From The Archives

DK Warren House Estate

THE HISTORIC VICTORIAN HOME OF DK WARREN
Located in Warrenton, Oregon, is on the
National Register of Historic Places

The Daniel Knight Warren House, a building of frame construction completed in 1885 at the cost of $8,000, is among the outstanding houses of the late Victorian period in Clatsop County, Oregon.



The house is located in Warrenton facing east on a low knoll overlooking the entrance to the Skipanon River. It also commands a view across Young's Bay toward Astoria, the Pacific gateway port at the mouth of the Columbia River. Because of its prominence, the house served as an unofficial beacon at night time. According to tradition, a lamp was kept burning in the front window so that the skippers of Warrenton boast heading across Young's Bay from Astoria would be guided to home port on the Skipanon.



The house site was perhaps the only area rising above flood tide on the 180-acre Warren estate in early days. Before building his large house, Warren hired 20 Chinese laborers to build the first dikes to hold back the tides.



Like its counterpart in Astoria, the High Victorian Eastlake house build for Captain George Flavel in 1884, the Warren House displays the taste of rich elaboration and eclecticism so characteristic of the period.



Queen Anne characteristics of the Warren House are the asymmetrical facade organization and plan, the variety of roof forms and surface textured, tall chimneys with corbelled, "flared" caps, and the wrap-around veranda.



Italianate influence is seen in the bracketed cornice and elongated, one-over-one, double-hung windows with segmental arch heads. The Stick Style is apparent n the horizontal and vertical ordering of exterior elevations through such elements as spandrel panels of vertical tongue and groove boards and saw-toothed edging contrasting with overall cladding, which is horizontal 1 x 6-inch shiplap siding. Numerous strip string courses and vertical bandings are employed also. The Queen Anne porch shows distinctly the influence of the Eastlake Style in the stylized pierced decoration of its frieze. The verge board decoration of the narrow front gable, consisting of a chamfered collar beam and diagonal braces, is supported by brackets and is a hallmark of the Stick/Eastlake tradition.



The 2 1/2-story house is a tall and somewhat narrow rectangular volume measuring 24 x 60 feet in plan. Its side elevations are distinguished by two-story polygonal bays. The foundation is brick with a stucco exterior in a block pattern.



Warren's descendants occupied the house until 1965, at which point the house entered long period of disuse and deterioration. The property was purchased in 1988 by Alice and Alan Meyers who rehabilitated the house, including its interior finishes.



The property was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988, Building #88001521.