Archives West Finding Aid

Jamieson Kirkwood Parker was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1895. He attended Portland Academy, and from 1912-1914, while still a teenager, he worked in the offices of Portland architect A.E. Doyle. During this time, he designed the lettering on the exterior of the Multnomah County central library in downtown Portland. He earned a degree in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania in 1916. After working briefly in New York and serving in the U.S. Army during World War I, he returned to Portland. There, he worked in a partnership with Folger Johnson and C. H. Wallwork (Johnson, Parker, and Wallwork) and also established his own practice.

Over the course of a decade, Parker designed approximately 75 residences, most in Portland but also elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest. He also designed two Portland churches: the First Unitarian Church, which was his first major commission, and St. Mark's Episcopal Church. At least seven of Parker's works are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the First Unitarian Church.

The Depression took a toll on Parker's practice, and in 1934, he accepted an appointment as director of the Historic American Buildings Survey, District 39 (Oregon and Washington). Later that year, he took a job with the Federal Housing Administration, and in June 1935, he became the FHA director for Oregon. Parker also served in professional and civic roles; he was president of the Oregon Chapter of American Institute of Architects in 1928, 1929, and 1934; was active in Columbia Gorge conservation; and worked on preservation of the Pioneer Courthouse in downtown Portland.

Parker married Margaret Biddle in 1923, and they had three children. He died in 1939 at age 44.

Sources: "Architect Jamieson Parker left legacy of landmarks," by Janet Goetze, Oregonian, November 15, 1974, page B8; "Jamieson Parker, FHA Director, Called by Death," Oregon Journal, December 9, 1939, Page 2; biographical information in National Historic Register nomination forms (accessed October 11, 2024) for the Edward D. Kingsley House (https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/2e403317-8979-47a8-8e9c-20b69a95a15c), the Caroline and M. Louise Flanders House (https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/ce2ca58f-cdd8-44b1-86c3-31ff1a1fef08), the Frederick and Grace Greenwood House (https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/208ab5e9-ac1c-4e8c-a70a-a01a102955a5), and the First Unitarian Church of Portland (https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/3400f35d-4f8e-4e86-bf93-3147e9bc63ad)