making history

On December 3rd, 2012, the historic Phelps-Montgomery House was moved from the corner of Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard and 27th Avenue around the corner to Madison Street between 25th and 26th Avenues.

Formerly used as office space, the house was gutted, redesigned by Brett Crawford, and remodeled to create seven unique apartment units. And see more about the history of the building and special city ordinance here. 

  • Oregonian - some of the earliest coverage of the project (11/15/2012)

  • Oregonian - elaborates on the process and Beth & Jeff's role (11/20/2012)

  • Southeast Examiner - highlights the collaboration between the City, the developer, and the neighborhood community to make this project a reality (12/1/2012)

  • Oregonian - coverage of the big move (12/2/2012)

  • KATU - video coverage of the big move (12/5/2012)

  • YouTube - Phelps-Montgomery House Remodel project by PCC supported by a National Science Foundation Grant (5/2/2014)

  • Lewis & Clark Bank - Partners in a Shared Vision (6/6/2014)

In 2020, after researching the history of James Boyce Montgomery and discovering he and his family owned slaves before the Civil War, we renamed the property to Three Sisters on Madison after our three daughters. The historic footage remains, but all references to Phelps-Montgomery are now within the greater context of relearning US history in this moment of supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.

remodeling completion

The Phelps-Montgomery House, now renamed to Three Sisters on Madison, welcomed its first set of dwellers on November 1, 2013. Watch a video testimonial to the vision of suitability. Please direct any questions to beth@hawthorneguesthouse.com and navigate this website for photos, floor plans, and amenities of these spaces.

a final good-bye

3SIS Crabapple Trees Blossoming

As of October 7th, 2022, Three Sisters on Madison was sold.

“This was a bittersweet decision as it brought back a flood of memories of 10 years ago when we made the most improbable leap into the risky unknown of moving and remodeling this grand old building we lovingly refer to as ’The Big House.’ It truly was a big house with a micro-community of residents thriving day to day, living their lives, and it has brought us much satisfaction to have built and sustained it.

We wish everyone continued delight in enjoying the living spaces we worked so hard to create and a micro-neighborhood of safeness reinforced when a global pandemic hit.

Take care of the Big House, she’s a beauty.”

—Beth & Jeff

For a trip down memory lane to the night of the Open House before anyone moved in, checkout this video.

More on Beth & Jeff’s story.