The Lee-Janouch House is among Oregon’s latest entries in the National Register of Historic Places. Oregon’s State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation (SACHP) recommended the nomination at their October 2024 meeting for its significance as an excellent and rare example of National Park Service Rustic or Cascadian architecture as used for a private residence. The National Park Service, which maintains the National Register of Historic Places, accepted this nomination in late January 2025.

Located at the corner of East Main Street and Willamette Avenue in Medford, the Lee-Janouch House was constructed in 1934 by Isaac “Ike” Davidson, the building superintendent of Crater Lake National Park. Davidson sourced the stone used in the house’s distinctive masonry façade from the park and engaged National Park Service personnel, techniques, and equipment in its construction. He later pled guilty to misuse of federal funding and served as the primary witness in a related case against his supervisor, Crater Lake National Park Superintendent Elbert C. Solinsky. The trial received national coverage, and both men were terminated from the Park Service and served prison time as a result.

Despite the building’s residential setting, the materials and design of the Lee-Janouch House echo the Rustic or Cascadian style associated with the National Park Service. The building is constructed from locally sourced masonry with redwood board-and-batten siding in the gable ends and simple interior finishes. The exterior walls exhibit the distinctive “Crater Lake wall treatment” characterized by battered stone walls that taper inward from bottom to top. Crater Lake’s Sinnott Memorial, built in 1931 during Davidson’s tenure as building superintendent, was reportedly the first structure to use this building technique. Its use in the Lee-Janouch House underlines the property’s association with Crater Lake and the National Park Service’s characteristic architectural style.

The National Register is maintained by the National Park Service under the authority of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. Properties listed in the National Register are:

• Recognized as significant to the nation, state, or community;

• Considered in the planning of federal or federally-assisted projects;

• Eligible for federal tax benefits;

• Qualify for historic preservation grants when funds are available;

• Eligible for leniency in meeting certain building code requirements;

• Subject to local laws pertaining to the conservation and protection of historic resources.

State law in Oregon requires local governments to offer a minimal level of protection for properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places; the decisions about how to accomplish that goal reside with local governments, which also have the authority to create and regulate local historic districts and landmarks.

More information about the National Register and recent Oregon listings are online at oregonheritage.org (under the heading “Designate”).