Seafarers enjoyed rich history, with tales to tell of two coastsIf you look through old photographs, you are bound to come across a conspicuous house at the foot of Third Street. It stands out because of its roof line. It has a cupola, unlike any in Astoria. Its owners were from the East Coast. They left a marked impression on Astoria.

The first people known to have occupied the house were members of the Eben W. Tallant family. Eben and his brother Nathaniel W. were partners in the Columbia River Packing Co. Both men started their lives in Nantucket, Mass.

Their father, Nathaniel G., was a successful merchant. One of his homes, constructed in 1788, still stands and was designated a 2004 Nantucket Preservation Trust House. The younger Nathaniel left the east in 1850 and made his way to San Francisco. He was employed by the Cutting Packing Co. and in 1874 took charge of the company’s Columbia River plant at Eagle Cliff, Wash.

In the meantime, his younger brother Eben saw the world. Shortly after high school he joined the crew of the Dragoon, a clipper ship. He journeyed to the Pacific and then to India. On his return, the ship was filled with jute consigned to New Orleans. The vessel arrived in harbor the same day Confederate forces captured Fort Sumter. The ship was captured, but Eben was later released.

Shortly thereafter, he left home on the Clipper Golden State and was promoted to first officer after the ship’s previous officer drowned. In China, he shipped as a first officer on the John Bright, navigating between Hong Kong and Shanghai. Two years later, he moved to the Hawaiian islands where he managed a sugar plantation. He married Mary Easton of Nantucket in 1869. In 1871, he established an orange grove in San Gabriel, Calif. Then in 1880, he sold his business and joined his brother at Eagle Cliff. When their cannery burned in 1883, they moved to Astoria and opened a larger facility.

It is hard to know if Eben constructed the house on Third and Astor streets (now Marine Drive). Stylistically, its volume, symmetry and spare detailing are more akin to the Greek Revival, a style which ended more than 10 years before Eben arrived in Astoria. But, it is not a Greek Revival. It is an Italianate, which appears to have been constructed in the late 1870s.

CupolaOne element which points towards its construction by the Tallants is its cupola. There it sits, on the roof, for all to see. But where did it come from and how did it end up on a house standing at the fringes of a commercial-industrial area in Astoria? The answer is: the East Coast, if not Massachusetts. Cupolas are much more common in that part of the country. It seems reasonable the Tallants would have constructed a house which reminded them of Massachusetts.

By 1908, the Tallants’ house was converted to tenements. It was torn down in the 1930s, clearing the way for Union Oil Co. of California to erect storage tanks. More than 50 years later, the tanks were removed, then replaced by a Burger King restaurant and parking lot.

But, this was not the Tallants’ last house. In 1894, Eben and Mary hired local architect James E. Ferguson to design a structure at 1574 Grand Ave. Their new shingle-style house was considered cutting edge in design, keeping up with the best East Coast architecture. Members of the family resided there for more than 30 years. It was later converted to apartments and is now known as the Grandview Bed and Breakfast.

Eben and Mary had four children. Their youngest son, Nathaniel W., married Florence Ross and eventually became the general manager of the J. G. Megler Cannery. Their youngest daughter, Harriet, was Regatta Queen of 1910 and later married Frank Greenough, a city editor for the Morning Astorian. Their daughter Louise was Regatta Queen of 1907 and later married Richard E. Carruthers. In 1937, she and her son Richard T. incorporated Bio-Products with John P. Trullinger. The business continues today.

Eben and Mary’s oldest son, William E., ventured to Alaska as a gold miner for seven years, learning several native tongues. In 1902, he took over his father’s canning business, partnering with Peter Grant in the Tallant-Grant Cannery. The structure was originally known as A.V. Allen’s Washington Cannery. It was located at the foot of Columbia Avenue where the Paragon Packing Co. was constructed and later converted to the offices of Northwest Natural. Its cold storage facility was located on the other side of the railroad tracks. The building was most recently known as Overbay’s Landing; it collapsed in 1991.

William married shipping heiress Clara Starbuck in 1903. Both William and Clara were descendants of Tristam Coffin, founder and first magistrate of Nantucket Island in 1660. Coffin was also the great-great grandfather of Benjamin Franklin. Clara inherited some of Franklin’s silver.

The Starbuck name was and is world famous. The notable family produced the first iron sailing ship in the United States and built many of the world’s finest clipper ships. Some of those ships, such as the Tillie E. Starbuck, frequented Astoria. The family name was also used in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. Melville based his characters on historical figures – including first mate Starbuck from Nantucket. Then, of course, the name was reinvigorated by Starbuck’s Coffee, which plucked its name from Capt. Ahab’s first mate.

In 1911, William and Clara purchased Sen. Fulton’s glorious Colonial Revival residence on the southeast corner of 17th Street and Irving Avenue. William retired 10 or so years later. His retirement must have been frustrating. A mysterious fire occurred in the house in 1931, then again in 1932. Arson was suspected in the latter. Shortly thereafter, the house was converted to the Tallant Apartments. Both William and Clara continued to live in the building. But, when William died in 1934, Clara moved out. Then, William’s brother Nathaniel and sister-in-law Florence moved in. They resided there until 1948 when Clara died and the apartments were sold.

John E. Goodenberger is a historic building consultant who lives in Astoria.