For $3 million, you can play president in Portland’s White House

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The average American’s chances of becoming U.S. president are slim to none, but as long as you have $3 million at your disposal, you can still call the White House home — Portland’s White House, that is.

Portland’s White House, located in the Irvington neighborhood, hit the market just last week. The property on 1914 NE 22nd Avenue is the Rose City’s fun-sized version of D.C.’s famous White House, which is about 55,000 square feet compared to 9,917.

Although Portland’s White House isn’t quite as famous as D.C.’s, the mansion has some historic significance of its own.

According to the house’s website, architect David Williams designed the property for Oregon lumber baron Robert Lytle in 1911. At the time, what Lytle treated as his summer home was one of the most expensive residences in Portland. Now, the home is listed on the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places.

Mark Graalum, a real estate agent with Sotheby’s International Realty, says the prior owners did a $1 million renovation on the home in 2018 before reopening it as a bed and breakfast. But the Greek-Revival-architecture style of the original home remained even after the renovation.

Graalum told KOIN 6 News that the current owners of Portland’s White House are reluctantly selling the property due to a job opportunity in Europe.

The real estate agent says he and the owners are allowing qualified buyers to tour the property and see all that it has to offer: nine bedrooms, nine full bathrooms, three powder rooms, two fireplaces, a dining hall, a library-game room, a private office, commercial-grade kitchen, wine cellar, walk-in refrigerator, a deck, hand-painted murals and chandeliers.

“It sits on three city lots, so it has a beautiful drive around the front there and then the backyard is also very private,” Graalum added. “It’s just beautifully done.”

Redfin lists the property as a single-family residential home, but Graalum says the possibilities for the property are endless. Future owners can open Portland’s White House as a bed and breakfast once again, or use it to host weddings, holiday parties, business retreats, etc.

“Because we’re talking about the top 1% of the 1% of buyers in the community, it’s not unusual for a property like this to take months — if not years — to sell,” he said. “It definitely is an outstanding, unusual property that we’ve already gotten several inquiries [about.]”