In Honor of Pride Month: A Look at Oregon’s First LGBTQ Site on the National Register Oregon placed its first LGBTQ site on the National Register of Historic Places in November of 2020. Darcelle XV, a well-established Portland drag venue, has been owned and operated by nonagenarian Walter Cole since 1967. Darcelle XV Showplace is […]
Mid-Century Modern Cultural Landscapes
By Laurie Matthews What is a Cultural Landscape? The prevailing definition for a cultural landscape in the United States comes from the National Park Service which defines it “as a geographic area, including both cultural and natural resources… associated with a historic event, activity, or person, or exhibiting other cultural or aesthetic values.” The United […]
Please Warmly Welcome Our New Executive Director, Nicole Possert
Dear Friends of Restore Oregon, As many of you already know, our long-time leader Peggy Moretti will be retiring next month. With endless energy and patience, she has expertly guided Restore Oregon through times of unprecedented social and economic challenge since she restarted the organization 12 years ago. Since Peggy announced her departure earlier this […]
Understanding the Carbon Cost of Demolition
While championing the role that preservation and reuse can play in meeting Oregon’s goals for protecting the environment, Restore Oregon has often quoted Carl Elefante, former president of the American Institute of Architects, who famously said “The greenest building is the one that already exists.” Recently, we enlisted independent research firm ECONorthwest to better quantify […]
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 […]
Let’s Make the Most of the Past – Join Restore Oregon’s Advocacy Committee
By Carrie Richter, chair For nearly 45 years Restore Oregon has been committed to protecting the homes, buildings, and places that speak to communities, religious, social, business, and cultural groups throughout the state. With no corner of Oregon immune from the recent economic ravages resulting from the pandemic shutdown and the physical displacement caused by […]
Oregon Places to Love #ORPlaces2Love
Call for Submissions! We are asking readers to tell us about the Oregon spots that have delighted, inspired, and comforted them in a dark year. Whether it is a hike, historic place, historic business, or most-loved landscape, we want to hear from you! We will publish submissions in our summer travel issue. Email your submission […]
People in Preservation – Kimberly S. Moreland
We need your bio! Please give us some history on your education, work background, affiliations, and involvement with Restore Oregon and/or historic preservation in Oregon: Kimberly Stowers Moreland, MBA, MURP, is currently owner of Moreland Resource Consulting, LLC. She has over 25 years of public sector community development and urban planning experience. She was employed […]
Progress on the Mayo House – A 2020 Most Endangered Place
In the fall of 2020, Restore Oregon hired locally-owned Albina Construction, LLC to weatherize and protect the Mayo House from damage. Paid for through a Most Endangered Places seed grant made possible by the Kinsman Foundation, the cottage now has new downspouts, and clean gutters, and has been cleared of moss on the roof and […]
Historic Preservation and Restoration Program Creates Futures While Preserving the Past
Astoria, OR- One is restoring historic wood windows in Portland. Another is working for an Architectural Conservation company in Philadelphia. One is working for FEMA in New York, and yet another has started a restoration company in Astoria, OR. What do they all have in common? They are graduates of the Clatsop Community College Historic […]