Rice–Gates House

In 1890, attorney William J. Rice had a new two-story home built for him in an area that was then south of downtown Hillsboro.[3] He sold the home to Harry V. Gates in 1903, a former state legislator.[3] Gates sold the home in 1911 to his son Oliver B. Gates, though Harry continued to live in the house.[3] Both lived in the residence until 1927,[3] and a garage that was once part of the property was added to the adjacent property.[4] The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 8, 1980.[2] As of 2008, parts of the home are in disrepair, including the main steps leading to the home.[4]

North and east sides of the home in 2008

The home is of the Second Empire style and has a mansard roof with diamond shaped shingles.[5] The roof features include a boxed cornice, Gable fronted dormers, and eaves with paired brackets.[3] Windows at the house are topped with an arch and contain a pediment above each window.[3] Builders of the L-shaped home used balloon framing on the two-story wood building, which consists of using lumber tall enough to stretch from the basement to the top of the building instead of the bottom of the next floor.[3][4]

Siding on the structure is made of horizontal wood boards and is painted yellow with burgundy and Aquamarine accents.[5] Other exterior accents include bracketed posts and wood dentils.[4] There are three porches on the outside as well, each topped with a matching mansard roof on a smaller scale than the main roof.[4] One of these porches is a sun porch enclosed with glass, while the other two have arcaded bases supporting the roof.[4] The posts are decorated with detailed scroll work at the top.[4] Parts of the home have sets of paired windows, and the main entrance has an arched transom light to go with the pediment above the window.[4]

The basement is composed of brick arranged in a stretcher bond pattern and is a look-out style with the majority of it above ground.[4] The horizontal siding extends into the second floor with the steep-sloped mansard roof covering the remainder.[4] The structure has two brick chimneys, both on the inside and topped with corbelled caps.[4] Windows on the house are single hung sash windows opening from the bottom.[4] Doors and the windows also have the decorative scroll work similar to that on the porch posts.[4] The Rice–Gates House is on Southeast Walnut Street in the central part of Hillsboro.[5]

• Norman, James B. (1991). Portland's Architectural Heritage: National Register Properties of the Portland Metropolitan Area. Portland, Or: Oregon Historical Society Press.

• Media related to Rice-Gates House at Wikimedia Commons