The historic First Universalist Church of Good Tiding’s building in Portland is Steeplejack Brewing. (Steeplejack)
Oregon preservationists are applauding that a vacated church has become an inviting event center, an old bank is a bustling brew pub, and new energy-wise buildings alongside historic structures are adding to an area’s diversity and growth.
To highlight how rural and big city downtowns can change from easy-to-ignore to robust, the Restore Oregon organization has selected 11 restoration projects to receive a 2022 DeMuro Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation.
The annual DeMuro Awards are the state’s highest honor for the preservation, reuse and revitalization of architectural and cultural sites.
Adapting an old building for a modern need can save up to 75% of embodied carbon emissions of new construction, say experts.
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Preservation is also an important tool for building a future while maintaining a region’s cultural heritage, said Nicole Possert, executive director of the nonprofit Restore Oregon.
The 11 teams of architects, engineers, designers, contractors, developers, property owners, community leaders and volunteers selected for DeMuro Awards will be recognized at the Restoration Celebration on Nov. 4. The Restore Oregon fundraiser will be 4-7 p.m. at the Show Bar at Revolution Hall on the campus of the former 1906 Eastside High School (later Washington High School).
Here are the 2022 DeMuro Award winners, from Portland to Bend to La Grande, selected for their extraordinary design, craftsmanship, creative problem-solving and positive community impact:
The historic First Universalist Church of Good Tiding’s building in Portland is Steeplejack Brewing. (Steeplejack)
The 113-year-old First Universalist Church of Good Tiding’s building has been restored and repurposed as Steeplejack Brewing Co. in Northeast Portland’s Sullivan Gulch neighborhood.
The architecturally and artistically significant building has served as a community gathering place ever since U.S. President William Howard Taft sealed up a small time capsule and set the cornerstone in 1909.
When the Metropolitan Community Church relocated and listed the property for sale after 42 years of use, there were two interested buyers.
One was a developer who planned to demolish the church to make way for a five-story condominium building.
The other, the current owners, vowed to preserve the building and its original features such as the high-arching hammer trusses to create space for a full-service craft brewery, bar, restaurant and coffeehouse.
1911 CD Putnam’s Ready Wear building in La Grande has been restored. (Dale Mammen)
The 1911 CD Putnam’s Ready Wear Building in La Grande’s Historic District is adjacent to the 1910 Liberty Theatre, which originally offered vaudeville, audience sing-a-longs, Chautauqua-like lectures and silent films.
Funding to restore the Putnam Building, which has the Liberty Theatre Café on the sidewalk level, was aided by an Oregon Main Street Revitalization Grant, which is issued to help smaller communities preserve and reinvigorate their downtown.
Mildred Hall Matt and Yuka Hollingsworth have opened Mildred Hall, an event venue in Northeast Portland. (Shane McKenzie/Portland Imagery/Shane McKenzie/Portland Imagery)
A small Northeast Portland sanctuary built in 1916 for members of the Norwegian Danish Congregational Church also held services through the decades for the Mennonite Church, Korean Church and Fellowship Church of God.
From 2004 until the corner property in the Alberta Art District was sold in 2021, it was known as The Little Church or TLC, a one-floor event space with downstairs apartments and a tiny house in the yard.
Now, the old church building has an expanded purpose. The restored wood-framed structure with a bell tower, beamed ceilings and hardwood floors is an event venue for weddings and community space for crafts, cooking, wellness and other workshops.
The owners’ self-described pandemic-era passion project concludes with a new name: Mildred Hall, a nod to Mildred Avenue, the original street name before becoming Northeast Sumner Street in the 1920s.
Mildred Hall is an example of how rehabilitation and reuse is one of the “greenest” ways to build, stated Restore Oregon.
Domaine Serene Wine Lounge in Bend has saved a 100-year-old building for the next generation. (Chris Murray Productions)
A downtown Bend commercial building, deemed “upscale and urban” when it was completed in 1917, has been restored and designed as the Domaine Serene Wine Lounge, offering a multi-sensory experience three blocks from the Deschutes River.
The project highlights the original D.H. Spheir Building’s historic elements such as the brick and lava rock walls, which earned the building a listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
The restoration exhibits outstanding craftsmanship and reusing materials to save a century-old building for the next generation, stated Restore Oregon.
A DeMuro Award was given for the rehabilitation of the University of Oregon's 1921 Gerlinger Alumni Lounge in Eugene. (Carin Carlson)
The University of Oregon’s 1921 Gerlinger Hall was designed in the Georgian style by architects Ellis F. Lawrence and and William Holford to house academic departments such as one for household arts and women’s organizations as well as a newly restored Alumni Lounge.
