Another New Project in the East Portland Historic District

 

Arcoa additions seen from SE 7th and Yamhill (Ink:Built Architecture)

For 25 years or so, little seemed to change in Portland’s least known National Historic District that includes about 20 blocks along a spine of Southeast Grand Avenue.

Now pandemic nowithstanding, the East Portland Grand Avenue Historic District is buzzing with renovations and plans for major new buildings.  New buildings are not designed to not look ersatz “old” but are intended to fit the context of the district by taking design cues from nearby historic buildings.

 The latest is an eight-story addition to the Arcoa Building (originally built in 1907 and operated as the U.S. Laundry) at 1006 S.E. Grand Ave.  Plans approved by the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission show what will appear to be three buildings but in fact are all tied into one – as well as being tied into the Arcoa Building.

 One must look at the image above to see what’s happening.  What looks like two buildings with separate entrances and retail spaces will face on S.E. 7th Ave.  One will look like eight stories and the other will look like seven stories with a penthouse.  This is actually one building with six floors of apartments and the eighth floor being offices.  An entry will be off Yamhill Street for 31 ground-floor parking spaces tucked inside.

Arcoa Building, left, with sidecar (Ink:Built Architecture)

Through the block on Grand, a two-story “sidecar” building will abut the Arcoa and provide access to the upper floors of the Arcoa.  At the same time, it is tied to the eight-story structure immediately behind the sidecar.

 If this sounds complicated, so too was the design.  Ink Built Architects held two advisory meetings with the landmarks commission, followed by two formal hearings to wrestle through the many options for exterior design, materials, colors and windows. 

 Like the new Grand Belmont apartments on the adjacent block (see below) the Arcoa additions will increase housing units in a district that formerly was dominated by commercial and industrial uses.  More housing will be added, too, by a new building that will adjoin the remodeled historic Troy Laundry building in a project described on this blog last August.  Another major eight-story office addition to the historic district, the Flatworks Building, was approved last September but construction has yet to start.

 

Grand Belmont Apartments, left, Arcoa Building right

Now, after a delay due to the pandemic, renovation is continuing rapidly at the former Gayosa/Chamberlain/Schleifer building that is being substantially remodeled into a boutique hotel.

 Substantial work remains to be completed inside the French Second Empire building erected in 1907, but the exterior is largely finished.  A tall blade sign, Hotel Grand Stark, was installed recently.   A portion of the former Schleifer furniture sign that was finally removed sits on the sidewalk in the image below.  The Schleifer store used the former hotel from 1936 until 2016.

Hotel Grand Stark

All three of the structures shown above have ground-floor spaces intended for commercial uses or restaurants.  It will take survival of the pandemic to determine whether the buildings are successful in attracting tenants that could add vibrancy to the historic district.

Good News at the Henry Building

 

A six story historic building that glistens like no other in downtown Portland will keep shining for another century and provide 173 units of much-needed low-income housing thanks to a $37 million renovation.

Completion of the work is a “win” in many ways: renewed life for a notable downtown building,  preservation of several elements of historic internal fabric, and safe, secure housing for a population in dire need. 

 The Henry Building at 309 S.W. Fourth Ave. was built in 1909 by a successful real estate investor, Charles K. Henry, who also helped develop the massive Multnomah Hotel and the ground-breaking Laurelhurst neighborhood laid out by the famous Olmsted Brothers landscape architects.  The building originally had a bank and retail shops on the ground floor, a barbershop in the basement and five stories of offices above.

 Today the shiny white building is owned by Central City Concern, a social service agency that provides housing and access to medical and other assistance for low-income tenants.  Central City has an admirable record for restoring vintage buildings in Portland and outfitting them for new uses accommodating social services.

 Central City took over the building in 1990 after a renovation created 153-low income housing units in what had been a vacant and seriously deteriorated office building.  The more extensive second renovation managed to add 20 more units, while retaining significant historic elements, and adding seismic bracing towers and two new elevators.  Funding came from a stew of sources including the Portland Housing Bureau, Oregon Housing and Community Services, U.S. Bank  and federal historic preservation tax credits.

National Register Form

The Henry Building stands out for its two shiny white facades facing on S.W. Fourth and Oak Street.   Portland has several nice cream-colored terra cotta buildings from the early decades of the 20th Century, but the Henry is brighter yet.  At the developer’s insistence, the design included “Tiffany enameled” brick with blue geometric designs on spandrels on three floors.

 The enameled bricks were manufactured in a process requiring two firings.  Pressed bricks were first fired, allowed to cool, then layered with enamel and then fired again at high temperatures.  Charles Henry had seen the bright white bricks in 1908 on a building in Denver, where the bricks were manufactured.

 When the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, the nomination suggested that the Henry Building was the only one between Portland and Denver to use the enameled bricks.

