McLean House

To celebrate West Linn’s centennial this year, the city offered a number of special events. One of my favorites, as a student of history, were the monthly historical walking tours in different neighborhoods throughout West Linn.
This first walk in January started at the McLean House and the series just concluded here as well. It is a beautiful venue that I consider to be West Linn’s grand house. Sure there are plenty of modern mansions much more extravagant in scale and décor, but this is a beautifully restored and maintained historic home that is a lovely remembrance of times gone by and my city’s roots.
The home was given to the city by the McLean family after the construction of the Abernethy bridge drastically altered their river view. It is still a lovely location with a park like setting out back featuring a gazebo built by the local Lions Club.
The interior has been restored with an eye to matching the original décor as closely as possible. For example, upstairs in the Groom’s Room there is a nautical theme and you will see the wallpaper is very close to the original paper still present in the closet. The Bride’s Room is the former master suite and my favorite room in the house is the sitting room with fireplace and red couch just off to the side. A close second is the sun room on the main floor downstairs.
The original light fixtures are beautiful and there are enough updates to make this a comfortable entertaining venue. It is frequently the location for weddings, reunions and historic events in our city. The next public event on the calendar is the cookie exchange in December.
I applaud the Friends of McLean House for doing such a wonderful job maintaining this historic structure and opening it to the public.

I cannot say anything negative about this place. The McLean House staff was unbelievably helpful. They were hired for setup and teardown but helped the entire day! This place is perfect for a wedding. The gazebo us gorgeous and the waterfall is stunning. If I had to do everything over again, I would definitely go here!