UPDATE: On July 31st the Portland City Council heard three hours of presentations and public testimony regarding the state of preservation in Portland. Commissioners promised to return to the demolition issue at a future meeting. This Thursday, July 31, the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission will present their annual State of Preservation report to the Portland […]
New Study Sheds Light on Portland’s Masonry Buildings
In the beginning of the twentieth century, as Portland grew and expanded to the east and north, residential and commercial buildings were constructed along the streetcar and automobile travel corridors and at neighborhood centers. Many of these utilized unreinforced masonry (URM) for its improved fire resistance, durability, and lower maintenance over wood framing. The City […]
The Impact of Oregon’s Increasing Demolition Trend
Rarely a day goes by that the Restore Oregon office doesn’t get a panicked call about the demolition of an older building somewhere in the Willamette Valley. As the economy rebounds across Oregon, permit data from the state’s larger cities are confirming what we’ve been hearing for the past year: a lot of buildings are […]