Gorgeous Pacific Northwest Vistas on Full Display in $4.9M Portland View-Master House

After it was invented in 1939, the View-Master toy delighted children of all ages with images of far-off places.

The chief design engineer of the red, plastic viewer didn’t have to look far for his own epic views—just through the windows of the Portland, OR, home he commissioned.

“The site and views are exceptional,” says listing agent Suzann Baricevic, with Where, Inc. “It sits on top of Council Crest, the highest peak in Portland, on a beautiful lot with a phenomenal and unobstructed view.”

The 6,178-square-foot home is listed for $4,950,000.

Just like an idyllic View-Master reel, the home offers immersive views of the mountains and the Columbia River.

“Pictures do not do it justice,” Baricevic insists. “You have no idea what it is like to sit in this house and look at the views. It is insanely spectacular.”

Local architect Roscoe Hemenway designed the home in 1951.

“A lot of thought went into the original design, and the original house was very cool,” Baricevic says. “[The sellers] bought this house in 2006 and it was all original inside and really amazing.”

She would know, since she found this home for them.

What started as a primary bedroom remodel in 2011 became a total overhaul with the help of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, the architecture firm known for the flagship Apple store designs.

“They did a masterful job of keeping what was there and making it better,” Baricevic says. “They managed to keep the Roscoe Hemenway piece of it and added their twist to it.”

That twist included literally raising the roof on the original structure, adding a third story, and extending the footprint.

The finished house has five bedrooms, four full bathrooms, plentiful windows, and natural elements.

“This house needed these buyers, because somebody else could have done something different to it,” Baricevic says, adding that the sellers “took the home to the next level, maintaining a lot of the original character.”

Most of the paneling is original or made to look like the midcentury modern materials. Some of the built-ins and hidden doors are also original.

Baricevic says the home is combination of qualities that aren’t always found together.

“My favorite thing is when I walk into that house, I’m just stunned every single time,” she says. “It’s very comfortable, but it’s stunningly beautiful and it’s perfect. Usually ‘perfect’ and ‘comfortable’ aren’t ever in the same sentence. Often in a perfect home, you don’t feel comfortable, because you’re worried about walking places or messing things up. In this house, you’re not afraid of sitting down and enjoying it. You just feel at home.”

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