Rummer Homes

By Stan Houseman

Peggy Moretti, David Wolski, Jim Brown, Dave Miller/host

Roomful of Rummer fans.

Bob, Phyllis Rummer, Stan Houseman, Dave Miller/host

Phyllis, Bob Rummer and Stan Houseman

My wife, Susan, and I live in a Rummer-built home coming up on our 9 year anniversary. Our prior home was also built in the early 60s and was also a one story Mid Century Modern home. Though smaller in size, it had all the characteristics of them: walls of glass, blending the indoor / outdoor, exposed beams, open floor plan, etc.

Our home is one of the 63 intact Rummer-built homes in Garden Home in the development just north of Garden Home Road between 87th and 84th. Bob Rummer built homes in several other areas in the Portland metro area but this is the largest of his developments. These were built in the mid 1960s to early 70s.

On March 20, 2014, the Think Out Loud program of Oregon Public radio broadcasted a show from our living room about Rummer homes and featured Bob and Phyllis Rummer.

To quote the Think Out Loud program:

“At the heart of a Rummer is the natural light that comes in through the large floor-to-ceiling windows. Sliding doors throughout the house connect all the rooms, but also open them to the outside world. And then the rest varies. There are the roofs — which can be flat, single or double peaked. There are also other features like atriums, Roman showers/baths and vaulted ceilings.”

To read or listen to the program, here is the link to the audio archived Rummer program on OPB. While some of the photos are from the Oak Hills Rummer development, the red arrow will bring the actual broadcast to you:

http://www.opb.org/radio/programs/thinkoutloud/segment/lives-inside-oregons-rummer-homes/

ARTS | NW LIFE | LOCAL (Press release)
Think Out Loud Home
OPB | March 20, 2014 12:15 p.m.
The Lives Inside Oregon’s Rummer Homes

Think Out Loud is exploring why modern style architecture built in the 50s and 60s, like Rummer homes, became so popular. During the conversation, we will talk with Robert and Phyllis Rummer, inside a Rummer home. In anticipation of the show, we toured four of the 29 Rummer homes inside the Oak Hills neighborhood and asked the owners to share memories about where their midcentury modern homes and lives intersect.

Guests included:
Robert and Phyllis Rummer, Stan Houseman, Peggy Moretti, David Wolski, and Jim Brown.
Dave Miller/host

Also, there is an additional article written by nearby Rummer home owners, Paul & Polly Herman.