We’ve just completed another builder profile, this time the story of two brothers who formed Hiller Brothers Incorporated in the early 1920s and built more than 400 homes in Irvington, Alameda, Grant Park, Garthwick and West Slope.

A Hiller Brothers built home at 2131 NE Siskiyou, from The Oregonian, March 14, 1926

In the early years, their preferred building type was the bungalow and in later years Tudor-revival and English cottage style. When you figure out the family resemblances, you’ll find them all over the neighborhood. Look for Hiller Brothers’ work on NE Knott Street between 29th and 32nd (virtually every house). They built 40 homes within a two-block radius of NE 32nd and Knott–most designed by Portland architect Hubert A. Williams (1887-1965)–so check out the profile to see a long list of addresses.

James was 16 years older than brother Gus. The two divided up responsibilities, with Gus supervising the construction wing and James focusing on real estate development and sales. In the 1920s, together with their teams of carpenters, tradespeople and sales force, they were among the busiest homebuilders on the eastside. During the Great Depression–like so many other builders–they switched to repair and remodeling work, but that wasn’t enough to sustain the company. Gus eventually went to work in the Portland shipyards and James–after a brief retirement to the Rogue River Valley–returned to Portland to develop hundreds of homes in the West Slope area.