Drew and I came to Oregon with every intention of scouting out a wooded lot on which to put the beautiful modernist pre-fab of our dreams. We had spoken to the architect and he was excited about putting one of his homes on the west coast. We attended a modern design show in New York and window shopped for furniture for our new house.



Then we arrived on a Saturday to stay for a week, decided we wanted to be "close-in" and realized how many of the historic homes were basically… Continue

A great many very good ideas were generated in the recent Preservation Roundtable on "Healthy Historic Districts" hosted by the HPLO. One underlying principle was that both rehabilitation and new construction should tell the story of the district. Such a simple but profound idea!

Tell the story of the district! That simple goal sets the table for quality design, for good public spaces, for innovative infill, for a cohesive sense of Place. And it lifts our view from…

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Articles in the latest issue of the National Trust’s Forum Journal centered around a theme of the changing landscape of preservation and several authors drew the conclusion that we may need to change our brand from “historic preservation” to “heritage conservation.” I’m inclined to agree.…

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As far back as I can recall, I've been drawn to old houses, buildings, neighborhoods, bridges, you name it. They have so much SUBSTANCE and character! Both in their design, their story, and the fact that real people made them with their own hands, sweat, inspiration. They identify a Real Place in a way no strip mall or cookie-cutter subdivision can.…

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