Bexell, John, House

The two-story Norman Farmhouse constructed in 1926 for college dean John Bexell and his wife, Dena, at the corner of Van Buren Avenue and 30th Street on the periphery of the Oregon State University campus in Corvallis, was designed by the firm of Bennes and Herzog. The house occupies a 50 x 100-foot lot at the northwest corner of the intersection and faces south onto Van Buren Avenue.

The house is significant under Criterion C as a locally distinguished and well-preserved example of historic period residential architecture in the Tudor Revival, or Norman Farmhouse style. It is a two-story rectangular volume with a gable end entry offset to the west side that is balanced on the east by a single-story, shed-roofed wing which is sheltered by the flaring sweep of the main roof slope. The main volume is enclosed by a steeply-pitched gable roof, the ridge of which is perpendicular to the facade. Long, shed-roofed dormers on either side are planked by gabled dormers at either end.

The stylistic character of the house is proclaimed by the shingle-clad facade, which is accented by stuccoed and "half-timbered" gables. The main gable with its close verges is jettied over a central, polygonal second-story bay, or oriel which has decorated, stuccoed spandrel. The double-hung windows of the bay have divided lights in upper sashes. These, at present, are covered by storm windows. Tall, double-leaf, or French windows having segmental arch heads light the front living room. The rest of the windows are multi-paned, either round-headed or arranged in banks. Although no true Tudor arch is apparent on the exterior, one hallmark of the idiom is the label molding that finishes the round-headed porch entrance. Eclecticism characteristic of period architecture of this type is evident in the Georgian windows and lunette top light of the front entry.

The interior continues the blend of styles with Tudor, or segmental-arched and four-center arched portiere archways and firebox opening used in combination with a Georgian staircase anchored by a newel post with urn finial. The house, apart from kitchen and bath remodelings and a change in exterior color treatment, is unaltered. The early treatment is reported to have been pale green with darker green trim. At present, the body and trim color are dark brown-red. A gable-roofed, single-bay garage is attached to the west side of the house, set back from the facade a plane. Though matching in treatment, it is not counted separately contributing feature. It is an integral part of the house.

The household's significance to the university community is also under Criterion B for its association with the original owner-occupant. John Andrew Bexell (1867-1938), a native of Sweden, emigrated to America with his family at a young age, was raised in the Midwest, and entered into the field of higher education as an expert in business science. He came west in 1903 to head the School of Commerce for Utah Agricultural College at Logan, where W. J. Kerr was the president. In 1908, Bexell followed Kerr to Oregon Agricultural College to assume similar duties as dean of the developing School of Commerce there. He held the post until 1931, building the reputation of his school to national prominence as a pioneer in the development of business methods in farming. He was the author of three widely-used textbooks, including Principles of Bookkeeping and Farm Accounts, which was in its eleventh printing by the time the Bexells moved into their ultimate Corvallis house. The book was the standard authority in the field of agricultural business. Bexell was commemorated on the campus of Oregon State University in the renaming of the Commerce Building, which was designed by John Bennes in 1922. The building was rededicated as Bexell Hall after the dean's death in 1938. The nominated property, the final residence of five in Corvallis occupied by the Bexells, is the one bearing the most important association because it represents the culmination of a distinguished career. It was designed and built just four years before Bexell reached emeritus status. Its spacious living and reception room epitomizes the hospitality the Bexells customarily extend to colleagues, students, and friends in academic life.

John Bennes, principal in the Portland-based firm of Bennes and Herzog, is thought to have had the leading hand in the building's design. The house plans bearing the firm's title block are dated 1922. John V. Bennes (1867-1943), also raised in the Midwest, is one of the designers of rank in the annals of Oregon architecture. He is well known for his several Portland residences that effectively introduced the Prairie style to Oregon. He is noted, too, for much fine work in the tradition of Beaux Arts Classicism for the State System of Higher Education. His Administration Building of 1929 for Eastern Oregon State College in LaGrande is listed in the National Register.
Against the backdrop of a significant array of monumental architecture from his hand on the Oregon State University campus, the Bexell House is a contrasting example in the romantic tradition. It is a comfortable, yet dignified domestic type stylistically appropriate and serviceable for a college dean. The building ranks in the outstanding category of single-family houses of the English Cottage/Norman Farmhouse style in Corvallis, based on analysis of local cultural resource data.