The Edris Morrison Studios in downtown Portland was a portrait photography studio run by photographer and theater actor Edris Morrison Cox (1903-1997).

Built and designed in 1947 by architect Pietro Belluschi, the two-story building is described as International style in the Oregon Historic Site Record and is currently unoccupied. A Honey Bucket on site suggests construction or renovation is underway.

Confession: I walked by it recently, did a double-take, turned around, and thought, this looks like a unique building. I snapped a couple of photos, then later looked up the address and uncovered the history above.

It appears simple at first, but it’s a cool space and it definitely doesn’t give off 1940s vibes, which speaks to the building’s timeless, modern design.

It’s a hard building to shoot (the barbed wire fence doesn’t help) and I didn’t capture is as much as I wanted:

Through a web search I was able to find and connect with Constructive Form Architecture and Design. The firm was actually housed in the space in the mid 2010s and retrofitted it from a ghastly 1970s office vibe (the space had long gone been sold by Morrison) to a more airy open space.

According to the firm, the space originally contained offices, changing rooms, and a “black-box” photo studio, before being remodeled in the 1970s. The architects in 2016 removed partitions blocking the views towards the courtyard and removed the dropped ceiling grid, opening up the space for a more daylight-filled work environment. Kudos to them.

So, what’s its next life going to be? Portland records say it’s being converted into a single-family residence. Lucky them.