The hall’s name honors Irene H. Gerlinger, the first woman on the university’s Board of Regents.
The handsome Alumni Lounge, with shield and scroll motifs, is considered the most intact historic interior on campus. Photographs before and after the lounge’s restoration show carefully made preservation efforts.
The Phoenix Pharmacy at 6615 S.E. Foster Road has been restored and reopened. (Mark Graves/The Oregonian)
The Phoenix Pharmacy building in Southeast Portland was constructed in 1922 for pharmacist John Leach, who filled drug prescriptions and sold then-new brands like Kodak cameras and Spalding sports equipment.
Historians credit the structure, with its distinctive rounded brick and curved windows on the corner of Southeast Foster Road and 67th Street, with drawing businesses to once-remote Mt. Scott-Arleta and Foster-Powell neighborhoods.
The landmark was vacant and vandalized for two decades before the property was purchased In 2018 to save it from the wrecking ball.
Restore Oregon praised the project’s small team, led by the new owner, who opened the doors to the refinished and updated space for the Foster Outdoor adventure shop.
Loyal Legion Beaverton opening Loyal Legion Beaverton, the second location of the popular Southeast Portland beer hall, holds its grand opening at 4 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021, in the former site of the Bank of Beaverton in historic downtown. (Andre Meunier/Andre Meunier/Staff)
The 1923 Bank of Beaverton building has been reimagined as Loyal Legion beer hall in the city’s historic commercial district, which is undergoing a resurgence of dining and drinking offerings.
“Its reuse not only breathes new life into one of Beaverton’s historic sites, it celebrates an architectural gem and embodies a significant period in Beaverton’s development as a city,” stated Restore Oregon.
The Spanish Colonial-style building, formerly an Arthur Murray Dance Studio and now an active part of the city’s Restaurant Row, is listed as a contributing structure to Beaverton’s National Register Historic District.
The Beaverton Urban Redevelopment Agency purchased the building and re-sold it to Henry Point Development, which engaged Portland’s Chefstable Group to bring Loyal Legion to this now-revived space.
Over the course of its renovation, the project used grant funds provided by the city’s Storefront and Tenant Improvement programs.
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall sign and marquees have been restored. (Jeremy Jeziorski)
The 1928 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in downtown Portland began as the Portland Publix Theatre, a vaudeville venue, soon renamed the Paramount Theatre, showing Paramount Pictures’ newsreel and movies.
The Italian Renaissance-style building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is the last surviving theater building on Southwest Broadway.
The DeMuro Award recognizes an interior rehabilitation that included modernizing the sound system and restoring the 65-foot-tall blade sign and marquees illuminated with thousands of theatrical lights.
“The rehabilitation is proof that embracing new technologies does not compromise the beauty and integrity” of a historic theater, according to Restore Oregon.
2022 DeMuro Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation Oregon Square Redevelopment 1948/9, Portland (nourishcreative.com/nourishcreative.com)
Underused post-World War II buildings in Northeast Portland’s Lloyd District were combined into a super-block development known as Oregon Square with updated office spaces and a public plaza.
Built in 1948 and 1949, the buildings had been vacant for more than a decade and in need of upgrades to meet new building code requirements.
The revitalization process in the Central City Plan District is “shifting the neighborhood’s future toward cultural revitalization and sustainable development,” said Restore Oregon.
The 2021 five-story, 58,000-square-foot mixed-use PAE Living Building is in the Skidmore/Old Town National Historic Landmark District. (Lara Swimmer)
The five-story PAE Living Building in Northwest Portland’s Skidmore/Old Town National Historic Landmark District was designed to be economically and ecologically sustainable, and last 500 years.
The 58,000-square-foot, mixed-use structure, which Restore Oregon praised for contributing to the revitalization of the historic district, was built in 2021 for high energy performance and sustainability, as explained in the book, “The PAE Living Building: Developer-Led, Nature-Inspired.”
The Annex at Aurora Mills is a sustainable infill development in a historic district. (Kitta Bodmer)
The Annex at Aurora Mills building in the Aurora Colony Historic District shows that compatible and sustainable infill development can enhance and preserve a rural community, add diversification and grow the economy, said Restore Oregon.
The 8,000-square-foot retail display and sales floor is an expansion of Aurora Mills Architectural Salvage, which has been selling architectural antiques, industrial objects and salvaged Oregon lumber since 1999 in a historic former mill.
The style of the new structure was inspired by 19th-century train sheds.
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