Beauty of the City, A.E. Doyle, Portland’s Architect by Philip Niles; 2008; 278 pages; Oregon State University Press, Corvallis, OR; 978-0-87071-298-2; 7/27/09-8/1/09

Every Monday through Friday I go to work in a wonderful building in the Spanish Renaissance style designed by A.E. Doyle.  The Title Wave Used Bookstore is housed in what was originally the Albina Library which was designed by Doyle in 1912.

This biography tells of the life of A.E. Doyle who designed many of the buildings that give Portland its’ unique character.  The Central Library, PGE Park, The Multnomah Falls Lodge, The Benson Hotel, many buildings at Reed College and a bunch of homes around town.  Doyle started his career as an office boy in an architecture firm and after working for a couple of architects, including the man who designed the Lincoln Memorial, and touring Europe to take in the architecture there, he returned to Portland to open his firm.  He trained others to be architects while building many of the buildings that still stand and are well known landmarks to many Portlanders.  He had a remarkably short career, only 21 years, between the Lewis and Clark exposition in 1905 and the Great Depression, but in that time he and his firm built many buildings on the West Coast.  His best known apprentice is Pietro Belluschi, who designed the Portland Art Museum among others.  Doyle died young from Bright’s Disease, but not before leaving behind a legacy that will endure forever.  RRRR