Mr. Rummer’s Neighborhood Home Tour

presents

Mr. Rummer’s Neighborhood

On May 13th, 2023, Restore Oregon Modernism will host its signature mid-century modern home tour and highlight the work of Robert Rummer.

RUMMER TOUR GOERS!

Check-in Address:

Oregon Episcopal School

6300 SW Nicol Rd

Portland, OR 97223

Morning tour-goers can check in between 9:45 am and 11:45 pm.

Homes are open for enjoyment from 10 am until 12:30.

Afternoon tour-goers can check in between 1:15 pm and 3:15 pm.

Homes are open for enjoyment from 1:30 pm until 4 pm.

Additional information was emailed to the address used to purchase tickets—check your SPAM/Promotions folder.

If you have additional questions, please call (503) 243-1923.

Get Inspired: Exposed Wood, Sunlit Atriums + Glass Windows

Rummer’s homes are spare in design, with simple vaulted and flat roof forms, exposed wood beams, and tongue and groove ceilings below. The plans were often oriented around a sunlit atrium and courtyard element which was either enclosed or open air, with glass window walls throughout to bring nature to the interior of the home. Focal roof-high fireplace chimneys, galley kitchens with state-of-the-art appliances, Shoji sliding closet doors, and Roman baths are features of his distinct modern houses and can be experienced in many of his preserved residential designs today.

Mr. Rummer’s Neighborhood attendees will tour four homes on the same block that showcase hallmarks of Rummer-constructed homes:

Flat and low-pitched roofs
Radiant floor heat
Soaring fireplaces flanked by window walls
Atriums with glass walls and/or skylights
Large window-walls with sliding doors
Separate entrances to multiple yard-spaces
Sunked, tiled Roman-style baths

Rare Opportunity to Experience Robert Rummer’s Former Residence

A highlight of the tour includes Robert and Phyllis Rummer’s former personal residence, featuring many original elements including the entryway courtyard, mahogany paneling, exposed ceiling beams, kitchen cabinets, master bath, office, glass metal sliders, wall lights, fireplace, oven, and kitchen island with built-in spice rack.

Rummer leaves his mark on our unique PNW Modern style through not only his well-designed homes but also by creating communities, the most well-known are Oak Hills and Garden Home. Bohmann Park is perhaps the quintessential example of Robert Rummer’s personal mission to bring modernism to middle-class Oregonians and offer a unique display of how functional design and new construction technologies impacted modern suburban development in the Pacific Northwest.

About Robert Rummer

Robert Rummer, now a fixture of Oregon’s mid-century architectural landscape, was not immediately moved by modern design. It wasn’t until 1959 that Rummer, a man in his 30s with a successful insurance business, turned his attention to building modern tract housing. The credit for his change of mind belongs to Phyllis Rummer who, after visiting a Joseph Eichler-designed home in California, announced to her husband that she would trade their brand-ne traditional dream home in Newberg for a modern one. Phyllis was awestruck by Eichler’s open layout and clean lines, but her husband was resistant to her newfound passion for modernist architecture. After visiting a friend’s Eichler-esque home with Phyllis, Robert was finally convinced and extolled the practicality of the floor plan and the indoor-outdoor connections throughout the house. The rest is Oregon modernist history.

Click here to read his full bio.