The Henry Building was designed by Francis J. Berndt, who practiced in Portland only from 1907 until his death in 1910.  The building is considered to represent the Chicago School of architecture, a movement that minimized historic architectural details and let the facades reflect their inner-steel framework.  In 1909, steel framing was still in its first decade in Portand.  Bays of three double-hung windows also were common to the Chicago School.  The design also has an internal atrium above the ground floor intended to allow more natural light.

 SERA Architects of Portland, a firm with a track record of working on historic preservation projects, led the intricate project.  Historic elements saved or recreated included hexagonal tiles on hallway floors, the internal cast-iron stairway and the original bank’s large, heavy vault. 

 As a result of the work, the Henry should stand literally for many years as a shining example of good preservation and valuable public service.

Revisiting the Rayworth House

 

It is almost eight years since Roy and Kim Fox, hosting a wine party with kindred preservation spirits, first heard about a vacant 1890 house in the Boise neighborhood that a developer wanted to tear down.

It was one of many in a rash of teardowns of smaller, older houses that is continuing to this day.  “You guys should save the Rayworth house,” someone said.

 Kim Fox went first.  “It’s kind of cute,” she told her husband.  It was a small Victorian cottage, probably like hundreds that once graced Portland.  Given time and changes in housing sizes, few like it  remain today.  Once the home of Edwin Rayworth, a professional wallpaper hanger, the house was in poor condition inside and out.

 For a while, a Boise resident planned to move the house and save it, but that plan fell through.  The clock was ticking, allowed only by the patience of the prospective developer.  Four months after they had looked it, Roy and Kim Fox were next in line.

Moving a house in Portland is difficult because there are few available vacant lots.  The longer the trip, the greater the cost.  The Foxes found a property owner who had one house on a double lot who was willing to sell the empty yard.  

 As a result, they succeeded in moving the house two miles north to the Piedmont neighborhood but not until they prevailed in the Great Tree Fight.  The city’s urban forestry manager wanted to deny the move on grounds that the move would damage some tree canopy along the way.  In time, it took insistence from Mayor Charlie Hales to allow the move.

 “Ninety-five percent of the city staff really busted their butts for us,” Roy says.  He compliments the Portland Bureau of Transportation which had to approve the route and the Bureau of Development Services, which allowed permits for an oversized lot that was being halved. 

In its original location

Given the construction boom at the time, the house sat on a lattice of timbers for most of a year until a foundation could be poured for a daylight basement.  The basement became an accessory dwelling below the old house.  The first tenant moved in in 2015, and since then the rest of the repair work has been funded by rent from the lower unit. 

 Today, work continues on the upper portion of the house.  Much of the work and painting has been done by volunteers recruited from websites that trade temporary housing for temporary help.  So far, Roy says more than 100 people have helped out, one way or another.  “Some of them know all about a table saw, and some know almost nothing,” he says.  “But everyone has contributed something.  We just love doing this. That is really the new story of the Rayworth house.” The result is a network of lasting friendships for the Foxes, with people from as far away as Australia and Ireland.

Roy says woodwork details will duplicate what’s missing in the house, and that vintage lighting has been acquired.  But though the Foxes are experienced ion exacting preservation work, they are not planning to replicate an historical 1890s kitchen or bathroom.  Of course, all plumbing and wiring has been replaced.

 One of the next projects is to work through layers of wallpaper to see to what extent any of them were historic and, if so, could be replicated.  Roy hypothesizes that the paper layers may well have come leftovers from Edwin Rayworth’s professional work, but there is no way of knowing for sure.

 Roy says the plan is to make the entry to the house look as original as possible with the woodwork, lighting and wallpaper.

Looking ahead, Roy says, “I can’t imagine selling the house.  We’ve put so much into it.”  When the right time comes, he said the next owner likely will be one of his two sons.

Today the Rayworth house sits proudly in a neighborhood composed mostly of 1920s bungalows.  Its distinctive architectural presence tells a story in itself.  Not as much, however, than if the building could actually talk.

 

What followed Rayworth in Boise 

Gresham Historical Museum

No one would ever confuse Gresham, Portland’s largest eastern suburb, as being a bastion of interesting historic architecture.  Still, the smallish English Tudor gem at 410 N. Main Ave. is worthy of celebrating for its past, its present and its future.

The 1913 brick building designed by one of Portland’s leading architects, Folger Johnson, started life as one of seven libraries in Multnomah County built with grants from the extremely wealthy steel magnate, Andrew Carnegie.   After the Gresham Public Library moved to larger and much less distinctive quarters, the old library was taken over in 1989 by the Gresham Historical Society, making it the Gresham Historical Museum.

 At just over 2300 square feet, the building is smaller than many houses.  But it is filled with interesting details from the patterned brickwork, elegant entry and interesting leaded windows designed to reflect the commercial insignias of major book publishers of the era.  Many of the bookshelves remain from the early library era.

 Fortunately for old building lovers, the Gresham society has done a good job maintaining the museum without seriously affecting its historical qualities.  The society had hoped to ramp up its public profile with the hire early last year of museum director Mark Moore, who is well-known in region’s realm of ephemera, antique collecting, streetcar history and pioneer steam equipment. 

