Pittock Mansion Photo Shoot

Last week Annie and I went to Portland’s Pittock Mansion with photographer extraordinaire Jamie Bosworth to get new headshots done for Future Oscar Winner, Miss Annie.

Portland has had a gorgeous spring. The photos in this post provide the explanation for why people move to the Pacific NW and love its glorious natural beauty and then February hits and the new residents need light lamps and Costco barrels of  vitamin D and prozac to keep them off the ledge.

The Pittock Mansion is now a park in Portland. The grounds are gorgeous and the house is a museum which charges an entrance fee but there is no fee to picnic or hang out on the beautiful lawns and take in the spectacular views.

The Mansion was built by Mr. Alfred Pittock in the early 20th century. Mr. Pittock, whose real name was Henry, and his wife Phylicia (or Georgiana to her family) came to Oregon on the Oregon Trail because the Los Angeles trail bypassed Portland. He was the founder of the Oregonian newspaper, which is the only state-wide newspaper to this day. The paper was founded three years before Pittock arrived in Oregon, so he had a lot of catching up to do.

Feel free to verify my “facts” by reading this official Portland Public Parks Sign. I’m not making this stuff up.

Henry and Georgiana were married after they met and were married for 53 years. Mrs. Pittock was 15 when she married which seems young to me but they were married for 58 years, sometimes 3’s and 8’s look similar but it’s really 58 years, I’m pretty sure.

At some point while they were married, they built the mansion.

Pretty good mansion ,right?

It really is a beautiful spot and it is fantasmagorically decorated at Christmas. Currently, the exterior is under construction but the scenery is still phenomenal. Here are the photos I took Thursday afternoon while Annie was being photographed.

Construction area where 100 year old patio and balustrades are being rebuilt and reinforced.

View of Mt. Hood from Pittock Mansion back yard.

View of Mt. St. Helens. And a close up so you can see her flat top.

I walked around the grounds and marveled and what life must have been like in the Pittock household. Both Mr. and Mrs. were very civic-minded and started several non-profits that continue to serve the Portland area…. Boys and Girls Aid Society, Portland Rose Festival (he definitely rode in the parades), the Martha Washington Home for Single and Working Women (little known fact, Martha Washington was from Oregon which is why so many of our institutions are named for her, or at least that one is.)

More beauty:

Pretty nice driveway

The mansion’s Tea House. The interior is decorated to period and I kind of want to go in there and live there.

Portland Pittock Roses

View of Portland West Hills

Whilst I wandered, Jamie and Annie were hard at it.

Totally modeling despite construction

Pittock Portland Poses

Those are my photos and here’s one of Annie by a real photographer:

How this child is mine, I have no idea.