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4904 SE HAWTHORNE BLVD
- YEAR BUILT: 1910
- SQUARE FOOTAGE: 7,481
- MARKET VALUE: $1.27 million
- OWNER: Grand Aerie of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, Washington
- HOW LONG IT STOOD EMPTY: 4 years
- WHEN WE WROTE ABOUT IT: May 10, 2023
WHY WE WROTE ABOUT IT: The East Portland Fraternal Order of Eagles once thrived in a now-abandoned clubhouse (called an aerie, like the nest) on Hawthorne Boulevard. It survived even as membership in the order dwindled and the national organization eyed more profitable uses for the building. In 2016, it was almost converted to housing before permitting issues, order infighting, and a local petition to save the aerie halted the effort. But the COVID-19 pandemic ultimately shut its doors for good. By 2023, the East Portland chapter had collapsed and ownership had transferred to the North Portland Eagles, the last remaining chapter in the city, but the building remained a vacant eyesore.
WHAT’S CHANGED: The Eagles’ infighting has continued. In November, the Grand Aerie of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, Washington, abruptly shut down the North Portland Eagles chapter and changed the locks on its current meeting center on North Exeter Avenue. The local chapter has been in the dark about its status and buildings, including the Hawthorne property. Clifford Schrock, North Portland’s Worthy Chaplain, says the chapter expected to sell the building, but the “matter in which the sale occurred was completely out of our control.” It sold to the Washington Grand Aerie for what Schrock says was a third of what the North Portland Eagles expected it to sell for, and he adds that the chapter could not access the funds from the sale. “They claim they bought it off us,” he says. “We can’t get any information from the national organization about what’s going on.” Matt Olguin, the city’s graffiti abatement program manager, told a concerned citizen via email in August that the new owners “intend to develop the site for housing.” There’s an active permit application with the city to demolish the aerie, filed Dec. 13. But Ken Ray, a public information officer with Portland Permitting and Development, says the city did not hear back from the applicant once it requested permit fees. “There are no permit applications on file for construction of a housing development,” Ray says. The Washington Grand Aerie did not respond to WW’s requests for comment. Neither did the national Eagles organization, based in Grove City, Ohio, that filed for the demolition permit. Meanwhile, the building is surrounded by tents and wild vegetation. A shanty built from wooden and cardboard scraps is propped against one of its walls, and a family of dolls lay strewn around a couch.