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Anthony Belluschi and his wife, Marti, consider their Northwest Portland home a work of art. Anthony’s father, acclaimed architect Pietro Belluschi, designed the Burkes-Belluschi House in the 1940s, bought it from the original owner in 1973 and lived there until his death in 1994.

“When we inherited this house, we talked to the appraisal people and they said, ‘Somebody might tear this house down and build a McMansion,’ ” Anthony Belluschi said. “I said, ‘Over my dead body,’ because not only was this house one of (Pietro Belluschi’s) favorites. It was one of his best.”

The understated home, with a preponderance of wood, is generally considered by the Portland architecture community as a classic example of Pacific Northwest Regional Modernism. Anthony Belluschi, who is an architect, and his wife have long allowed architectural groups and other interested parties to view and learn from the house, but it also serves their day-to-day needs.

“We said from the very get-go that we didn’t want to live in a museum, and therefore we’ve done various additions,” Anthony Belluschi said. “We didn’t want to be in a museum, but we wanted to be faithful to the original design.”

The couple spent about four years on a careful restoration that included replacement of the roof and floor, as well as a kitchen remodel. They also added a small guesthouse to the property and an addition to the main house that Anthony Belluschi designed to complement his father’s work.

“What Tony did was restore, replicate or revitalize everything where it was possible,” Marti Belluschi said.

Other owners of Portland-metro area homes designed by Pietro Belluschi have painstakingly restored the structures and built additions that pay homage to his aesthetic. Six of these homes, including the Burkes-Belluschi House, will be open to the public next month during Restore Oregon‘s Mid-Century Modern Home Tour.

Anthony Belluschi, who plans next month to give a lecture on his father’s work in conjunction with the home tour, has helped others restore their homes designed by Pietro Belluschi.

“Most of (the homeowners) are very reverential to his designs,” Anthony Belluschi said. “One of the unifying elements through all these houses is not only the materials, (but that) they’re honest, they’re very simple, they’re modest. (It’s) almost an elegant simplicity to them that makes them very livable. That was almost his personality. He did not want to create a lot of useless detail.”

Portland architect Michael McCulloch and his wife, Maryellen, own the Papworth House, which Belluschi designed in the early ’80s. Michael McCulloch, who worked with Pietro Belluschi, said it’s been an inspiration to restore and add to one of the homes he designed. McCulloch said a pool pavilion and guesthouse that he designed on the Papworth property, in Northwest Portland, are reminiscent of the original house.

“I’m constantly marveling in this house,” McCulloch said. “He wasn’t one of those architects where you’re afraid to touch anything. His places are very accommodating. I’ve taken the design and exported those to the grounds.”

Pietro Belluschi, known as a modernist, grew up in Italy. In 1925, he moved to Portland, where he spent the early part of his career. Between more prominent Portland projects, including the Portland Art Museum and the Commonwealth Building, he designed homes – mostly in the 1940s and ’50s, Anthony Belluschi said.

After a stint as dean of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Architecture and Planning, Pietro Belluschi returned to Portland. He continued to design homes, and didn’t stop working until he was 91, Anthony Belluschi said.

Greenline Fine Woodworking owner Patrick O’Neill fell in love with Pietro Belluschi’s designs when he helped restore the Papworth House a little more than a decade ago. His Portland-based business has since worked on restorations and additions to two other Belluschi homes, including the Burkes-Belluschi house.

“From day one, I just had the ultimate respect for what Pietro Belluschi did,” O’Neill said. “His design hand was about simplicity, so there are no complexities in the construction technique. When you do your (restoration) work, it can be very clean. You’re not struggling.”

Before starting each restoration, O’Neill said he researches to match the original materials and construction technique. He’s gone as far as hammering in nails in siding by hand instead of with a nail gun.

“The biggest challenge is the craftsmanship. We try to match the era of craftsmanship,” he said. “We’ll actually try and rework the process. We’re not exactly renaissance carpenters, but we definitely respect the original hand.

“The other challenge is not to screw up an icon. We succeeded in our work if you don’t recognize any of the work we did.”

McCulloch said this was one reason why he agonized over his decision to relocate a door in the Papworth House’s master bedroom. Then he had the drywall removed and found an original door frame in almost the exact spot where he wanted to put the door.

“It was a huge relief to know that Pietro had actually planned a door there,” he said.

Anthony Belluschi said he’s conferred with other architects to ensure that additions to his home match his father’s original design.

“Everybody has given us approval that he would like it,” Anthony Belluschi said.

He’s also learned more about his father in the process.

“I understood his sensitivities,” he said. “I understand even more about him having worked on this house for so long. Everything that was important is still here. We’ve reinforced by taking it to a new level.”

If you go…

What: Restore Oregon’s Mid-Century Modern Home Tour

When: May 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Where: Six Portland-metro homes designed by Pietro Belluschi

Cost: $35 for Restore Oregon members or $45 for nonmembers

More information: 503-243-1923 or

What: “Living in a Work of Art: The Architecture of Pietro Belluschi” lecture by Anthony Belluschi

When: May 9, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Where: Portland Art Museum

Cost: $10 for Restore Oregon members or $15 for nonmembers

More information: 503-243-1923 or