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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 1913)
THESE MEN HAVE GIVEN MORGAN BUILDING TO PORTLAND PEOPLE Morgan, Fliedner, Boyce and Bushong Rose to PrAertt Positions of Prominence Prom Humble Beginnings They Have Had Important Part in Building Operations in City.." m - f:zj - -it's A ' Kii ' ' 1st- ' I- 4 - : W t M r TV- 4 -:v r is i tt' - a vjs 'its Uf(! 1 .r I ' -i' i w '7 V ' ' B V and their confldenco In the Arm by In-., vesting in their projects almost with out, solicitation. Among the principal apartment houses which they have built and now operate are the Fordham, the Hanover, the St. Francis, the Hanthorne, the ClaypooU the Knickerbocker, the Co lumbian, the St. Clair, the Cecelia, the Wellington and the Grandesta. Mr. Morgan and his associates early recognized the demand for apartment houses in Portland and set about to satisfy it. Their success in these en terprises has been typical of their suc cess along other lines. EXTERIOR X3 ORIGIXAL IDEA Red Brick and White Terra Cotta Form Attractive Combination. While the new Morgan building does not depart from the conventional.ideas in type -of construction or in any es sential detail, it differs sufficiently from the style of building that has been erected In Portland for the last few years to make It somewhat unique and in a class by Itself. ' This difference finds expression principally in the exterior decorations. Instead of applying the conventional white or cream colored terra cotta fin ish, the builders have combined red tapestry brick with white terra cotta. The exterior to the height of the sec ond floor is finished in terra cotta. The remainder of the building, with the ex ception of the ornamental cornice, is veneered witn red lapestry dtick. Some of the trimmings around the windows also consist of white terra cotta. ' This Idea was suggested by W. I Morgan. r; t" s 4 X ft 4 t 'A si "a.-Jl HERB are the fellows who are re sponsible for the Morgan build ing. None of them Is an old man, as their respective faces give testi mony. Twenty years ago the 'combined as sets of this quartette were not suffi cient to make a first payment on a suburban lot. Yet, in that brief ex panse of years they have given the peo 9 pie of Portland more than $3,000,000 worth of substantial business and rest? dence structures besides the Morgan building. They are city-builders. That Is their business. Industry and perse verance have been their chief stepping stones to success. They are the chaps whom the poet had in mind when he sang about mak ing two blades of grass grow where but a single weed existed before. That's what they have been doing here in Portland for the last 15 or 20 years. They have made apartment houses and business- blocks thrive where holes in the ground and high-board fences for merly shone forth In lnartlstlo dis array. While they have been playing such sn Important part In the growth and development of Portland they, them selves, have profited materially from their efforts, as well they might. They nave reaped the Just rewards of their combined genius and their persistent endeavors, - . The fact that they have accomplished this, in spite of the obstacle of youthful poverty, makes their record of achieve ment seem truly remarkable. Not one pf the four inherited a cent of wealth, kach of them has earned every dollar he has in the world. While the record of each is peculiar unto itself, all have traveled along virtually the same path from pennllessness to modest fortune. Morgan la Soatkeraiert William L. Morgan, the senior mem ber of the firm of Morgan, Fliedner & Boyce, which fathered the Morgan Bushong Investment Company, is a na tive of Montgomery County. Tennessee. His parents-were among thoso unfor tunate Southerners who lost their es tates through the ravages of the Civil War. As soon as he was old enough, he learned to steer a plow and grew quite proficient in the art of avoiding most of the biggest boulders In the way. It was there, perhaps, that he first learned how to make two blades of grass grow where none bad grown since the war. But he didn't thrive on It. So he left one day and struck out for Brooklyn, N. Y. The Insurance field beckoned and he answered the call. He insured nearly all the people there were in Brooklyn, so came to Portland, where a lot of people were not yet insured. That was on August 13, 1S96. The Pacific Mutual needed a man of his