferry Road and the condominiums on the opposite side of the creek. Interestingly, Don Scholander had been a champion swimmer during the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. At Springcreek, he carried on his passion by building a swimming pool in the yard and in part of what is now one of the downstairs offices (Suite 750a). When the current owners purchased the building, there was, indeed, a swimming pool in the yard. It had long been out of use and was filled with leaves and other garden debris. The downstairs area was a wide open unfinished space except for Don’s shower and sauna. The upstairs offices were rented. We could see that Springcreek was perfect for the quiet ambience that helps clients to heal and grow. And, as soon as our purchase offer was accepted, we began planning to remodel the building into space for psychotherapists and counselors to practice. In addition to meeting the historical design standards of the City of Lake Oswego, and filling in the swimming pool, there were some special considerations involved in perfecting the space for the practice of psychotherapy. Soundproofing was essential, and this meant installing double drywall with good insulation and solid core doors. We also had to rework the venting system to keep sound from traveling from one room to the next in order to provide privacy for clients. We advertised the building to licensed practitioners of counseling and psychotherapy and had a wonderful response. Potential renters came to the open space to view masking tape on the floors and imagine where their future offices would be. Before remodeling was complete, the building was fully rented. There has rarely been a vacancy since that time. We are committed to maintaining a beautiful property for the practice of counseling and psychotherapy. Come see what we have to offer! The Owners, Historical Bibliography:
Springcreek Counseling Offices • 15100 SW Boones Ferry Rd. • Lake Oswego, OR 97035 |
In
the beginning…
The middle years….
Transformation…