The House and Senate Conference Committee has reconciled the differences between the two versions of the tax bill. The agreement eliminates the pre-1936 10% non-historic tax credit and includes the 20% Historic Tax Credit (HTC) with a provision that it will be claimed over five years. Also, the Conference Committee included additional transition rule language that […]
Fairness Demands that Mandatory Seismic Upgrades Be Tied to Financial Aid
UPDATED: May 10, 2018 At the first of two public hearings at City Council on May 9th, amendments to the recommended seismic standards mandate were proposed by Council members. Perhaps most significantly, Mayor Wheeler proposed removing, for now, the requirement to tie floors to walls for “class 3” URMs due to the lack of financial […]
Wong Laundry Building
Wong Laundry Building is significant to Portland’s economic history and to the ethnic and immigration history of both city and state. Designed by Alexander C. Ewart, the two-story masonry structure combining retail on the ground floor and lodging above is a prime example of early 20th century commercial architecture built for the travelers, businessmen and […]
The DeWitt Museum
The DeWitt Museum in Prairie City, housed in the National Register-listed Sumpter Valley Railway Depot building, is home to a collection of significant local historical artifacts and serves as an event space and gathering place for locals and visitors alike. The building itself is a rare example of a two-story rural depot, and serves as […]
Elks Lodge
The building was constructed in 1915 for the Benevolent Order of Elks No. 1168 in downtown Medford and has been in continuous ownership by the Elks since then. The Survey of Historic and Cultural Resources Downtown Survey in 1994-95 quotes the National Register Nomination describing the Elks Lodge “as the most distinctive example of monumental […]
Concord School
The Concord School is a landmark in the northern Clackamas County community of Oak Grove. The site has been home to a public school since 1890 and was, until its closure in 2014, a venue for civic events. The school was closed in June 2014 due to budget constraints and related downsizing and consolidation of […]
Jantzen Beach Carousel
The Jantzen Beach Carousel, a national treasure, was designed by C.W. Parker (a renowned manufacturer of carnival attractions) in 1921 in Leavenworth, Kansas. It was commissioned for permanent installation on the Venice Beach pier in Venice, California, but its stay in California was short-lived. The carousel arrived at Portland’s Jantzen Beach Amusement Park in 1928, […]
ADVOCACY ALERT: Historic Tax Credit Eliminated
The federal Historic Tax Credit (HTC) has been an essential source of funding for the restoration and revival of over 100 historic buildings across Oregon. Without the HTC, the vast majority of these projects – along with their jobs and community uplift – would not have happened. The HTC has returned a 25% “profit” to […]
In Search of Storrs
Looking Towards 2018: Seeking Homes by John Storrs At Restore Oregon, we’re mad about mod! We are already planning our 2018 Spring Mid-Century Modern Home Tour and we need your help. We’re hoping to feature John Storrs for our 2018 tour coming up in May. If you or someone you know owns a John Storrs […]
Dedicated Preservation in Action: The Preservation Artisans Guild
Karla Pearlstein lives in a home that was built when Abraham Lincoln was president, and like all of Karla’s rescued houses, this building is as storied as the period items it’s furnished with. In 1964, to save the house from demolition in the face of the new I-405 freeway through Portland, then-owner Margaret Powers had […]