People pass by a handsome Victorian-era house in Portland’s Nob Hill neighborhood, and some stop to snap a photo. Classic Queen Anne architectural adornments draw attention, from the custom spindles on the front railings to the decorative siding above the bay windows.

Few passersby know the 1893 Nathan Loeb House, at 726 N.W. 22nd Ave., is one of the oldest surviving residences in Portland. The American foursquare floor plan with large rooms on a 5,227-square-foot lot is for sale at $1,695,000.

“This is a San Francisco-type home in Portland for a fraction of the price,” said listing brokers Ann Thompson and Muffie Scanlan of Windermere Realty Trust.

Thompson said people tell her the property is beautiful. “It’s not just an old house, it’s not just a foursquare, it’s ‘that incredible Victorian on Northwest 22nd’,” she said.

The well-kept house with high ceilings and tall windows under pitched roofs is attractive to “anyone with an appreciation of Victorian architecture, history and stories that go along with” it, Scanlan told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

A double front door opens to an entry hall that leads to the 20-foot-long living room and adjoining 18-foot-long family room, separated by an elaborate arched frame featuring carved and spindled woodwork.

The main level also has a formal dining room and an enlarged kitchen, updated by the Neil Kelly Company, with quartz surfaces, a Wolf 6-six-burner gas range and Sub-Zero refrigerator. Like the kitchen, the butler’s pantry has Victorian-era details such as a backsplash of tinplate tiles pressed with a pattern that was popular in the late 1800s.

Original stained glass windows crafted by Povey Brothers Art Glass Works, Oregon’s first decorative window company known as the Tiffany of the Northwest, and contemporary leaded-glass, some by David Schlicker Stained Glass, create an “ever-changing play of color,” said Thompson. “The tall, graceful windows let in so much light, yet the public rooms have a cozy feel.”

Hand-carved, unpainted built-in shelves and mantels over the two fireplace are some of the preserved features that were “meticulously cared for” in the house that has also been “artfully updated,” said the brokers. The three-dimensional floral tilework around the fireplace in the living room is also original.

The four-level house with 5,712 square feet of living space has seven bedrooms and five bathrooms. A finished basement includes private living quarters, a craft room, wine cellar and storage.

The Nathan Loeb House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as among one of the grandest and most ornate of the late Victorian-era residences that have survived in Portland. Historians also saw the Nathan Loeb House as “a model of high-quality restoration and adaptive use rehabilitation,” and cite the location significant since the area has the city’s largest collection of late 19th and early 20th century houses.

The landmark structure was built by Rudolph Becker who leased it to Nathan Loeb, the owner of general stores in Portland and Astoria. Loeb’s grandsons Eugene Oppenheimer, a Multnomah County Circuit Court judge and president of the Oregon State Bar, and Dr. Russell H. Kaufman, former president of the Oregon Medical Association, were born in the house.

The Loeb residence and many other historic homes were converted to rooming houses during World War II and later to offices, say historians. Renewed interest in Victorian-era architecture decades ago and the area’s proximity to the urban center resulted in extensive rehabilitation of the dwellings.

“The rare off-street parking and flexible floor plan could accommodate multi-generational living,” said Scanlan. ”It was a two-unit home at one time, and the plumbing for an additional kitchen is hidden behind a wall on the second floor, and washer-dryer hookups on the third floor.”

There is a large deck with a fire pit as well as a brick-walled secret grotto with a stone waterfall for dining al fresco and outdoor entertaining. Mechanical upgrades include the addition of dual heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and a third-floor fire sprinkler system. Electrical updates include 220-volt outlets in the lower-level wood shop and attached two-car garage to charge electric cars.

The neighborhood in the Alphabet District is well known for its restaurants and shops, and its closeness to Forest Park, Washington Park and the Willamette River Greenway and Water Trail.

— Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072

jeastman@oregonian.com | @janeteastman