With a rebounding economy driving frenzied development and projections that Portland will grow by more than a quarter of a million residents over the next twenty years, the city’s single family neighborhoods are facing more building pressure than ever before. While the majority of the city’s growth (and nearly all of its net density gains) have been occurring […]
Oregon Main Street Update – July 2015
It is rewarding to see the amazing accomplishments of the Oregon Main Street Network communities over the past few years in breathing new life into their historic downtowns using the nationally recognized Main Street Approach® to preservation-based economic development. Main Street programs and communities have a vital role to play in ensuring that the historic […]
Preservation Field School Comes to Portland
Have you ever wanted to experience preservation firsthand? Look no further! The University of Oregon’s Historic Preservation Program will be hosting the 2015 Pacific Northwest Preservation Field School in the Portland area later this summer. The two sites attendees will be working on are the Pioneer-era A.J. Masters House in Hillsboro and a log home […]
Saving the Rayworth House: A Preservation Saga
It all started with a bottle of wine… Restore Oregon Board member Roy Fox and his wife Kim were gathered with friends in their home unwrapping bottles of wine they’d bought as part of the Architectural Heritage Center’s annual “Riches of a City” auction, when, as typically happens at the Fox’s annual “blind wine” parties […]
Renovation Planned for Former Oregonian Headquarters
The Oregonian’s former headquarters in downtown Portland, built in 1948 by renowned architect Pietro Belluschi, has been purchased by Seattle-based Urban Renaissance Group for $14.15 million. The building is a notable example of Belluschi’s elegant modernist style, delivered on the heels of his groundbreaking Equitable Building, and occupies a full block along SW Broadway, making […]
Historic Church’s Bell Tower Faces Costly Restoration
From the time of its 1895 construction, Portland’s First Congregational Church has stood as one of the city’s grandest and most imposing buildings. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, the church is a rare example of Venetian Gothic architecture—few others exist in America—and its 175-foot-high bell tower stood as the tallest […]
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 […]
Masonry Conservation Handbook Offers Tips for Downtown Building Owners
Historic masonry matters. In Oregon, it speaks of solid buildings constructed with local materials and labor; it expresses a community’s values, joie de vivre and aspirations. The investment in fine masonry made by owners and other business people in many of Oregon’s cities and towns stand today as reminders of how important buildings were—and still […]
Portland’s Historic “511 Building” Awarded Loan For Adaptive Reuse
On November 13, the Portland Development Commission (PDC) approved a $20.3 million loan package for the adaptive reuse of the National Register-listed 511 Building as the new home of the Pacific Northwest College of Art. Built in 1918 as a replacement post office for the too-small 1875 Pioneer Courthouse, the 511 Building’s “size and decorative […]