Southwest Portland in Multnomah County, Oregon — The American West (Northwest)

Simon Benson

1851 - 1942

— Philanthropist, Businessman, Innovative, and Visionary —

Simon Benson Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Douglass Halvorsen, November 25, 2021

1. Simon Benson Marker

Inscription. Simon Benson, born in Norway, arrived in Portland in 1880 at age 29 with little money, a wife and child. By the 1890s he operated a vast timber enterprise, and was an active proponent of new logging techniques, including the donkey steam engine and oceans-going log rafts.

In 1910, a wealthy man, he sold his timber interests and directed his energies to philanthropy. He built the Benson and Columbia Gorge Hotels, helped finance Benson Polytechnic High School and served as the first chairman of the Oregon Highway Commission. Benson championed the Columbia River Highway and purchased 400 acres near Multnomah Falls, which he donated to the city of Portland in 1916, now Benson State Park. In Portland he gave funds for the well-known bronze “Benson Bubbler” drinking fountains, many still in use today.

Simon Benson built his grand Queen Anne style house at the corner of S.W. 11th and Clay around 1900. It was rescued from the wrecker’s ball by the Friends of Simon Benson House and moved to the Portland State University Campus in January 2000, and restored.

Erected 2011 by Lang Syne Society of Portland.

Topics.

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical month for this entry is January 2000.

Location. 45° 30.742′ N, 122° 41.122′ W. Marker is in Portland, Oregon, in Multnomah County. It is in Southwest Portland. It is at the intersection of Southwest Montgomery St and SW Park Ave, on the right when traveling east on Southwest Montgomery St. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1803 SW Park Ave, Portland OR 97201, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge

and in the Willamette Valley.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast,

in the Pacific Northwest,

and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Telegram Building, 1922 (approx. 0.7 miles away); Dekum Building (approx. 0.7 miles away); A.H. Francis Building - 1854 (approx. 0.8 miles away); The Salvation Army

Photographed by Douglass Halvorsen, November 25, 2021

2. Simon Benson Marker

(approx. 0.8 miles away); Dielschneider Building (approx. 0.9 miles away); Fechheimer & White Building (approx. 0.9 miles away); In Remembrance of the United States Battleship Oregon (approx. 0.9 miles away); Figurehead and Foremast of the Battleship Oregon (approx. 0.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Portland.

More about this marker. Marker is located near the front entrance to the Simon Benson House.

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker.

Credits. This page was last revised on September 13, 2024. It was originally submitted on September 10, 2024, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon. This page has been viewed 286 times since then and 36 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 10, 2024, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.