Update on the Albina Preservation Initiative

The Albina Preservation Initiative was launched earlier this year to help bridge the gap between traditional historic preservation practices and the lived experiences of BIPOC communities to create a safe space for difficult discussions and to document and share Black preservation methods and stories, establishing a path forward for inclusive preservation statewide.

This hands-on initiative has thus far included our Urban Racial Justice Field School, hosted in June by Clatsop Community College’s (CCC) Historic Preservation & Restoration Program at the Mayo House in Northeast Portland, and our Albina House History Research Workshop, held in August at the Architectural Heritage Center. The field school offering drew ten participants from around the state (with scholarships for Albina district residents) who spent five days under the tutelage of CCC instructors John Goodenberger and Ryan Prochaska, surveying and documenting the condition of the Mayo House, then learning how to repair and reglaze damaged historic windows. The August research workshop August shared best practices for researching the history of historic buildings and attracted over a dozen participants, ten of whom agreed to to assist the Albina Preservation Initiative with researching historic resources in Albina.

Funding for this project was made possible from generous grant from the Mellon Foundation (Just Futures Initiative) for the Pacific Northwest Just Futures Institute for Racial and Climate Justice, University of Oregon.