Say Goodnight, Gracie! The last days of the Caldwell Funeral Home

Posted on August 13, 2017 | 2 Comments

Located on SE 14th, snug between Burnside and Sandy, the Caldwell Funeral home stood elegantly from 1929 until 2017. Hippo had the privilege of salvaging some of the architectural gems from this incredible place. We were able to be one of the last few people to walk through the building. We would like to use this blog post to pay tribute to a gorgeous building with a long history in our city.

The building was stately:

Photos above credit: http://www.portlandchronicle.com/funeral-home-86-years-old-faces-demolition-190-units/

The inside however, was just stunning:

The images above are from the ground floor. Our first trip in, we were taken through the basement where all the mortuary work took place including an autopsy room and a cremation room. Unfortunately, when we came back with the camera, the entire floor was closed off for hazardous waste disposal so dear readers, we can only try to sketch the beautiful austerity of these rooms.

Most of the salvage we handled went directly to a large restaurant client but we did end up with this remarkable bronze fountain:

and we still have one of three steel gates:

We also nabbed a kitchen sink, iron driveway gates, and walnut inlayed light switch plates which have all sold before we had a chance to sit down and write about it.

Although it's a little sad, here is a final shot of the last day of such a grand old lady. It took an army to bring you down, you tough broad!

← Previous

2 Responses

Hippo Hardware

February 09, 2018

Hi Kathi!
I don’t know what happened to that plaque. It wasn’t something that ended up with us. There were other folks who purchased some of the salvage that likely nabbed that.

Kathi Polito

October 09, 2017

This was such a beautiful funeral home. I was curious what they did with the bronze plaque that was outside, honoring 911?
My brother use to work at Lincoln Memorial. They made a plaque for there and for Caldwell. It was so beautiful!!!

About Us

Hippo Hardware is an eclectic building salvage store specializing in hardware, lighting, architecture and plumbing from 1860-1960. We offer assorted collectibles, trinkets, whatnots, and whoziwhatsits depending on what we get in. The spirit of Hippo Hardware is to rejoice in the individual, the unique, and the original.

Hippo Hardware was officially established in 1976 after the founders Steven Miller and Stephen Oppenheim decided to turn a life of swashbuckling adventures into a second life of swashbuckling adventures. We live in the local, even for our customers far away. That means you will probably hear a story about burying a Porsche in a state park while you are asking about a faucet or meet Fred the shop dog while you're paying for a light fixture. We strongly support community projects, teachers, artists, adventurers, dreamers, and one-man-bands.

If you're looking for a hard to find hardware pattern or can't find the match to your lamp shade, we'd be happy to tell you if we have it, seen it, or know where you could get it.

To make sure you get what you need, we offer the following services:

Lighting and Lamp Repair - We have a fully UL certified lighting repair shop. We can repair and rewire most vintage or antique fixtures. You may want to call or e-mail if it's newer, but we can sometimes fix those too. Shop prices are $80/hour plus parts.

Customizing - We do our best to make sure it looks just right. Our lighting shop can customize length, finishes, plating, and configuration. Our plumbing department will coordinate refinishing with local companies. The hardware department is able to darken, refinish, clean, and rebuild. Our services can vary depending on staff so please contact us with your project details.

Returns - Accepted for any reason within 2 weeks of purchase. That means if it doesn't fit, if your sweetheart doesn't like it, if it doesn't match your paint scheme. Receipt required. Returned to you the way you paid and items MUST be in original packaging and condition. Defective or damaged items will not be eligible for a refund.
If your items were shipped: Shipping refunded only in the case of defective items. Hippo does not refund original OR return shipping cost.
Online shopping - Conveniently browse our online section of items! Please note: our online section is much smaller than our store selection, we do offer returns for online purchases but do not refund original shipping or provide return shipping. We ship on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Trade in - Bring in what you have and we will offer you in store credit or cash. Email pictures first if you'd like to talk about it before you get here.
Mortise lock repair - Hippo is the only hardware store in Portland that offers full mortise lock repair--including French Door mortises and closet mortises! Our repair shop can diagnose and repair your mortise lock or perhaps we have a replacement if a repair is not an option. Shop prices are $80/hour. Please call our store and ask for Colin to speak about your repair!

Hippo Hardware has three glorious floors and 30,000 sq feet of building salvage to explore. Our inventory, and staff, is divided into four departments: Hardware, Lighting, Plumbing, and Architecture. We do our best to highlight our inventory full of unique items and reproductions on our website, but most of our stock is not online yet. Please contact us if you're looking for something you don't see here.

We donate to: NARAL, Planned Parenthood, Portland Women's Crisis Line, Benson High School, Sunnyside Environmental School, Junk to Funk Recycled Fashion Show, SE Works, Vision Northwest, Multnomah Playschool, Union Gospel Mission, Community House, The Friendly House, Marylhurst Childhood Center, Portland Lions Club, Sabin Elementary School, Oya No Kai supporting the Japanese Magnet Program, Lee Owen Stone Preschool, Public Interest Law Project, Jefferson High School for the Performing Arts Theater Department, imago Theater, Reynolds High School, David Douglas High School, and Milagro Theater.