Home again?

 

An imposing house built in 1907 that has devolved into a neighborhood eyesore might thrive again as a residence a few blocks north of its current home.

 An Irvington couple, whose house they were restoring on N.E. 9th Avenue collapsed during a fire late last year, hope to move the much-abused 1907 house to the the vacant lot created by the fire.  The move would transport the Craftsman-era house from NE 9th and Weidler St. to its new location about 4 1/2 blocks away.

The short distance means less moving expense.  Still, it will require dropping several power lines standing in the way and will necessitate a strategy for minimizing damage to street trees that are heavily protected under city tree-canopy regulations.

The proposed move has survived a preliminary city intake examination.  If all goes well, the move could occur this summer.  If the move is successful, one hopes that the first order of business will be a new exterior paintjob to replace the current graffiti abuse.

 The home has been vacant and the windows boarded up for at least a few years. Graffiti scoundrels appear to have had free reign ever since.

 Squatters have plundered the interior of its hardware and much of its wiring, but much of the original interior woodwork remains intact, according to an article in the Irvington Community Association’s newsletter.

 If the move is successful, the 1907 house would be a good fit in the Irvington National Historic District.  Many of its neighboring houses are of the same vintage, making it a good aesthetic fit at the proposed location.

 The fate of the 1907 house in its current location was essentially sealed in the 1950s, when the City of Portland coverted NE Weidler and Broadway into a one-way couplet.  That sandwiched the house between two high-density traffic arterials.  At roughly the same time, the city changed zoning in the Lloyd Center area to commercial from residential, dooming houses sooner or later to being converted or demolished.

 People often wonder why historic houses are not moved to new sites when threatened. One answer is a scarcity of vacant single-family lots; the other is that the length of can a move  can push costs into the prohibitive zone, given difficulties with power lines and trees.

 A successful move in this case would be good news for the house and good news for beiong a compatible addition to its neighborhood.

 ----Fred Leeson

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