The fabled 1938 Fogelbo log home in Southwest Portland, which holds one of the largest private collections of Nordic antiques and folk art in the United States, is dressed up for the December holidays. Tickets to this year’s tours of the chalet-style house, handmade by the Steiner family of carpenters and stonemasons, have sold out, but 2024 tours are scheduled for March, May, October and December.
Photographs alone are inspiring. The handcrafted house, constructed of Douglas fir and cedar in a wooded patch of the Garden Home neighborhood, reflects craftsmanship skills that builder Henry Steiner learned in his native Bavaria. The design is based on architecture brought to the United States in 1638 by the first Swedish settlers to colonies in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
The two-story house is called “Fogelbo,” which translates to “bird nest” in Swedish, and is derived from the last name of the longtime owners, the Fogelquists. In 2014, Ross Fogelquist donated the house and two acres to Nordic Northwest, a nonprofit organization focused on people from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden in the Pacific Northwest.
Over the 70 years Ross Fogelquist has lived at Fogelbo, he has accumulated dozens of boxes of decorative Christmas objects from holiday markets in Germany, Austria and Nordic countries.
“I have enjoyed sharing the splendors of Scandinavian Christmas in my historic Steiner log home,” Fogelquist told The Oregonian/OregonLive. “My favorite Christmas decoration is the happy Swedish troll, the Jul Tomte.”
Highlights of Fogelbo’s display include:
- The Christmas tree is more than 12 feet tall and is adorned with greenery and handcrafted Nordic and German ornaments.
- Electric candles and stars, popular in Scandinavia during the holiday season, are exhibited in many of the home’s windows, and Nordic Christmas candleholders are on display through the house. Candlelight is a very important ingredient in a dark and gloomy Scandinavian winter, say tour docents. The greatest symbol of light is the appearance of Santa Lucia, wearing a crown of candles, on Dec. 13.
- Festive cloth and paper wall hangings are favored in Nordic countries and at Fogelbo, special Christmas curtains are hung.
- Straw, an important decorative item, is seen in mobiles, window decor and the yule goat (Jul bock). Traditionally, the Jul bock brings the Christmas gifts, say the docents. In modern times, the goat has been replaced by the Swedish Christmas elves, called Tomte.
Fogelbo history
Visitors to Fogelbo learn about the property, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. During the one-hour tour, docents point out the home’s traditional chalet features such as exterior railings covered in red iron oxide paint and window shutters with a tree cutout in the center.
Fogelbo was built of Douglas fir, cedar and stone between 1938 and 1940 by Henry Steiner, an enterprising contractor, and his son, John, an accomplished mason and carpenter. The two men also contributed to the construction of the 1936 Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood.
People familiar with Steiner-built log cabins on Mount Hood will recognize Fogelbo’s fireplace made of basalt rock, windows that close with pegged latches and inch-think planked floors. In signature Steiner style, a naturally bent branch was used to create a handrail for the staircase and flat stair steps were made of logs sawn in half.
“Fogelbo reflects the best of [Henry] Steiner’s portfolio and remains a significant example of Oregon Rustic architecture,” according to historians with the National Register.
Unlike smaller, simpler Steiner mountain cabins seen on the Annual Mount Hood Steiner Cabins Tour, the 2,000-square-foot Fogelbo House was designed to live in year round.
Fogelquist, 85, said his home is unlike any other because of the beauty of the craftsmanship, warmth of the wood and the different techniques Henry Steiner used to craft natural materials to make everything fit together.
“Everything ages and mellows with time and the wood radiates a warmth,” said Fogelquist. “My log home fits my passion for collecting Scandinavian antiques and artifacts.”
Fogelquist, whose grandparents emigrated from Mora in Dalarna, Sweden, is a retired teacher and former honorary Swedish vice-consul of Oregon. He is a member of the Order of the Polar Star and was knighted by the King of Sweden for his civic contributions.
He founded many Portland clubs, organizations and societies, and his Southwest Portland property has hosted hundreds of Scandinavian, German and Austrian cultural celebrations and events.
Nordic Northwest, which organizes Fogelbo tours, built its cultural center, Nordia House, on land adjacent to the donated Fogelbo property.
If you go: The Nordic Northwest campus is at 8800 S.W. Oleson Road in Portland. Registration for tours is required at nordicnorthwest.org.
Tickets are $30 for general admission, $25 for Nordic Northwest members, $10 for children 12 and under, and $5 for participants in Portland’s Arts for All program.
Visitors are encouraged to use public transportation or ride-sharing services. Nordia House’s 50-space parking lot is open on a first-come, first-served basis and limited street parking is available on Southwest 89th and 90th avenues.
Nordia House has two accessible parking spots in the main lot facing Southwest Oleson Road. Call 503-977-0275 or email info@nordicnorthwest.org to arrange further assistance.
— Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072
jeastman@oregonian.com | @janeteastman