Fabled ‘Pink Temple’ in Mt. Tabor for sale at $1,950,000

Jun 13, 2023

It takes a lot to steal thunder away from Mount Tabor, an extinct volcano rising 636 feet, but the fabled Pink Temple, a half mile away on a Southeast Portland corner lot, draws attention with its charisma. Its history is even more captivating.

The vine-covered, two-story stucco building, constructed during the Roaring Twenties at 5500 S.E. Belmont St., started as a telephone exchange in 1921. Decades before people had phone numbers, rows of switchboard operators would hear the name of a person or business that a caller wanted to reach and they would plug a patch cord into a socket to the individual’s circuit.

Alameda historian Doug Decker, referring to telephone exchange buildings of the era, found that workers wore roller skates to help them move quickly from switchboard to switchboard. By 1920, there were 178,000 female telephone operators in the United States, according to the History Channel. By the 1930s, technology allowed callers to dial phones directly, and by the 1940s, most operator jobs were eliminated.

The building entered a new phase in 1952 when it was purchased as the fraternal Mason organization’s Irvington Lodge No. 185. A Masonic lodge is referred to as a “temple.”

Ownership of the building changed hands 44 years later, and it was transformed into the home of one of Portland’s most creative retailers: ceramic artist, folk art collector and home decor importer Patty Merrill. The same year, in 1996, she founded Cargo, an emporium of offbeat and unique goods.

Merrill changed the building’s exterior from black paint to pink, and decorated the interior with colorful furnishings and art from around the world. Her Pink Temple home is an out-of-the-box expression of her whimsical outlook.

And it’s for sale.

Brokers Todd Peres and Deborah Thomas of Debbie Thomas Real Estate have set the asking price at $1,950,000. “There’s nothing else like it on the market, a true unicorn property and rare opportunity,” say Peres and Thomas.

Today, home shoppers will see three separate living spaces, each with its own entrance, among the building’s 10,192 square feet of living space. There are high ceilings, huge windows and hardwood floors.

The penthouse spans the entire top floor. An elevated library, formerly a stage, overlooks the 40-foot-wide living room. There is a kitchen island with a built-in gas range, dining and family rooms, three bedrooms (one with a balcony), a craft room and a bathroom with a clawfoot tub.

The ground level has two residential units — one with three bedrooms and a bathroom, and one with a bedroom and bathroom — as well as an office, each with a private entrance. The full basement also has outdoor access.

The almost quarter-acre property has decks, space for a garden and a gated parking lot that can accommodate six vehicles or outdoor recreational equipment.

“The buyer is someone who will appreciate a large, flexible living space, possibly for multi-generational living, all under one roof” and in a location close to Mount Tabor Park and Belmont and Hawthorne commercial districts’ dining and shopping, say Thomas and Peres.

“It will be a creative person with vision to be the next steward of a magnificent Portland gem,” the brokers told The Oregonian/OregonLive. “It may also appeal to someone with an eye towards historic preservation.”

— Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072

[email protected] | @janeteastman

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