 But the pandemic hit just as Moore took charge last March.  “COVID really put a damper on our events and activities,” he said.  “When this COVID thing is over, we plan for more events.” 

 Though the museum is not open at the moment, a visitor can get a good look at the Carnegie-inspired details from the exterior.  Carnegie delegated building designs to local architects, but his foundation offered general floorplans and included a few specific requirements.

 One of the requirements was for stairs leading to the front door – to give the impression of library visitors being “elevated” as they entered.  Another requirement was prominent electric lighting near the entrance, to give the feeling of enlightenment.  Carnegie provided money to build approximately 2500 libraries – including 31 in Oregon and seven in Multnomah County – but local communities had to provide the land, the staffing, the books and money for maintenance.

Another requirement was that the libraries had to be free to the public.  It was a major advance in the library world because many libraries were operated on subscriptions paid by users. 

 Carnegie, himself an immigrant from Scotland at age 13, placed his libraries in small towns and neighborhoods, rather than building large libraries in major cities.  He wanted his libraries to be used by immigrants learning English and for general education.

 Carnegie’s personal story is one of the Gilded Era’s great adventures in capitalism.  He started working in a bobbin factory in 1848 at age 13, then learned telegraphy and learned about railroads when the nation’s rail network was improving its bridges from wooden structures to steel.  He then ventured into steel manufacturing and leaned heavily on technological improvements and rigid management as his empire grew.

 He sold his steel business in 1901 and embarked on an aggressive philanthropic strategy to give away many of his riches.  He wrote an explanation called the “Gospel of Wealth” in 1889 in which he said exceptionally wealthy people had an obligation to use their funds to improve society.

 Folger Johnson, the architect for the Gresham library, also designed Carnegie libraries in St. Johns, Arleta and South Portland.  Other architects designed East Portland, North Portland and Albina.  Albina, St. Johns and North Portland remain as parts of the Multnomah County system, while Arleta and East Portland have been sold off for private offices.  The South Portland library is now a Portland Parks Bureau office. 

 Johnson, a native of Columbus, Georgia, had been trained at the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Paris before coming to Portland in 1911.  He was one of Portland’s most skilled architects, whose career was stymied by the Great Depression.  His other notable buildings include the Portland Town Club, an exclusive women’s club, and the Albertina Kerr Nursery.  He also was a consultant on Benson Polytechnic High School.

 Once the current pandemic resolves, Moore hopes to build the cadre of museum volunteers and people willing to offer financial support.  The museum survives at present on donations and a portion of a tax levy shared by several historical societies in Multnomah County. 

 “I’d like to see us get on a steady financial footing so in 20 years down the road this place will still be here,” Moore said.  It is, after all, a beautiful piece of history.

  

  

Yes, the Burnside Bridge is (Most Likely) Toast

 

Multnomah County Images of a Potential New Bridge 

Members of two civic commissions that will review the looks of a new Burnside Bridge wondered if the existing historic bridge could be braced adequately against the rumblings of a major earthquake.  They got their answer on Jan. 25.

 In a word, nope.   Members of the Portland Landmarks Commission and the Portland Design Commission easily reached an informal consensus after a joint briefing where one of the chief bridge planners laid out numerous difficulties in trying to revamp the existing bridge built in 1926.

 “It’s a question that has come up quite a bit,” said Steve Drahota,  a consultant with the HDR engineering and planning firm that is a member of the Multnomah County bridge planning team.

 “I’m a bridge designer,” he said.  “I love the Burnside Bridge.”  Nevertheless, it was built in an era when engineers knew nothing about seismic bracing or the risk of a major quake in Portland.  The Burnside route with its through-routes to East Portland and West Portland has been chosen by regional planners to be the key bridge link needing to survive a severe Cascadian subduction zone earthquake.

From its telephone-pole pilings under the river to its deck, railings, bascule mechanisms, cute operator’s houses and supporting columns on both sides of the river, “There is no piece of the bridge we wouldn’t have to touch in some way,” Drahota said.

Perhaps the biggest challenge would be supporting columns at the east end of the bridge, where mushy, unstable soils reach as much as 200 feet below the surface.  This are the soils that are subject to liquefaction in a major quake, which Drahota said amounts to the wet mass turning to Jell-O or soup.  The better solution, he said, is a “long span” option in which most of the unstable soil would be avoided.

John Czarnecki, an architect and long-time preservation advocate, told the two commissions that he thought the analysis was one-sided against reinforcing the old bridge.  “We seem to be looking at reasons to destroy the bridge,” he said.

 Members of the two commissions, however, clearly were impressed by Drahota’s presentation.  A design commissioner, Zari Santner, said the presentation “addressed everything we raised that needed to be clarified.”  A landmarks commissioner, Andrew Smith, said trying to retrofit the old bridge would lead to a “Burnside Frankenstein and it still wouldn’t perform as it should.”

 Matthew Roman said he was no longer concerned about trying to save the bridge.  “I’m convinced from the presentation today that it’s not feasible.”