capabilities and put him in charge of their business. He stayed In charge for eight years. Then he quit and went into business for himself. It was at that time that W. F. Fliedner first became associated with him. In a modest way, they en gaged In the general Insurance, real estate and construction business. After a year, Mr. Fliedner withdrew and Mr. Morgan . continued the business alone. He operated with marked success, gradually enlarging his field of ac tivity. He Is Admitted to Bar. Meanwhile be studied law, taking the course of the University of Ore gon. It was there that he met Joseph A. Boyce. They became close friends. Both were graduated from the law school and passed the state bar exami nation but neither ever practiced law, using their knowledge only as an aid to their business. In 1907 Mr. Morgan employed Mr. Boyce to take charge of the Are In surance department of. his business. After three years he was made a part ner. On January 1, 1910, the firm of Morgan, Fliedner & Boyce was formed, Mrs Fliedner having been Induced to re-enter the business. The success -of this enterprising organization is a by word in Portland. Besides his interests with the firm that he founded Mr. Morgan has exten sive holdings of a more private nature. He is the president and virtually the sole owner of the Morgan-Atchley P"ur, niture Company at East Stark street and Grand avenue, which also owns the valuable quarter block upon which the four-story building stands, with Mr. Bushong he owns the Alder Hotel property at the northwest cor ner of Fourth and Stark streets. Mi. Morgan lives with his family at 722 Schuyler street. He is prominent as a Shriner and as an- Elk, and i popular everywhere. His popularity was attested last Summer when he was chosen admiral of the Astoria regatta, serving in that office with marked social and nautical triumph. Fliedner Former Druggist. WUliam F. Fliedner is a native of Portland, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Fliedner, pioneer residents of the city. He was educated in the Portland pubTic schools. He, achieved his first business success as president and general manager of the Blumauer Frank Drug Company with which he was connected for many years, advanc ing to the executive head of the con cern from a minor position. Aside from the year that he was associated with Mr. Morgan most of his early business life was devoted to the drug business. When the firm of Morgan, Fliedner & Boyce was formed in 1910 he took charge of the real estate and rental division. He is vice-presdent of the company. He lives at 600 Thompson street. Ex-Railroad Man la Boyce. - Joseph A. Boyce is a native Orego- nlan. Washington County is his birth place. His parents were pioneer resi dents of that section. As a mere child he came with his parents to Portland. He early realized the advantages of a legal education, although he did not intend to practice -law. After his grad uation from the law school he served two years as chief clerk in the Mult nomah County Circuit Court, and next became connected with the New York Life Insurance Company, then with the 1 New York Central Railway as city passenger agent. Later he became so liciting freight agent for the Great Northern and in 1907 took charge of Mr. Morgan's fire insurance busi ness. When Morgan, Fliedner & Boyce took over the business he became sec retary of the company. Mr. Boyce lives at. 730 Clackamas street. Bnshong Comes From Ohio. W. A. T. Bushong was born in Ohio, but has been in business in Portland for many years. Soon after coming here ,he organized the printing and publishing firm of Bushong & Co., which he disposed of a few years ago. He has extensive private interests, principal among them being the Bush mark building at Seventeenth and Washington streets, and the Alder Hotel property. He is not a member of the firm of Morgan, Fliedner & Boyce, but is heavily interested in the Morgan-Bushong Investment Company, which owhs-the Morgan building. Y. L Morgan Built First Apartment , in City Jerferionlan, at Sixteenth and Jef ferson Streets, Forerunner of Great Development. I I OW rapid has been the growth of I I Portland is given emphatic pre sentation by the record of Its apartment-house construction. It was less than ten years ago when W. L. Morgan in whose honor the Morgan building was- named built the first apartment-house in Portland. That was the Jeffersonlan apartment at Sixteenth and Jefferson streets. It