The most important thing we can do to save more historic places and bring Oregon’s historic downtowns back to life is to PASS THE REVITALIZE MAIN STREET ACT Many of Oregon’s traditional downtowns are at a tipping point, half-empty, with their historic facades in urgent need of repair and restoration. Thankfully, there is a small army […]
Restore Oregon to Write Checks for Endangered Places
Restore Oregon is pleased to announce that $15,000 in grant funding has been made available to support efforts to save the 2015 list of Oregon’s Most Endangered Places. The Endangered Places Preservation Grant program will provide funding to support feasibility studies, preservation plans, National Register nominations, and other projects critically important for preserving some of the […]
Historic Willamette Falls Locks Program This Wednesday in Oregon City
One of the oldest and most storied historic structures in Oregon is not a building! From 1873 until their closure in 2011, the Willamette Falls Locks made navigation on the Willamette River possible. Because the locks sit opposite to the old Blue Heron paper mill site now being redeveloped in Oregon City, we see the […]
Rebirth of Egyptian Theater—Many More to Come?
After three years of intense community advocacy, Coos Bay’s beloved Egyptian Theatre is shining bright once again. The downtown landmark was listed as one of Oregon’s Most Endan gered Places® in the spring of 2011 fol lowing its closure due to structural safety concerns. At the time of its listing as an Endangered Place, the theater […]
Seeking Information About Oregon’s African American Historic Places
The Oregon Black Pioneers, in partnership with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), has launched a new property survey project entitled Preserving Oregon’s African American Historic Places. The purpose of the project is to protect and preserve significant sites related to Oregon’s African history from the time period of 1844 to 1984. Who Are the […]
Saving the Remnants of Our Pioneer Places
Last year, Restore Oregon listed the categorical group of Willamette Valley Pioneer Houses and Farmsteads as one of Oregon’s Most Endangered Places. Often referred to as “Oregon’s oldest buildings,” these handmade buildings marked the end of the Oregon Trail from 1841 to 1865. While their significance to our state’s history is paramount, these buildings are […]
What’s Next for Salem’s Dome Building?
One of Salem’s most prominent public buildings will be sold to a private developer if all goes according to a State-sponsored plan to divest the property later this year. Listed as a 2013 Most Endangered Place, the 1912 Dome Building was once part of the sprawling Oregon State Hospital campus in Salem, an institution made […]
Demise of Depoe Bay’s Historic Boat Tradewinds Kingfisher Offers Valuable Lessons
On December 5, 2013, it took just minutes for a “long reach excavator,” a jawed demolition machine, to destroy the Tradewinds Kingfisher, a National Register of Historic Places listed charter fishing vessel. In its heyday the Kingfisher may have been the most famous boat in Oregon. A case study of the Tradewinds Kingfisher preservation efforts […]
Rediscovering Settlement-Era Homesteads in the Willamette Valley
Since the 1960s, Oregon’s state and local governments have conducted architectural field surveys of groupings of older buildings, each with varying levels of significance and importance, in order to document and understand Oregon’s historic places. One that was completed over the last year holds special significance to the history, people, and development of Oregon as […]
A New Prescription from Dr. Pierce
“I don’t want to relive this.” That was my thought when I pulled out the file and sat down to write this account of preservation accomplishments we’ve achieved in the wake of Cottage Grove’s loss of the Dr. Pierce Barn. Our effort to save the barn ended badly in September 2012. It was a painful […]