Friday Preservation Roundup: November 18, 2011

[Brandon Spencer-Hartle]

If you've spent any time at all in Portland (or Eugene or even Mosier) this past week, it seems that one word has risen to the top of our collective lexicon: occupy. And we at the Historic Preservation League of Oregon love occupy–occupied places that is. And in Portland at least, there is far more occupying than what's been seen in the streets this past week. As many of you might recall, one of my favorite places–the Ladd Carriage House– will soon become something more than a neat old building. It'll be occupied. And how about some older storefronts downtown? Occupied for the holidays. And what about that long-underutilized Globe Hotel in Old Town? It too will be occupied soon. So, in the spirit of joining what seems like everyone in talking about OccupyPortland's presence in Pioneer Courthouse Square last night, we bring you some rare color photos of that block when it truly was occupied.

So what's been going on in preservation, you're probably asking. Well, here it is:

Astoria. Impressive things are happening to the former train depot thanks to Clatsop Community College 

Coos Bay. HPLO Advisor George Kramer left the town "enthused" about the Egyptian last week. 

Cottage Grove. The Chamber's Bridge open house is on for December 3rd. 

Garibaldi. The Pier's End Boathouse (a direct descendant of the endangered Life-Saving Station) gets a new tenant. 

Eugene. The house on the hill is getting a new grand staircase; The Broadway Center rehab (an AE Doyle Building, but you'd never know it) has been completed; and UO students will present their research on Watson-Price Barn on December 1st (email me for more info on that).

La Grande. Thanks to that grant we mentioned last week, the Liberty Theater is being repaired. 

Nationwide. The Nat'l Trust gives some blogospheric visibility to the HPLO's recent report on Compatible Infill Design.  

Portland. Thank you NBC–yes, NBC–for bringing neon back to Old Town; The big question this week was "will City Hall support a $30 million rehabilitation of Veterans Memorial Coliseum?" The answer: "yes;" One of the best buildings around is on the market again; Donations are being sought to repair the two downtown parks that were recently occupied; Better know your "structurally deficient" bridge; Our friends at Indow have won a great award for sustainability; And, get tickets for the tour of Mayor Albee's house. 

Salem. Jobs! (In full disclosure, I apologize to my many friends at the University of Oregon for spreading the word of these positions... I know your fingers are crossed so tight that they're blue, but I couldn't not post this. Us at the HPLO are looking forward to meeting and working with whoever gets brought on as new staff at the SHPO)

St. Paul. This Willamette Valley town's got history. 

Wolf Creek. Everyone who's driven I-5 know's the town's namesake Inn is historic, but it's not that historic.

A shorter, more Portland-centric Friday Preservation Roundup than last week, yes, but that's where the news has been. Although we'll be skipping the Roundup next week due to Thanksgiving, it'll be back in full-force on December 3rd. And, as a bonus for you HPLO members, you'll be receiving a letter next week with a head's up for our plans for 2012. Although we've already set a Preservation 101 program for January 22nd in Portland, Preservation Roundtable sessions for March 16th in Jacksonville and May 11th in Astoria, and the Midcentury Modern Home Tour for June 2nd in the metro area, we still want to hear from you about what the HPLO can do to help you and your community save places that matter.

And, for those of you who care about masonry buildings, barns, heritage tourism, or the midcentury tour, we'd love to get you a little more involved next year as an HPLO committee member. Shoot over an email or give me a call if you want to volunteer in one of these areas in 2012 and we'll get you plugged into our great group of volunteers.

Anyway, get out there and occupy some historic places this Thanksgiving. I can think of no better way to support the local economy than to incorporate a dash of historic preservation into your holiday plans.