was a 12-apartment building and a model structure of its kind in that day and age. There has been rapid and radical development in apartment-house construction since that time, and Mr. Morgan and his associates have kept abreast of the movement. Rose Festival Home on Fourth Floor. George I Baker, Amusement Direct or, Has Carnival and Theater Office in Morgan Building. SEMI-OFFICIAL recognition has been given the accessibility and the oth er advantages of the Morgan building by the Rose Festival Association, which will have its main offices on the fourth floor, in a spacious room overlooking Broadway. . As soon as the Festival body was organized a ftw weeks ago the new officers determined to establish head quarters in the Morgan building. This location is nearer the present business center of the city than were' the old offices. . ' George L. Baker, the newly elected amusement manager of the Rose Fes tival, will have his offices' in the Mor gan rooms. His staff of associates will be established there with him. Mr. Baker and other officials of the Rose Festival Association are well satisfied with their new location. Inasmuch as Mr. Baker also Is man ager of the Baker Theater, he has ar ranged to have his theater offices on the same floor, convenient to tne Rose Festival offices. Members of the busi ness staff of his theater will have of fices in these rooms also. Choicest Rooms Soon Are Rented Hore Than SO Per Cent of Space Is Leased Tenants Move In Early. FROM the time It first began to take definite shape, the Morgan build ing has been popular with prospective tenants. So- eager were they to move Into it that they sought permanent locations there even before It was completed. As early as two weeks ago Dr. Elof T. HerHund and Dr. Dallas Loy, prac ticing dentists, moved into rooms on tne fourth floor. Other dentists and doctors soon followed. For the last few days there has been a steady stream of tenants Into the choice rooms In various parts of the building. Contracts have been made for vir tually 80 per cent of the space. AH the offloes facing on Washington street have been leased. Other contracts are being closed almost every day. Within a few weeks it is expected that the en tire building will be occupied. Its accessibility to the hotel, theater YOU Investigated our house wiring easy-payment plan? If you have an old house not yet wired it will give you an oppor tunity to secure a much needed improvement in an easy manner. Call us up by phone. MARSHALL 5100 A 6131 Portland Railway, Light & Power Company Alder and Broadway and retail districts makes the Morgan building one of the most desirable of fice sites' in the city. Telephone Main 88T8 . BuiIdms Getting Letters Written Jack E. Thornton Mall AdTrtlln Eli Korean Blag. Mlmaosraphlns Envelope Addressing Mailing Typewriting 6pcif lcations end IlsporU Typewritten FrUM BUILT MANY APARTMENTS Many Portland Investors Interested in These Enterprises. A directory of the best apartment houses of Portland reveals that the firm of Morgan, Fliedner & Boyce built and owns many of them. - The firm still operates nearly every house it built. They are among the most successful apartment-house oper ators In the city, and probably the most extensive. - It Is characteristic of their enter prise, also, that they financed all their building projects themselves. Many Portland people are interested In their various enterprises. The people of Portland readily mani fested a faith in the future of the city I Am Now Located in My New Home Suite 202-203-204 Morgan Building To the Gentlemen of Portland I. extend a cordial invitation to visit my new Tailoring Emporium one which, I feel, justly empha sizes the growth of my business. Fall and Winter Woolens , . .. - I have made special preparations for an unusually large and varied showing of Foreign and Do ' mestic Importations, which will merit the approval of the most fastidious. JOHN WELCH DENTAL DEPOT MORGAN BUILDING PORTXAjm, OB, LUMBER BXCBAAOB BUlXDIWQ. .SEATTLE, WASH. DBALB7H.I TX ALL XCTDI OF DENTAL SUPPLIES FURNITURE md FIXTURES Established Over 30 Years i Special Attention to Mail Order Business. Parcel Post) PUBLISHERS OP ORAL HYGIENE Announces the Opening of His New Studio in the Morgan Building About October 10th. 4 It will be the best equipped and most modern studio of Photographic Art in the West. The public is cordially invited to call and inspect the new location and ex hibition of photos.
