History: "Jesuits in Oregon", Campion Hall, Portland, 1946 ********************************************************************************* USGENWEB ARCHIVES(tm) NOTICE: ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/or/orfiles.htm ********************************************************************************* Transcribed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: W. David Samuelsen - April 2002 ************************************************************************ "Jesuits in Oregon" 1844-1959, Rev. Wilfred P. Schoenberg, S.J., published June 1959 by the The Oregon-Jesuit to commemorate the Centennial Year in Oregon. No copyright, not registered. Campion Hall, Portland 1946 On the corner of 20th and Hoyt in the northwest section of Portland, there is an old-fashioned greystone mansion. Castle-like, with one rounded tower, many chimneys, and countless little gables covered with slate, it looks more like a fortress than a residence; but, of course, it is not a fortress. If it were, its score of wide and gleaming windows would, forsooth, expose its occupants to various and sundry missiles; and no one builds a fortress that way. The fact is that it is a residence, a primly kept and inviting one, for despite its heavy features, there is about it an air of hospitality and gracious living that one associates with the mansions of late 1 9th-century America. Landscaped Like a Castle The furnishings of the grounds around the mansion confirm its lived-in appearance. Vines and low-clipped evergreens enliven the drab-ness of the building s lead color. A low wall and laurel hedge neither of them high enough to obscure the lowest window surround the place like an inverted moat, and a lone pink dogwood tree, which was cared for meticulously for 20 years by a former owner, stands meekly at the entrance dominated, no doubt, by the hardness of the stone around and above it. The lawn is as green as any turf in Ireland, a little island of velvet within its boundaries, a carpet where, in bygone years, some grand lady might have stood while she admired her castle. The house has had a peculiar history. It was built in 1890 by a certain Dr. McKenzie. According to a rather dubious tradition, this wealthy medic had sprung from Scottish folk of the Highlands and, after finding success in America, wanted to build for himself and his family a home like a castle in the land of his boyhood. What is certain is that Mrs. McKenzie was Scottish, and, at her insistence, a Scottish motif of thistles was carried out in carvings on fireplaces and panels. Portland Showplace The house cost Dr. McKenzie $100,000, and another $100,000 was expended to furnish it. Though on a corner, its lavish garden extended over the whole block. As you may imagine, these were showplace of Portland. Mrs. McKenzie was a Catholic. During her last illness, Fr. Balestra, S.J., of St. Michael s parish, brought Holy Communion to her; and, when she lay dying in her palatial home, he administered for her the last rites of the Church. After her death and the death of Dr. McKenzie, the furnishings were sold, and the property passed into other hands. For 30 years, ownership of the building changed freqently. Being too large to be used as an ordinary family home, it was put to other uses - and not all of them noble. It was, at various times used as a "speak-easy," a convalescent home, and a rooming house. When purchased by the Jesuits in 1946, it was being used for the latter. Its keeper, an elderly lady, was anxious to dispose of it. She asked $30,000 for it. At this time, Fr. Leo Robinson, S.J., Provincial Superior of the Oregon Province, resided with his staff in the 3-story building at 3220 SE. 43rd Ave., near St. Ignatius Church. This had been Provincial headquarters since 1909, when the building was erected for this purpose. Previously, when the mission or province was much smaller, the Jesuit Superior resided in one of the established Jesuit houses or schools in the Northwest. This was done in order that he might assist with other work when not occupied with his own. Because of the steady growth of the Order, it soon became necessary for the Superior to have his own residence and staff. This need prompted the decision to build in Portland, which was more or less centrally located when the province covered the entire west coast. In 1946, because of further growth, the 3-story building was Though it extended upwards, it did not cover much ground; so an investigation was made to extend it in one or another direction land-wise. Estimated costs for this proved to be wholly prohibitive. Fr. Robinson was, there fore, advised to seek a large, old residence which would be suitable for the purpose, cheap to buy, and, at the same time, closer to the business district and railway stations for the convenience of Jesuits passing through. It was further pointed out that if a new residence could be acquired, the old one could be adapted for an urgently needed Retreat house. Thus; it happened that in the spring of 1946, Fr. Robinson assigned his secretary, Fr. Charles Chapman, S.J., the task of finding "a suitable old house that would be conveniently placed for visiting Jesuits." It also happened that, within a few days, Fr. Chapman casually mentioned this particular to a real estate agent. The agent, Mr. McGuire, recommended the former McKenzie property, which lay in a respectable neighborhood and was but a few blocks from the Union Depot. The property was suitable. After careful examination, it was purchased for $27,500 considerably less than the cost of an addition the older building. Fr. Chapman ordered to have it renovated and prepared for its new function. This was done during the summer and autumn of 1946. Old Mansion Remodeled When he started, Fr. Chapman found a 14-room house with seven fireplaces, a billiard room, and an unfinished basement except for a wine cellar on one end. By removing many of the frills, adding walls here and there, and finishing off the basement, he converted the place into a 25-room residence and office building which retained a certain air of warmth but also acquired a no-nonsense appearance which would have startled Mrs. McKenzie if she could have seen it. The wine was converted into a vault for records; the billiard room, into a was sacristy and chapel; and the window which had "WAIT FOR THE SHOT" inscribed upon it was ex changed for a plainer one which bore a simple cross to designate the new use. Where an elaborate knocker had once decorated the front door, a new brass plaque was placed for the dual purpose of covering the gap after the knocker had been pilfered and of announcing to the public that this was now "Campion Hall, Jesuit Provincial s Residence." Campion Hall Occupied When Fr. Robinson returned from Rome in the autumn of 1946, he took possession of the new home. Since that time, three other Provincials, including Very Reverend Father Alexander McDonald, S.J., the present one, have occupied Campion Hall. In addition to the Provincial, his assistant and secretary, the Province Prefect of Studies, the Director of the Seminary Association and Editor of The Oregon-Jesuit, and the Director of the Jesuit High School Building Program also live in Campion Hall. Development of the province and its administration made it necessary to acquire additional office space. So in 1957, when an adjoining residence was offered for sale, it was to provide business and editorial offices for - The Oregon-Jesuit and The Jesuit High School Building Program. At the present time, Fr. McDonald supervises from Campion Hall the government of 3 province institutions: St. Francis Xavier s Novitiate at Sheridan, Mt. St. Michael s in Spokane, and Manresa Hall at Port Townsend, Wn.; 2 large universities, Gonzaga University of Spokane, Wn., and Seattle University of Seattle; 6 boys high schools, 20 parishes with 11 parish schools, 29 missions with 11 mission schools, and Loyola Retreat House in Portland. The total operation involves exactly 800 Jesuits, 673 of whom are members of the Oregon Province. From Campion Hall, Provincial directs these men, who are engaged in religious and educa tional work in 9 dioceses 'and 1 vic ariate in an area extending from the 42 degrees parallel to the Pole on the north and from the Dakota border to the Pacific on the west, a total of 982,268 square miles almost as much as the combined area of Western Europe. This is, indeed, a great enterprise, greater than the direc tion of many large businesses or the government of many cities. So Dr. McKenzie s old greystone mansion broods no longer over the past, like a rooming house full of aristocratic ghosts, but echoes with the clatter of the present, an office d and a clearing house for 800 busy Jesuits. The grounds, too, are alive, and Mrs. McKenzie s lone dogwood tree, the last renmant of one of Portland s garden showplaces, blushes meekly every spring and yields its branches for altars instead of tea tables.