About

Stewardship of the Overlook House is provided by the volunteers of Friends of the Overlook House through a special agreement with the City of Portland's Office of Neighborhood Involvement / North Portland Neighborhood Services and Parks and Recreation. All Rental funds are used to maintain and restore this wonderful home and grounds.

The Overlook House was built in 1928 by Herman Case and Elvira Scritsmeir Raven. The land was purchased from the Overlook Land Company with the stipulation that the owners shall not "erect any building on said premises for less than $2,000."  The beautiful brick and stucco Tudor home sits on over an acre of gardens extensively cultivated by Mrs. Raven while she was in residence. 

The Raven's owned the Raven Creamery, originally located downtown at SW 4th Avenue and Yamhill Street. Their milk, cream, and butter were a staple in many Portland homes of the period. The Ravens were civic-minded and encouraged the use of their home by neighborhood groups, most notably, a charitable group, Overlook Women's Club. When Mr. Raven passed away in 1931, Mrs. Raven sold the house to the City of Portland for the sum of $1.00 to provide a community center for her beloved neighborhood. The City officially designated the building a community center and placed it under Portland Parks and Recreation (PP&R) care.

In the ensuing 50 plus years, Overlook House, as it came to be known, has been used as a neighborhood child care center, community classroom site, voter precinct site, a regular meeting place for the Overlook Neighborhood Association and other community-related groups, as well as a prized location for affordable weddings, and other important celebrations.

In April 2003, Overlook neighbors were informed the Overlook House was to be closed and possibly sold. A group of concerned Overlook neighbors reached out to PP&R hoping to convince them to continue their competent stewardship of this community asset. The result was the creation of a subcommittee of the Overlook Neighborhood Association, known as Friends of Overlook House, that was created to reinvigorate Elvira Raven's original vision of her home as a magnet for community building.

Friends of Overlook House became a 501c3 non-profit organization. This is made through a special agreement with the City of Portland's Office of Neighborhood Involvement / North Portland Neighborhood Services and Parks and Recreation. All rental funds are used to maintain and restore this wonderful home and grounds.