May 9, 2014. After an intense month of neighborhood uncertainty, Restore Oregon received confirmation today that NW Portland’s 1898 Goldsmith House will be saved from demolition thanks to a preservation-minded development team. The Max Goldsmith House, located at 1507 NW 24th Avenue, was designed by prominent Portland architect Edgar Lazarus in the Shingle style. Lazarus is […]
From Saved to Razed: An op-ed on Portland Demos
Northeast Portland has lost yet another lovely home. A 1947 building on NE 35th Place was sold to a group of developers in October who are currently demolishing it to build two large houses in its place. This morning I saw one of the many people who walk and drive by this partially demolished house […]
First of its Kind Pilot Program Would Allow Portlanders to Invest in Historic Property
Matt Froman’s passion and continued advocacy for the old Phoenix Pharmacy building has not gone unnoticed. He has invested years in finding a new owner to redevelop the 1922 structure – and as luck may have it a decision might be made within the week. Located at 6615 SE Foster Road in Portland, the vacant […]
Storied Stumptown Saloon to Be Reimagined as Housing
Portland has a lot of storied buildings, but few are as legendary as Erickson’s Saloon. Built in 1912, the current brick building is the last incarnation of an evolution of properties that saloon proprietor August Erickson turned into a “den of vice” during the early 1900s. Located in the heart of the Skidmore/Old Town Historic […]
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 […]
Restoring Diamonds in the Rough
Portland’s Rinehart Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in December of 2013. Until a few years ago, the building suffered extreme neglect, but its history is incredibly significant. The Rinehart Building was constructed in 1910 along an important streetcar line in Portland’s historic Albina neighborhood. It is notable as one of the few […]
Pilot Program Aims to Retrofit Portland’s Older Homes
Seismically retrofitting your home can be expensive. Fortunately, a new pilot program in Portland aims to ease a majority of the costs for homeowners. Most people think the buildings in Portland vulnerable to earthquakes are larger, unreinforced masonry buildings (URM) built between the 1840s and 1930s; yet, in all reality houses built before 1974 are […]
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 […]
Oregon’s Icon of Postmodernism Faces an Uncertain Future
Over the past week, a flurry of local and national media stories have descended on Oregon’s icon of the national postmodern architecture movement: the Portland Building. Designed by architect Michael Graves, the 15-story building has received mixed reviews by architects and occupants since its opening in 1982. According to initial reports in the Oregonian, the […]
A Preservation Perspective on Portland’s Gas & Coke Building
In late October, Northwest Natural announced plans to demolish the venerable Gas & Coke Building, a century-old poured-in-place concrete building located just upriver from the St. Johns Bridge at 7900 NW St Helens Road. The 1913 building—a former gas manufacturing plant—has been the subject of ghost stories, speculative histories, and general intrigue since it was […]