 Maya Foty, a landmarks commissioner, said the city needs to turn its attention to building an attractive bridge, even if it costs more money.  “Wouldn’t it be exciting to have a bridge people want to come to see?”  She mentioned the Sundial Bridge in Redding, California, as an example.

The proposed long-span new bridge would be about 20 feet wider than the current bridge, once it departs from the street grid.  The extra width would allow for wider vehicular lanes by about six inches each, and wider bicycle and pedestrian routes.

At Czarnecki's request, the Architectural Heritage Center has created a small committee to see if bridge rehabilitation options have been adequately considered.  If the bridge is to be demolished, the committee will offer suggestions on saving or commemorating the bridge's historical elements.

Steve Dotterrer, AHC  advocacy committee chair, said defeat of last November's regional transportation ballot measure could slow planning and construction timelines. 

There are many procedural hoops to clear as bridge planning continues.  At present, the start of a final design is expected in 2022, and construction is expected to last from 2024 to 2028.

Brewing a Great Save

 

For several months, it seemed that a 111-year old Craftsman-era church in Northeast Portland was headed for demolition and replacement by a five-story housing project.

But then two men wanting to build a small brewery learned about the potential sale of Metropolitan Community Church at 2400 N.E. Broadway and jumped in to change the outcome.  “Dustin (Harder) and I are really passionate about preserving historic places and we are really excited to bring this project to life,” said Brody Day, Harder’s partner.

The church has stood as a sentinel perched above the bush intersection of Northeast 24th and Broadway since 1909.  It was built with the best native materials of the time – old-growth fir timber and cedar shakes.  Large bracketed gables dominate the prime west and northern facades

Construction fences protect two sides of the building these days as work gets started on Steeplejack Brewery.  It will bring dramatic new life to the steepled church that housed four different congregations between its opening in 1909 and the departure of Metropolitan Community Church in 2019.

Finding new uses for vintage buildings that have outlived their original purposes pose great challenges for preservationists.  Yet churches offer interesting possibilities as houses, music venues -- and even as a  brewery. 

When ready for its first customers, presumably sometime next summer, the Steeplejack building will look virtually identical on the exterior, except for a new paint job and Plexiglas covers to protect the stained-glass windows. 

Although never designated as a city or federal landmark, the church is included on Portland’s historical inventory list.  Harden and Day had to work through the city’s design review process to change the building’s function from an assembly space (church) to a brewery.  “They didn’t want us to change the outside of the building,” Day said.  “That wasn’t a problem.  We didn’t intend to, anyway.”

Accommodating vintage buildings to meet modern accessibility requirements often is a challenge.  Day said they were fortunate that the Metropolitan Community Church, which owned the building from 1977 to 2019, added a lift on the Broadway side and remodeled bathroom access in the 1990s.

The interior of the church remained largely unchanged from its original days.  Large wooden trusses leave the ceiling open.  Day said wood salvaged from pews will be used to make tables and seating.  Plans call for the interior of the steeple to be opened to view so people can see the craftsmanship involved in its construction with old-growth timber.

 The Steeplejack Brewery moniker comes from the traditional name of the worker -- steeplejack -- who built or repaired steeples or smokestacks at dangerous heights.     

Harder and Day, who first became interested in beer as students studying overseas in the 1980s, originally thought of trying to find inexpensive warehouse space for a brewery.  Then they learned that the 1909 church was for sale.  The church was negotiating with a housing developer when the prospective brewers arrived.  Day said the fact that they would keep and preserve the building was important to the Metropolitan Community Church as sellers.

 While original construction was underway in October, 1909, President William H. Taft visited Portland and showed up to lay the cornerstone for what was to become the new First Universal Life Church of Good Tidings. 

Taft himself was a Unitarian, but during his presidency he engaged in cornerstone ceremonies for Catholic, Protestant and Jewish institutions.  An estimated 20,000 people swarmed into the Irvington neighborhood to see him, according to the Oregon Journal newspaper, with people peering from trees, rooftops and crammed streets. Taft told the crowd that he believed in separation of church and state, but he said religion and moral uplift were vital to improving society. 

In more than a century, the church also was home to Grace English Lutheran Church, First Church of Divine Science and finally, Metropolitan Community Church.

The Steeplejack project comes at a difficult time for eating and drinking establishments.  COVID-19 has crippled many restaurants, and what may have been a surfeit of craft brewers has led to the closure of some breweries. 

Day said Steeplejack will sell its own beers, in addition to providing taps from other Oregon and Washington brewers.  “The dining and beer culture in Portland has been a really special thing,” he said.  "It's still a vibrant culture."  Even with recent losses, Day and Harder have faith in the region's beer-making and drinking capacity. 

One hopes that an interesting building, tastefully restored and adapted to its new use, will be a helpful attraction.   

 

Will WeWork survive at the Custom House?

Several years ago, people who admire Portland’s grand old buildings were pleased that the U.S. Custom House, designed along the lines of an Italian Renaissance palace, finished in 1901, had found new life as a private office building.

