1883 Rockenfeld House

Built in 1883 on the northeast corner of Court and Summer Street, across from the State House, the Rockenfeld residence was later owned by Judge Henry Bean of the Oregon Supreme Court. This undated photograph was probably taken in the 1920s. The awnings over windows and front porch supplied shade on this warm summer day to this gracious home facing the State House and Willson Park directly south.
In 1937 the state purchased the property and moved it to 755 Capitol Street to make room for gardens and the State Library. The residence was placed in an empty lot north of the historic Parrish home of the 1860s.
Over 40 years later, in 1991, during the further expansion of the Capitol Mall for the Archives Building, the house was moved to its present location on the riverfront. In 1992 it was opened to the public as part of A.C. Gilbert’s Discovery Village.
(Photo used courtesy Oregon State Library.)

As we see it today, it has a different appearance as part of a cultural tourism attraction, highlighted with color in style similar to its present neighbor on Marion Street, the Andrew Gilbert house.