Careful Changes on Foster Road

(Courtesy of Matt Froman)

After Matt Froman’s crash course in preservation proved successful last year at the old Phoenix Pharmacy building, he has moved a few blocks down Foster Road with plans to restore and revitalize a whole block of storefronts between S.E. 59th and 60th Aves.

 “Obviously, I believe in the neighborhood,” he said.  “I grew up in it.  I’ve always kind of liked it.”

 Froman and a partner, Shawn Morgan, a real estate lawyer who also devoted to the Foster neighborhood, bought the property when the former owner decided to retire.  The architectural highlight of the block is a single-story commercial building dating to 1927 with an arched entrance at S.E. 60th, a crest of red tiles at the roofline and terra cotta decorations on the pilasters.

 The storefront building holds an important role in the history of the Portland-area economy.  In 1935, a young Franklin High School graduate opened the M.J. Murdock Radio and Appliance Company.  The following year he hired another young radio technician, Howard Vollum.

 

The Murdock Era

Savvy readers will know that after World War II, Murdock and Vollum created a company that came to be known as Tektronix, Oregon’s first big high-tech firm that made oscilloscopes and electronic measuring devices.  Murdock remained as a top executive until 1971 when he was killed when a seaplane he was piloting overturned in the Columbia River.

 For many years Tek was one of the state’s largest employers.  Froman plans to see if he can find further historical evidence of Murdock’s years on Foster Road. 

 Froman’s goal in the project “will be to restore the first three retail spots to look as historically accurate as we possibly can,” he said.  He is currently working on city permits and hopes to have most of the restoration completed by early next year. 

 His plans for the block call for it to continue to be a hub for small businesses.  An antique store, tacqueria and bicycle shop that are current tenants will remain.  The bike shop will move from the primary corner at 60th, and Froman is seeking a new tenant for the arched entrance at 60th.

 “I believe in small businesses and their importance to the economy,” Froman said.  The existing firms have already proven a commitment to Foster Road, and Froman isn’t about to evict them.  “We have been working with them and they have been working with us.” 

 

Froman's Earlier Project

A few blocks to the east, Froman last year completed restoration of the former Phoenix Pharmacy building, where its curving façade at the sharp corner of S.E. 67th had been a neighborhood landmark since the 1920s.

 The Foster Road corridor has not seen the dramatic impact of new construction that has changed the ambiance of some other Southeast Portland commercial corridors.  Maybe that is good; it provides opportunities for dedicated entrepreneurs like Froman who appreciate the neighborhood and make careful improvements with less disruption.

 ----Fred Leeson

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