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, […]
Join Restore Oregon’s Campaign for a State Rehabilitation Tax Credit
Many of Oregon’s traditional downtowns are at a tipping point, half-empty, their historic facades in decay. Since 2010 Restore Oregon has hosted workshops across the state seeking solutions to revitalize these economic and cultural centers, and we believe the single most important thing we can do to revitalize Main Streets across Oregon is to pass […]
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 […]