Oregon’s Outstanding Leadership in Historic Preservation
This year, Restore Oregon is honoring people and organizations that have made a lasting impact on the historic preservation landscape statewide over many years. Restore Oregon wants to highlight and share each of these awardees' work, impact, and sphere of influence on Oregon’s cultural heritage and built environment to demonstrate how historic preservation plays a meaningful and long-term role in creating housing, combating climate change, and sharing the untold stories reflected in our State's diverse cultural heritage.
The 2024 DeMuro Preservation Impact Award Winners
Congressman Earl Blumenauer
There’s always a strong connection between Congressman Blumenauer and the sustainability of Oregon’s built environment and cultural heritage. For the past 28 years, Congressman Blumenauer has been a leader in the Oregon congressional delegation and, since 2015, co-chair of the House of Representatives Historic Preservation Caucus. Having been in public service for over 50 years, he’s helped people, places, and causes all over the State of Oregon in addition to his own Portland district. For instance, the Chateau at the Oregon Caves National Monument in southern Oregon needed help with their original furnishings. With one call, the Congressman connected the Friends group with the head furniture conservator at the Smithsonian.
Right out of the gate, as a freshman, he secured funding for the restoration of Pioneer Courthouse, demonstrating that historic preservation was an important issue. He secured funding for many more historic preservation efforts, including the Columbia River Highway and the Oregon National Historic Trail/Sandy River.
He was one of the first House members to join the new Historic Preservation Caucus when it launched in 2003 to encourage ways to protect and revitalize our nation’s historic places. Under his leadership with this Caucus, federal funding for historic preservation work has consistently increased and in 2022, the Historic Preservation Fund was fully funded for the very first time at the $150 million authorized amount.
He has worked on federal legislation to protect and improve our nation’s most important financial tool - the Historic Tax Credit. In its 45 years, this credit has created nearly 3 million jobs by rehabilitating over 45,000 buildings. These financial tools revitalize communities and spur economic growth and the projects rely heavily on local skilled labors, create jobs, are always more sustainable than new construction and contribute to a sense of place that is at the heart of any livable community. Many projects that have received Restore Oregon’s DeMuro Award have utilized this incentive to preserve and reuse these historic buildings.
Congressman Blumenauer has helped so many projects by supporting their tax credit needs, like Innovative Housing’s Anna Mann project, or supported listing in the National Register of Historic Places like Portland’s Billy Webb Elks Lodge a first for recognizing contributions of African Americans and most recently three LGBTQ+ properties including Darcelle XV, Crystal Hotel and Erv Lind Field.
Innovative Housing, Inc. (IHI)
For the past forty years, Innovative Housing, Inc. (IHI) has created affordable housing in Oregon, often adapting existing older or historic buildings. This nonprofit developer has actively reused and repurposed existing properties from Astoria to Albany, with a focus in the Portland area, to advance its charitable mission and create solutions to unmet housing needs.
Working at the intersection of housing and historic preservation is this team’s superpower. IHI’s development staff, alongside trusted architects, engineers, contractors, trades, and energy savings specialists, has proven that by staying nimble and goal-oriented, a professional team that is willing to put in that extra brainpower can make these projects sing, win awards, and provide much-needed housing. By reusing existing buildings, IHI provides an excellent example of reducing environmental impact while creating essential affordable housing for diverse communities throughout Oregon.
IHI combines federal Historic Tax Credits with federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits and a plethora of other sources to make these projects possible. IHI completed its first preservation project in 1991 when it acquired and rehabilitated the Foster Apartments in Old Town. Rededicated as Lyndon Musolf Manor in honor of IHI’s founding Director, IHI completed a full seismic and historic renovation in 2009, preserving critical housing for 95 very low-income seniors and individuals with disabilities. IHI’s historic renovation work includes resurrecting the derelict Merwyn Hotel in Astoria, creating affordable workforce housing at the legendary Erickson Saloon in Portland, and repurposing a National Historic Landmark while adding two adjacent complementary buildings at the Anna Mann House. Even when building new, IHI’s team found innovative ways to integrate important character and elements of an historic neighborhood to create the Woodwind Apartments in Albany.
As part of its work, IHI embraces and seeks to share Oregon’s diverse cultural heritage by incorporating interactive art and storytelling installations in its developments. IHI also proudly supported the National Register of Historic Places designation for Darcelles XV, an entrepreneurial LGBTG+ business that has anchored Lyndon Musolf Manor for almost 60 years.
Innovative Housing at Work
Japanese American Museum of Oregon - JAMO
In the last four years, the Japanese American Museum of Oregon (JAMO) changed its name, previously the Oregon Nikkei Endowment, opened its new museum anchored in the New Chinatown/Japantown Historic District, advocated for the protection of the historic district, participating in community revisioning of the Portland Assembly Center, and just closed a major exhibition on Bill Naito’s work to preserve the places and cultural heritage of Portland. JAMO is a small organization with a big mission to preserve and honor the history and culture of Japanese Americans in the Pacific Northwest, educate the public about the Japanese American experience during WWII, and advocate for the protection of civil rights for all Americans.
Conceived and guided by the Bill Naito and the Oregon Nikkei Endowment, the Japanese American Historical Plaza was dedicated in 1990 and was the first physical place to serve as a memorial and reminder of the history of the original Oregon Nikkei in Japantown or Nihonmachi. Anchoring the north end of Tom McCall Waterfront Park, this plaza connected to the historic district and marked their pathway to the next important accomplishment to create the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center. For over twenty years, the Center was a venue for culture and research and located in the historic Merchant Hotel building on Second Avenue in Portland.
JAMO’s reach goes well beyond Portland, as it provides history for classrooms and educators on topics like the Hood River Nikkei in Oregon, works to educate people on the often-forgotten difficult history of the United States incarcerating all person of Japanese ancestry during World War II, and is part of a network of organizations working to honor and protect the Minidoka National Historic Site in Idaho to ensure that history is never forgotten.
The Japanese American Museum of Oregon has helped Oregonians explore Nikkei experiences and their role in our State’s history for over thirty years and is an invaluable culture bearer and partner in the work to preserve Oregon’s history and cultural heritage.
