Mahonia Hall, the Oregon governor’s mansion, was nicknamed Pneumonia Hall by past gubernatorial residents because of the building’s energy inefficiency. Built in 1924 for hop farmer Thomas Livesley by Ellis Lawrence, founder of the University of Oregon School of Architecture, it’s beautiful and grand. But also drafty and cold. Last year, First Lady Cylvia Hayes […]
Opportunity Knocks for a Hands-On Plasterwork Workshop
Only one spot is left for this weekend’s ornamental plaster repair workshop taking place at the historic Capt. George Flavel House Museum in Astoria. Participants of Clatsop Community College’s (CCC) two day workshop will learn how to create plaster mix and molding templates, as well as proper instillation of new crown molding. Listed on the […]
AMCCO: Astoria’s New Maritime Historic District
One of Astoria’s most complex historic properties has found a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. The Astoria Marine Construction Company (AMMCO) is a 7-acre conglomerate of shipbuilding structures, objects, and relics largely dating to World War II and the Korean War. Although the complex is still in use as a commercial operation, […]
Next Stop LUBA: Lessons Learned from the Carman House
Since 2012, the Lake Oswego Preservation Society has spearheaded a community-wide effort to save the oldest and arguably most historically significant house in Lake Oswego, the 1855 territorial-era Carman House. Representing one of just a small handful of pre-statehood properties that still stand in the Willamette Valley, just a few weeks ago the local landmark […]
The Impact of Oregon’s Increasing Demolition Trend
Rarely a day goes by that the Restore Oregon office doesn’t get a panicked call about the demolition of an older building somewhere in the Willamette Valley. As the economy rebounds across Oregon, permit data from the state’s larger cities are confirming what we’ve been hearing for the past year: a lot of buildings are […]
Historic Hillsboro House to be Re-purposed for Community Use
On May 31, 2013, the Hillsboro Parks & Recreation Department officially acquired the historic Malcolm McDonald House, an in-holding along the northern boundary of the 42-acre Orenco Woods Nature Park. Sitting on .7 acre this building is a historically significant and architecturally intact structure with the primary public spaces preserved in their original layout and […]
Extra Inning Coming to a Close for Eugene's Civic Stadium
The future of Eugene’s Civic Stadium may be decided next month after a five-year campaign to save and rehabilitate the storied property located just south of downtown. Listed as a Most Endangered Place by Restore Oregon in 2011, the Stadium was built by the Works Progress Administration in 1938 and has been owned by the […]
Preservation Profile: Roger Roper
This week, the Salem Statesman-Journal published an in-depth profile on Roger Roper, a longtime friend and Advisor to Restore Oregon. Since 2003, Roger has served as the Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer in Salem, overseeing a staff of 16 archaeologists, survey coordinators, preservationists, and heritage professionals. Roger’s agency, the State Historic Preservation Office, or SHPO […]
DeMuro Award Honors Restoration and Expansion of Belluschi Home
It’s been aptly said that “Modern is Historic” and one of the best examples of modern residential architecture was among the projects honored at the first annual DeMuro Awards in November. As Janet Eastman’s column in the Oregonian describes, the Burkes-Belluschi House, designed by the acclaimed architect Pietro Belluschi and where he lived out his […]
Oregon’s Icon of Postmodernism Faces an Uncertain Future
Over the past week, a flurry of local and national media stories have descended on Oregon’s icon of the national postmodern architecture movement: the Portland Building. Designed by architect Michael Graves, the 15-story building has received mixed reviews by architects and occupants since its opening in 1982. According to initial reports in the Oregonian, the […]