The Governor Hotel

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a member of Historic Hotels of America The Governor was built in 1909 during the prosperous days following the Lewis and Clark Exposition. The hotel originally called The Seward Hotel was considered one of Portlands finest. Originally billed as the hotel of quiet elegance its guests paid USD1.50 to USD2.00 for a room breakfast included. Postcards and images on display in our lobby show early postcards and our original lobby on 10th Avenue now the entrance to Jakes Grill. The west wing of The Governor was built in 1923 as the Portland Elks Lodge. It was loosely modeled after the Farnese Palace in Rome. Over the years the west wing housed the WPA a WWII induction center and later several Portland businesses. In 2004 the west wing became The Governor Hotels new entrance including a beautifully remodeled and restored lobby and reception area and opening to the public - for the first time in over 50 years - some of the regions most breathtaking and unique meeting and banquet spaces. Welcome to the quiet elegance of Portlands The Governor Hotel. The Seward was designed by architect William C. Knighton Oregons first State Architect. Opened in 1909 The Seward featured Knightons signature details still seen in the ornate art deco gargoyles that surround the original buildings facade and the bell-shaped architectural details seen throughout the hotels original woodwork column panels and even fireplace mantles. The Governor Hotel has been the location for a number of motion pictures including The Temp and My Own Private Idaho. The adjacent West Wing the 1923 Princeton Building masqueraded as the corporate offices of a cookie firm in the film The Temp starring Timothy Hutton and Faye Dunaway. Madonna while filming the steamy and much-maligned legal sexual thriller Body of Evidence did several scenes in the Governor. Portland director Gus Van Sant staged a sequence featuring transients around a bonfire for My Own Private Ida