Now what was once the young city’s most elegant public building finds itself a bit player in a disappointing chapter of modern venture capitalism.  While no one is making predictions just yet, it is possible that the stately historic building could be headed for yet another change in service.

Stepping back, it is amazing to think that a frontier city only 50 years old could see a building such as this come to grace its neighborhood at 220 NW 8th Ave., facing on the North Park Blocks.  James Knox Taylor, supervising architect for the U.S. Department of Treasury, is always listed as the primary architect.  But given the fact that Taylor’s name is mentioned in connection with several dozen federal buildings, the local architect, Edgar Lazarus, no doubt played a key role.

 Lazarus practiced in Portland in fits and starts during 45 years.  His best known building, Vista House at Crown Point overlooking the Columbia River, is a deservedly well-loved public monument with spectacular views high above one of the nation’s great rivers.

 The Custom House is an incredibly elaborate building, with all sorts of columns and decorations.  The front entry, with a courtyard faced with a granite loggia with tall arched openings and a scrolled parapet, tells that this is no ordinary structure.  Another of the building’s many notable features are the so-called “Gibbs surrounds,” a layering of architectural ornament along the sides of the major rectangular windows, in addition to the sills and lintels. 

  The technique is named for James Gibbs, an English 18th Century architect who pioneered the concept for highlighting doors and windows.  The technique has not been used frequently in Portland, and the Custom House is clearly the city’s best example.

South facade shows Gibbs surrounds on second and third floor windows

 The Customs Bureau left the building in 1968 to move into a former Post Office building nearby.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers then moved in, and remained until 2004.  Like many government buildings, various attempts at modernization ruined many interior details, but the grand vestibule and four-story iron stairway remained untouched, as well as many lesser design elements.

 The Custom House was sold into private ownership in 2012 and again in 2017.  Interior renovations by Portland’s GBD Architecture removed some of the offending renovations and helped recapture much of the building’s original interior feel.

In 2015, WeWork, a New York-based office-sharing company with grandiose ambitions, leased the Custom House and began offing spaces as small as a single desk to freelance workers and small businesses.  Since its inception in 2010, WeWork accumulated leases on more than 800 properties around the world and adapted them to the office-sharing format, including availability of meeting rooms and social spaces for internal gatherings.

 Trouble is, WeWork has never turned a profit -- or even come close.  It has been sustained with literally hundreds of millions of dollars from venture capital firms, all hoping to cash out with big profits when stock ultimately was sold to the public.  In retrospect, business analysts suggest that WeWork’s board didn’t supervise the eccentric behavior, big spending and grandiose non-business ambitions of WeWork’s founder, Adam Neumann.

 In 2019, investment bankers reviewed WeWork’s preliminary documents for the initial public offering.  In light of their negative reactions, WeWork withdrew the proposed offering.  The venture capitalists then convinced Adam Neumann to leave management, in return for a payout amounting to more than $1 billion.

 Details are available in a new book, “Billion Dollar Loser,’ by Reeves Wiedeman.  A Nov. 30 article in the New Yorker magazine, "The Enablers," by Charles Duhigg, criticizes the conduct of venture capitalists involved with WeWork. 

 The pandemic is another challenge for WeWork arising not long after the IPO implosion.  Freelancers and small entrepreneurs started to find that working from home was a better option; social distancing had an impact on how closely desks could be placed.

 New managers at WeWork are not giving up, however.  Their focus has switched to recruiting established corporations that might need flexible work space or satellite offices in other cities.

 How well the Portland Custom House location stacks up in the WeWork universe is not known.  The company’s website says space is available.  The front gate is patrolled by a security guard, limiting one’s ability walk in and find a list of occupants.  The building is owned by a real estate investment firm in Santa Monica, Calif.

 Whether it is WeWork or some subsequent occupant or owner, one hopes that the building’s architectural beauty and its role in Portland history can remain undiminished and well-maintained.

 

Phoenix Rising on Foster

 

As Southeast Foster Road angles through a working-class section of Portland, there are not a lot of buildings that attract attention based solely on their architecture.  There is one building, however, that indisputably draws the eye.  

Matt Froman is trying hard to restore it.  “I guess I’m a sucker for old buildings,” he says.  “They don’t build them like this anymore.”

When Froman mentions his restoration project to acquaintances, they often reply, “You mean the building with the curve?” 

Yes.  The former Phoenix Pharmacy, built in 1922 by John Leach, sits on a trapezoidal site at S.E. 67th and Foster.  The architect, whose identity is yet to be revealed by historical research, took the acute angle at that intersection and molded the two-story brick wall in a gentle curve around the corner.  It was a pleasing architectural decision that commands attention no matter how fast one motors down Foster.

The old pharmacy is an example of how a noticeable vintage building creates a special sense of place for a neighborhood.  Anyone who lives in the vicinity or drives the street periodically knows immediately, "This is Foster Road." 

