Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....Schanen, E. D. 1877 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/or/orfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Ila L. Wakley iwakley@msn.com May 12, 2010, 7:21 pm Source: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company Author: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Pages 282 - 286 E. D. SCHANEN is at the head of one of the leading building-stone concerns in the Columbia River valley — the Schanen Marble Works, of Portland, which has supplied and placed the marble and granite in many of the most important buildings in this section of the country. Mr. Schanen has been identified with the business for twenty-two years and takes a justifiable pride in the splendid record which the company has made during its forty-four years of existence. Mr. Schanen was born in Ashland, Wisconsin, in 1877, a son of N. A. and Margaret (Ettinger) Schanen, who were married in Hancock, Michigan, October 28, 1875. His father was born in Luxemburg, Germany, in 1849, and was a son of Cornelius and Venandi Schanen. He was there reared and educated and in 1863 went to Paris to learn the stone and marble cutting trade, following that line of work there until 1870, when he came to the United States. He became an expert and while in Paris was employed on the construction of the Grand Opera House and St. Laurence cathedral. On coming to this country he located in Hancock, Michigan, where he was employed at farm work for five years, after which, for about a year, he worked as an engine tender in the roundhouse of the Michigan Central Railroad. In 1876 he went to Chicago, Illinois, and obtained work as a stone cutter with the Walker Construction Company, which was at that time engaged in the construction of the Cook county courthouse. After two years with that firm, Mr. Schanen went to California, where for about four years he engaged in mining and stage driving at San Andreas. In 1882 he came to Portland and went to work as a stone and marble cutter for Merzes & Vosper, but soon afterward became foreman in William Holmes' stone quarry, where he remained about a year. During the ensuing year he was employed as a stone cutter by William Young, and in 1884 became a member of the firm of Schuman & Schanen, dealers in marble and granite. A year later the firm became Schanen & Neu, which partnership was continued until 1906, when it became Schanen & Blair Company. After 1915 Mr. Schanen conducted the business under his own name until his death, which occurred in 1921. He did much important work during these thirty-seven years, including the marble work on the Portland city hall, the east and west wings of the Multnomah county courthouse, the marble and granite work on the Corbett building, the marble work on the Auditorium, the Board of Trade building and St. Vincent's Hospital; the marble, stone and granite work on the Vancouver Hospital, at Vancouver, Washington; the Oregon and Rothchild buildings and the Sellwood crematorium, at Portland; the Vista house, at Crown Point and many mausoleums and monuments for private citizens. He was a member of the Woodmen of the World, Chamber of Commerce and the Auld Lang Syne society. To him and his wife were born five children, namely: E. D.; Elizabeth, who is the wife of H. Banzer, of Portland; Anna, the wife of Walter Wilson, of Portland; Matilda, the wife of Clarence Upan, of Haywood, California, and Edna, who is the wife of John Jorgerson, of Portland. He was a man of sterling character, whose word was as good as his bond, and had great personal pride in turning out only the very highest quality of work, whereby he commanded to a marked degree the confidence of all who had dealings with him, and his memory is today respected by those who knew him. E. D. Schanen was about six years of age when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Portland, and in the public schools of this city he secured his education, which he supplemented by a course in a business college. He was employed at various lines of work until, 1906, from which time on he was associated with his father in the stone and marble business, and on the death of his father, in 1921, took over the business, the title of which he subsequently changed to that of the Schanen Marble Works. The original plant was located at First and Market streets, but was later moved to 268 First street, then to Fourth and Columbia streets, afterwards to 287 Hawthorne avenue, and in 1922 to its present location, at 1432 Macadam road. Here Mr. Schanen bought four lots, on which he erected a building, forty-eight by two hundred feet, and is now planning to erect a stone shed, sixty by two hundred feet. He does a general line of marble, granite, stone and monumental work, and employs on an average of twenty men in the shop and six men on the outside work. He secures his stone and marble from all parts of the world, including the best American stones, and keeps a large amount of marble and granite on hand at all times. Mr. Schanen's first big contract after he took over the business was the all marble and granite interior of the new Elks temple, in Portland, and among the other structures on which he has done either the interior or the exterior stone work are the following: J. K. Gill building; Labor temple; Public Service building, all exterior granite work which is one of the finest buildings in Portland; Portland theater, marble work; the marble work on the Pantages theater, also the Hollywood theatre; most of the marble and granite work on several of the buildings of the Oregon Agricultural College, including the women's gymnasium; a great part of the school work in Portland; the two hotels at Grande, Oregon; Recreation building, Portland; the Greenleaf Hotel at Vancouver, Washington; granite work on United States National Bank building, Boise, Idaho; Studio building, Portland; marble work in St. Angel College, Mt. Angel, Oregon; the old Heathman Hotel; the Ashland Normal School, both marble and granite; the I. O. O. F. building, marble and granite; Beth Israel temple, stone base course and granite exterior; Oriental theater; Telephone building, Eugene; Masonic temple, Forest Grove; the Children's Home, marble; the First Presbyterian church, Salem; Oswego Club building; Bagdad theater; the DeHoney building, Portland; the Medical Arts building, Portland; W. R. Russ building, Tacoma, marble work; the Unger building and others; and many school buildings up and down the valley. In September, 1901, in Portland, Mr. Schanen was united in marriage to Miss Ruth Kelly, who was born in Roseburg, Oregon, and is a daughter of John and Sarah Jane Kelly. Her father was a veteran of the Civil war, and died in 1927, while her mother was one of the early pioneers of this state, having crossed the plains in 1847. Mr. and Mrs. Schanen have five children, namely: Gladys and Edward, both of whom are associated with their father in his business; Valeer, William and Jean. Mr. Schanen is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Woodmen of the World, the Lion Club, the Portland Automobile Club, the Chamber of Commerce, the Builders' Exchange and the Ad Club. Though his business makes heavy demands on his time, Mr. Schanen has always stood ready to cooperate with his fellowmen in all efforts to promote the general welfare of his city or county and is numbered among Portland's progressive, able and successful business men, well deserving the marked success which has crowned his efforts. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/multnomah/bios/schanen1048gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/orfiles/ File size: 7.9 Kb