Portland Historic Landmarks Committee Releases State of the City Preservation Report
New Virtual Tour Celebrates Portland’s Japanese American Community
New Virtual Tour Celebrates Portland’s Japanese American Community
Less of This (Demolition); More of This (Call to Action)
Recent Advocacy Work of Restore Oregon – Federal and State Although there is a direct connection between policy and what happens on the ground, it‘s often difficult to make that connection. In the very big picture, if Oregon had more tools and financial incentives for historic preservation, existing historic properties would be less threatened with […]
Advocacy in Action: Our Proactive Work at the Oregon Legislature
Restore Oregon staff and our expert volunteers on the Policy & Advocacy Committee have already reviewed close to 2,500 bills introduced in the first three weeks of the session! Based on our adopted legislative agenda, we have already submitted testimony for funding and are tracking a whole slew of bills where we believe historic preservation […]
Looking Forward on the Advocacy Front: Restore Oregon’s Legislative Agenda
Above; Three of the 17 projects requesting capital funding — Southern Oregon Historical Society’s (SOHS) event center in Medford (image: SOHS); Center for Native Arts & Cultures center in Portland; Oregon Caves Chateau (image: Friends of Oregon Caves Chateau). The Oregon Legislature has just reconvened for our state’s every-other-year “long session” which runs from now […]
Stand For Preservation: Your Voice, Your Story is Needed
The Walnut Park neighborhood in Northeast Portland. Photo credit: Dan Everhart. Tell Portland City Commissioners that Our Historic Places Matter! Take Action: Testify on the Historic Resources Code Project at Portland City Council on November 3, 2021, at 2pm The Historic Resources Code Project (HRCP) is the biggest rewrite of policies governing the management and protection of […]
In a Precedent-Setting Decision, Demolition of the Historic Yamaguchi Hotel is Approved with a Token Nod to Cultural Heritage
The Portland City Council voted unanimously to approve the demolition of the historic Yamaguchi Hotel, also known as the former Blanchet House, picture above. On July 28th, the Portland City Council voted unanimously to approve the demolition of the historic Yamaguchi Hotel (former Blanchet House), a rare and very significant building to the Japanese American/AAPI […]
Renewal of Special Assessment for Historic Properties is A “No-Go” this Legislative Session
Renewal of Special Assessment for Historic Properties is A “No-Go” this Legislative Session by Peggy Moretti At the June 7th House Revenue Committee work session, the committee chair, Representative Nancy Nathanson, decided not to move HB 2447 forward. This decision ends the bill moving in this 2021 legislative session. Special Assessment – Oregon’s only state […]
Historic Yamaguchi Hotel Deserves a Better Fate than Demolition and Erasure of its Cultural Heritage
Historic Yamaguchi Hotel Deserves a Better Fate than Demolition and Erasure of its Cultural Heritage by Peggy Moretti A primary contributing building in the Portland New Chinatown-Japantown Historic District, the historic Yamaguchi Hotel/former Blanchet House has seen better days, and now stands alone surrounded by surface parking lots. A demolition application has been filed with the […]
Our Legislative Forecast: Murky Skies
By Carrie Richter Restore Oregon’s Policy and Advocacy Committee is weighing in on and/or monitoring a number of bills that may impact historic preservation this session. What many of these bills have in common is that they mandate one-size-fits-all zoning on communities without any understanding of the local circumstances – essentially depriving communities of the same […]