Bridging the Gap Between Traditional Historic Preservation Practices and the Lived Experiences of Black Communities in Oregon The Albina Preservation Initiative Focuses on Researching, Celebrating, and Educating Oregonians about Black History and Preservation in Oregon In effort to tell an inclusive story of Oregon’s past, Restore Oregon, Oregon’s only statewide nonprofit historic preservation organization is […]
What’s up in Walnut Park? – Building Consensus
Community engagement, also called public or civic engagement, is a term often used, but can be difficult to define. Depending on who you ask, you might receive several different answers. Community engagement might mean mailing out letters to notify property owners of a project that will affect them and their land. It might mean holding […]
Inventorying Portland's History
Restore Oregon is working with Walnut Park to document and survey its own architecture and history. Documentation is the first step in discovering the stories of a place and telling them, and it is a fundamental tool for historic preservation. It’s impossible to preserve a place if that place and its story are unknown. While […]
Introducing Walnut Park
Walnut Park is important. But it’s likely that you’ve never heard about it. That’s forgivable. Restore Oregon didn’t know it existed until last summer. It’s probable that even some residents of Walnut Park don’t know that they live within its boundaries. When platted in 1904, this undeveloped island of forest in Northeast Portland was bounded […]
Portland City Council Responds to RIP Testimony; Continued Advocacy Needed in 2017
Responding to growing support for house preservation in Portland’s older neighborhoods, the City Council on Wednesday voted to significantly amend the much-discussed Residential Infill Project. Although the Council largely supported the concepts presented by the City’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, a series of amendments were adopted to “make it more attractive to preserve the […]
This Wednesday: Raise Your Voice to Protect Portland’s Neighborhoods
Update: City Council has extended the deadline to submit written testimony until Wednesday, November 23. The City of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) wants to respond to Portlanders’ concerns about changing neighborhoods citywide. The Residential Infill Project was initiated in the fall of 2015 to address growing pains related to demolitions, the size of infill homes, and […]
Portland First in Nation to Mandate Deconstruction of Historic Homes
Effective October 31, any one or two-family home that was built in 1916 or earlier or is a designated historic resource cannot be demolished by the typical bulldozer process, but must be manually deconstructed and salvaged. In response to the demolition epidemic sweeping across Portland, the City convened a Deconstruction Advisory Group (DAG) to recommend […]
Eastmoreland Pursues Protection through Designation
Eastmoreland Neighborhood Association’s Board of Directors have voted to move forward with pursuing the designation of their neighborhood as a Historic District listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The neighborhood association organized an informational workshop about the proposed historic district designation on May 26. The neighborhood views this designation as a tool to […]
Portland: The Trailblazer for Planned Deconstruction
Portland is leading the country by requiring deconstruction of historic homes which are already planned for demolition. Any one or two family structure that was built before 1917 or is a designated historic resource will require a full manual deconstruction rather than mechanical demolition starting on October 31st of this year. Measures to address […]
Portland’s Neighborhood Character: Do Something About It
Portland’s growing pains have sparked discussions and proposals around density and affordability. How do we retain neighborhood character, but also meet the demand of growth in Portland? Restore Oregon was invited to sit on the City’s Stakeholder Advisory Committee, a group convened to advise project staff on the issues of residential infill across the city […]