Four years after purchasing the former site of the Oregon State School for the Blind, Salem Hospital has submitted an application to demolish the last remaining building standing on its campus: Howard Hall. Originally built as a boy’s dormitory, Howard Hall served as a central part of the school from the 1920s until the school’s […]
Breaking: Victorian Mansion Saved Mid-Demolition
May 9, 2014. After an intense month of neighborhood uncertainty, Restore Oregon received confirmation today that NW Portland’s 1898 Goldsmith House will be saved from demolition thanks to a preservation-minded development team. The Max Goldsmith House, located at 1507 NW 24th Avenue, was designed by prominent Portland architect Edgar Lazarus in the Shingle style. Lazarus is […]
Hermiston Library Celebrates Centennial
May 16th marks the 100th birthday of the Hermiston Library, an event that will be celebrated with tours, cake, and entertainment by local high school bands. Hermiston was one of 31 communities across Oregon fortunate enough to boast a Carnegie Library, built with money donated by Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. A total of 1,689 […]
Cape Arago Lighthouse Site Faces Dim Future
Since 1866, the Cape Arago Light Station has provided a beacon guiding mariners along the Pacific Ocean near Coos Bay on the southern Oregon coast. The current 1935 lighthouse, which is actually 2.5 miles north of Cape Arago on Chief’s Island at Gregory Point, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993 […]
From Saved to Razed: An op-ed on Portland Demos
Northeast Portland has lost yet another lovely home. A 1947 building on NE 35th Place was sold to a group of developers in October who are currently demolishing it to build two large houses in its place. This morning I saw one of the many people who walk and drive by this partially demolished house […]
What do you know about Sunnyside School?
The journey started with a mid-summer email: What do you know about Sunnyside School? The response added to a high-speed—at least in preservation terms—adventure in negotiations, fund-raising, and stick-to-it-iveness. Corvallis’ century-old Sunnyside School was historically known as Bryant School and Mudflat School due to the surrounding swampy area and muddy roads. Before 1897, a one-room […]
Saving the Remnants of Our Pioneer Places
Last year, Restore Oregon listed the categorical group of Willamette Valley Pioneer Houses and Farmsteads as one of Oregon’s Most Endangered Places. Often referred to as “Oregon’s oldest buildings,” these handmade buildings marked the end of the Oregon Trail from 1841 to 1865. While their significance to our state’s history is paramount, these buildings are […]
La Grande's Grand Staircase
Off a quiet residential street in the northeast Oregon town of La Grande lies what is possibly the most architecturally outstanding outdoor staircase in Oregon. The Italian Renaissance Revival Grand Staircase rises five tiers up a hillside on the campus of Eastern Oregon University. Unfortunately, it is forgotten and deteriorating, the victim of ground movement, […]
Oregon Preservationists Vow to Save Endangered Parking Lots
April 1, 2014. Preservationists are mounting a campaign to save Oregon’s rapidly disappearing stock of vacant lots, most of which were created between 1940 and 1970. “Oregonians wouldn’t recognize our state’s historic main streets if the empty lots were infilled with new buildings,” says Restore Oregon executive director Peggy Moretti. “For too long we have […]
First of its Kind Pilot Program Would Allow Portlanders to Invest in Historic Property
Matt Froman’s passion and continued advocacy for the old Phoenix Pharmacy building has not gone unnoticed. He has invested years in finding a new owner to redevelop the 1922 structure – and as luck may have it a decision might be made within the week. Located at 6615 SE Foster Road in Portland, the vacant […]