Designed by architect David L. Williams,[3] the 119-room hotel opened at the intersection of Southwest Sixth Avenue and Main Street in downtown Portland in 1912.

[9] In 2005, writers for Willamette Week described how the hotel was used by local government officials during the 1970s.

Caryn B. Brooks and Steve Forrester wrote, "In those days, public council sessions were strictly pro forma: The real business of the council was done in private, over lunch at the Congress Hotel.

Johann H. Tuerck completed some of the hotel's wrought iron work.

[11] Terracotta arches from the building were used to create an ornate gazebo structure that was later used as an entrance to the restaurant The Melting Pot.