Leach had entered the pharmacy business in 1911, when Foster was muddy and rutted. He proved his allegiance to the neighborhood by erecting his new building 11 years later.  “It was a poor man’s district,” he told a newspaper reporter late in his life, “but (it is) where I belonged, for I liked working people and was one of them.”

Long after he retired, Leach gave the building to the YMCA to be sold to raise money for a neighborhood Y.  Leach and his wife, Lilla, a respected botanist, also donated their home and 17 acres of horticultural gardens to the City of Portland.  Today Leach Botanical Gardens is operated by the Portland Bureau of Parks and Recreation.

For approximately 20 years after the pharmacy closed,  the building was home to Allied Video, a seller of video tapes and reconditioned telephones, until its sale in 1999 to Robert (Buck) Froman, Matt Froman’s father. 

Buck Froman’s plans for using the building never materialized, and in 2012 he agreed with his son’s goal of restoring it to a commercial space on the ground floor with offices above. The ground floor has been used for storage by Robert Froman’s business, Buck’s Wood Stoves, located nearby.  Matt Froman partnered in 2018 with local preservationists Rich Michaelson and Karen Karlsson, and finally launched preservation work in 2020.

“It has been vacant so long, it needs a lot of upgrades,” Froman said.

Construction of a new roof is underway.  Froman hopes by summer the project will advance to replacing interior plumbing and wiring.  At that point, he hopes to be able to begin discussions with potential tenants.  Final renovation of the ground floor likely will depend on the needs of the tenant.

The upper floor will be restored for offices.

 Froman intends to be a landlord rather than operating a business within the building himself.  He thinks the ground floor could be of interest to a brew pub or perhaps a music venue or a retailer.  If all goes according to plan, when the renovation is finished he will refinance the building and buy out Michaelson and Karlsson.

As occurs with many restoration projects, work takes longer than expected and proves more expensive.  Froman knew from the start there likely would be a larger net return by tearing down the Phoenix and building something like apartments.  He chose to take a stand for preservation, instead.   He has taken out loans against his residence to help with financing.

Froman doesn’t want to lose the history of the building and its landmark status on Foster Road.  He appreciates that significant old buildings play a continuing role in the neighborhood's identity.  Further, he not want to lose the Froman family connection with it. “We are trying to do something for the community,” he said.  “It’s the right thing to do.  The goal is to keep it in the Froman family for generations.” 

UPDATE

There is about a week left to submit written testimony, no matter how brief, to support the nomination of Portland's South Park Blocks to the National Register of Historic Places. One of the city's oldest parks is eminently worthy of the honor. 

Comments can be submitted to:

ORSHPO.NationalRegisterProgram@oregon.gov

 

Help Honor the South Park Blocks

                        (National Register Nomination Form, South Park Blocks)

After 10 months of intense research and writing by a small cadre of volunteers, a nomination aimed at listing the South Park Blocks on the National Register of Historic Places has achieved its first major milestone.

Robert Olguin, Oregon’s state historic preservation officer, has accepted the 100-page nomination from the Downtown Neighborhood Association for consideration by the State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation in February. 

If supported by the state committee and by the Portland Landmarks Commission, the nomination would be sent to the U.S. Department of Interior for final consideration and probable listing on the National Register.

“This park is such an obvious landmark for Portland, it is long overdue to correct an obvious oversight,” said Story Swett, a Portland architect who played a major role in preparing the nomination form.  “A formal designation may help motivate retention of this valuable public space.”

 Given its lengthy history and beloved green space in Portland's dense urban heart, one would think that approval would be both a slam dunk and a major victory for the preservation community.  Comments from citizens who love the blocks, using addresses listed below, could prove helpful.   

The 12 blocks, extending from S.W. Salmon to Jackson Streets between S.W. Park East and S.W Park Avenue West are among the oldest public spaces in Portland.  They were donated by pioneer entrepreneur Daniel Lownsdale in 1852, and were landscaped in 1877 under the direction of horticulturalist Louis Pfunder.  Pfunder’s basic design, still clearly evident on many of the blocks today, included five parallel rows of deciduous trees – mostly elms – above a carpet of grass and flower beds.

 Although the Portland Bureau of Parks had recommended a national listing for the South Parks Blocks on a few occasions in the past, the bureau for whatever reasons never followed through.  The Downtown Neighborhood Association over a year ago began discussions that led to the nomination effort.

 The detailed nomination form includes extensive discussion about the history of Portland parks, the role of the South Park Blocks in civic life, and the significance of Pfunder’s landscape design.  Swett and Brooke Best, a historic resources consultant, were the primary writers, with research assistance from Roberta Cation and Leslie Hutchinson.  Research was hampered at times by the closure of libraries during the pandemic.

