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| Montgomery Hall |
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| Blackstone |
Sadly, the absence of any official landmark status means that two residential buildings that Portland State University plans to tear down will not have any public hearing as to whether they could be saved and refurbished, instead.
News of the planned demolitions inspired Chet Orloff, a former executive director of the Oregon Historical Society among many other civic “hats,” to send his concerns to PSU’s president, Ann E. Cudd.
His letter, repeated here with his permission:
“Dear President Cudd:
“I am writing to you today as a former faculty
member of PSU, Executive Director of the Oregon Historical Society, a member
and leader of several city, state, and federal organizations, and (even) as a
former student at BU, UO, and PSU.
“As you might imagine, I am deeply concerned with
the possibility that Portland State may demolish Blackstone and Montgomery
halls. While it could be a minor challenge to raise the funds necessary for
renovating these two historic buildings for student housing, it would even less
of a challenge for you to stop this further erosion of our city's historic
landscape. Alas, it won't stop with these two buildings. A bad precedent will
be set.
“I join many others––including current and former
students as well as active community members––in reminding you of the relative
simplicity of doing so. Further, you now have on your staff, in Earl
Blumenauer, a proven leader in urban affairs who, I believe, will be a strong
advocate for such preservation and reuse, as he was while on the City Council
and in Congress.
“I could say much more but I won't. You know what
is best for PSU's strategic purposes and I can only presume that you will do
your best to lead the University in the preservation of so much that makes the
South Park Blocks live up to their ideal: a place that helps preserve some of
the best of our city.”
So far, according to another concerned
person, PSU’s answer has been “crickets.”
Both buildings are interesting
historically and architecturally. Yes,
their interiors are badly run down, but redesigning and reconfiguring their
interiors likely would be less expensive than demolishing and building
something entirely new.
Those of us who care about preservation are often accused of being lost in time and out of step with the modern world. My answer: When we needlessly destroy attractive
assets of the past, we needlessly destroy our own history and a sense that our living generations are a steppingstone between those who came before us and those
that will come later.
Unnecessarily destroying our past means
destroying part of the roadway that made us who we are.
Fred. Many of us appreciate your effort in this far too typical potential erasure of our physical history. I remember these and other nearby buildings since my time at both PSU and my subsequent use of the neighboring (as built named) Portland Masonic Temple building.
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