 Citizens have until Jan. 15 to submit comments in advance of the State Advisory Committee’s hearing.  Comments can be submitted by mail to:

 Robert Olguin

Oregon Parks and Recreation Department 

State Historic Preservation Office

725 Summer Street NE, Suite C

Salem, OR 97301

or by email at:

ORSHPO.NationalRegisterProgram@oregon.gov

 Comments to the Portland Landmarks Commission can be sent to:

 Hillary.Adam@portlandoregon.gov

                            (National Register Nomination Form, South Park Blocks)

 Over its many decades, the South Park Blocks have attracted Portland State University, several cultural institutions, churches and high-rise apartments as surrounding neighbors.  One of the park’s primary functions has been to provide quiet green space for contemplation, walking, picnics and small gatherings.

 “The South Park Blocks (as a single park) is defined by its restrained simplicity and simple, direct material palette,” the nomination states.  “Pfunder’s original design intent is visible in the promenade plan and axial planting layout, featuring a unifying canopy of mature, deciduous trees.”

 “Another defining characteristic of the park blocks is the paved plaza areas that provide a place for communal gathering and private contemplation. Public monuments, artwork, plaques and memorials, and bench seating have been added over the years.”

 Several cross streets toward the southern end of the park have been closed to vehicles, making that end of the park a public open space for the PSU campus.  Blocks at both ends of the park are used from time to time for farmers’ markets.

 The nomination notes that many small changes have occurred over the years.  Regardless, “Overall, the South Park Blocks retains its original shape, much of its historic pedestrian circulation pattern, significant public monuments and sculptures, as well as its major character-defining features. The park’s integrity of materials and workmanship have been slightly diminished, due to the addition of non-historic features (including light standards, cruciform walkways, park furniture and public art) on some blocks.”

Here are several reasons why Portlanders love the South Park Blocks.  If you support the National Register Nomination, select some that are important to you to include in your comments. 

· Beauty of the towering arches of mature trees

. Green spaces for quiet in the midst of the big city

. Shade in the summer, more sunlight in the winter; vivid colors in the fall

. A place for meeting friends

· Farmers markets

· Seasonal gardens and flowers

· Appreciation of public art

· Students studying in the grass

· Graduation ceremonies

· Young children playing

· Long promenade walks on separated paths with long views,

· Quiet mid-day lunch spots

You can read the entire nomination form here:

https://www.oregon.gov/oprd/OH/Documents/OR_MultnomahCounty_SouthParkBlocks.pdf

End of the Burnside Bridge?

 

When the inevitable Cascadian subduction zone earthquake -- the Big One -- hits Portland someday, engineers say 40 of the 44 bridge lanes that connect the east and west sides of the Willamette River will collapse or be unusable for the near future.

 And while two lanes of the Sellwood Bridge are expected to survive the quake, landslides on Highway 43 south of Portland may prevent vehicles from entering or leaving the West Side.  Tillikum Crossing’s two lanes were never intended for auto or truck traffic.

 Thus the Burnside Bridge has been designated to be the “east-west lifeline route,” and Multnomah County has been planning for a couple years on how to prepare that bridge for a major quake.  If you want to see a scary video simulating a collapse in a major quake, click here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn98JkN5HXc

 The tentative conclusion is to build a “long-span” replacement bridge that would extend from West 2nd Avenue across the river to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The estimated cost is $825 million for a project to be completed in the late 2020s.

 In short, the Burnside Bridge that has served since 1926 with its twin bascules would be toast.

 Or would it?  John Czarnecki, a preservation-oriented architect and former chair of the Portland Landmarks Commission, contends that another option, enhancing the current Burnside Bridge, was dismissed prematurely.

 During an informational meeting before the Portland Design Commission in December, Czarnecki called the bridge one of the city’s “best celebrated public works,” deserving of appreciation and preservation.  “There is a simplicity and modesty of this bridge that will be lost.”  He added, “Please, let’s take a careful look at what we’re losing…and what we have the opportunity to maintain.”

Designing a bridge to run through the heart of a major city is a complicated task.  Designers and engineers are concerned about obstruction of city views, accessibility under the west end of the bridge, maintaining a safe crossing above the I-5 freeway and the Union Pacific Railroad tracks on the east side.

 “There is a whole smattering of different options we are looking at,” said Steve Drahota, a consultant with the HDR engineering and planning firm that is part of the county’s planning team.    

The long-span proposal that is the leading option so far would move structural elements above the roadway, as opposed to the structure that now sits below the Burnside deck.  How bulky and how the structure is shaped will affect the views of the city by passengers travelling either direction.

 The two primary structural types are tied arches that look like small versions of the Fremont Bridge, and a cable-stayed structure that would be a larger version of Tillicum Crossing.  Advantages of these long-span options include reduced structural elements in Waterfront Park and completely spanning the squishy ground that historically was a marshland on the river’s east bank.  The long-span approach also would protect the Interstate-5 freeway and Union Pacific’s railroad tracks.

Possible tied-arch option (Multnomah County)

 Since the bridge must continue to accommodate river traffic, it needs to be provided with a center lift span or a version of the current bascules that lift the movable sections by use of counterweights below the bridge deck.  The center lift system would require two bulky towers near the river’s center, substantially adding to the visual clutter.

 Czarnecki believes not enough attention was given to enhancing the current bridge.  While such an enhancement is predicted to cost 8 to 10 percent than a new long-span bridge, he believes the potential long-term benefits, including the historic design of the current bridge, are worth it over the long run.

 Enhancing the current bridge presents its own problems, however.  Additional supports would be needed on both ends, presenting more obstacles in Waterfront Park on the west and eliminating the skateboard park on the east.  The squishy ground on the east bank, which amplifies ground movement in earthquakes, conceivably could leave even the enhanced bridge subject to serious damage.

 A potentially new option raised in the Design Commission hearing would be retrofitting and saving the existing bascules and historic appearance while adding long-span designs on the east and west ends.  If feasible, however, this option might preclude the possibility of widening the entire bridge by 20 feet, as currently envisioned in the long-span approach.

The Design Commission expects to hear an update on potential bridge designs in the next couple months.  More information on the project is available at:

 https://multco.us/earthquake-ready-burnside-bridge

What's next for Lloyd Center?

 

What traditionally is the busiest season of the year for retailers likely will be the death rattle for the Lloyd Center, the huge shopping mall in Northeast Portland with 1.3 million square feet of retail, office and restaurant space.

Macy’s, the primary retail “magnet” at the mall’s most desirous location, will close Jan. 1.  The few shoppers showing up this holiday season are greeted by glaring yellow signs offering the sale of store fixtures, along with all other retail inventory.  Likewise, the GAP is closing its Lloyd Center location.  Gossip from the mall suggests that several others are likely not going to renew their leases in January.

Many of the mall’s small retail shops are already vacant, while those that remain are struggling, at best. Blame it on COVID-19, or the changing habits of retail shoppers, or some combination.  But reality is reality.  At age 60, the mall’s life in retail seems finished.

 Macy’s departure follows a several other giants – J.C. Penney, Sears, Nordstrom, J.J. Newberry, F.W. Woolworth, Marshalls and a multi-screen cinema – who left Lloyd Center over many years as the center’s gradual decline became increasingly evident.

 Cypress Equities, a Dallas, Texas firm, bought Lloyd Center in 2013 for $148 million.  It then launched an “upgrade” project that included shrinking the ice rink, eliminating the attractive pedestrian bridge over the ice and adding an elegant spiral staircase that is seldom trod by human feet.

 The question now is what happens to an urban footprint that amounts to 18 square blocks of valuable city real estate.  Cypress Equities should be no stranger to the challenges, since it owns 16 major shopping and mixed-use malls around the country. 

 One option would be to tear everything down and start over with high-rise apartments or office buildings allowed by the zoning regulations.   A couple years ago, the Lloyd Center was mentioned as a potential site for a major league baseball stadium, although talk of landing a team has gone largely silent.

Pedestrian street for housing? 

 While the original mall was a had a creative Mid-Century Modern cachet, the inevitable tinkerings of the retail world managed to snuff out its original architectural charm.  However, since one of the goals of preservation is to save the environment from wasteful demolitions, one can think of other potential uses for much of the center as it stands. 

Perhaps the easiest option is to convert all the smaller shops to office space.  The third floor along the major concourses always held offices for doctors and dentists.  A compromise might be to consolidate retail on one level, leaving two other levels for offices. 

Housing also could be a realistic possibility along the long, three-story concourses that run east and west from the ice rink.  All those small shops already are equipped with plumbing, which would make the transition easier to apartments or condominiums.  Removing the roofs that were added about 1990 would open apartments or condominiums to fresh air.

Covered parking could be available to tenants.  Some of the existing shops could become offices for doctors and dentists, or barber shops, hair salons, small eateries and convenience stores with built-in constituencies.  Since these areas are served by escalators and elevators, they would provide accessibility for a senior housing community.

At two and three stories, the largest former retail outlets pose more of a challenge for repurposing, given their size and limited natural light.  One possibility as a major tenant might be a large home improvement center.  Home Depot snooped for a site in the Hollywood District almost 20 years ago before backing off in a recession. 

 Another possibility could be demolishing the large stores at the east and west ends of the mall to make way for multi-story buildings of offices, condos or apartments.   Similarly, the largely unused parking structure at the mall’s northwest corner could be removed for more productive use of that real estate.

Joe Brown's Carmel Corn -- a survivor from the earliest days

 The Lloyd Center opened to massive crowds in 1960.  Its proximity to downtown Portland – about two miles – made some experts ponder whether both retail cores could be successful located so close together.  Downtown retail has been severely hurt by the pandemic and by political protests, making it questionable to say whether it is really the survivor, but in the long run it is a better bet than the Lloyd Center.  

 Regardless, Lloyd Center holds vivid memories for many Portland shoppers and diners who remember the early years of the open-air mall with its many retail and eating options.   Today it feels almost like a modern-day ghost town. 

 Now we have to wait and see how executives in Dallas, Texas, figure out what happens next. Or whether they sell out to some other developer with something else in mind.