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In November, a small cross section of Portland’s building industry gathered in a dark, smoky foundry to witness a rare execution of modern cast-iron craftsmanship.

Workers at the Silverton Foundry recreated pieces of the cast-iron facade of Portland’s oldest building. According to several of the experts working on the restoration of the Hallock and McMillan Building, it was the first time in modern history that the process was used to cast large sections of a building’s facade entirely in iron. Though many preservationists consider the project an exciting step in the right direction, the restoration is stalled until the neighborhood is developed more fully.

At the foundry, cranes swooped overhead, bringing molten iron from a tall, cylindrical furnace to custom molds that were created based on historic photographs of the 155-year-old Hallock and McMillan Building. The firms carrying out the project 鈥� , and 鈥� all sent representatives to the Silverton Foundry to witness the unique recreation of the historic facade.

鈥淚t seemed ancient as all get-out,鈥� said architect and cast-iron expert Bill Hawkins, who was a consultant for the project. 鈥�(The building) will once again look as it did when its architects designed and built it.鈥�

After housing an electronics business for many years, the Hallock and McMillan Building was purchased in 2010 by John Russell, founder of He then assembled a group of experts to restore the building’s cast-iron facade with full-iron replicas.

鈥淚t’s a long process and you can’t hurry it,鈥� Russell said. 鈥淵ou have to plan for six months of preparation work, but it’s absolutely worth it.鈥�

Several experts needed nearly a year to design and prepare the molds. The Silverton Foundry then fashioned a series of cast-iron ornamental pieces and seven-foot columns to replace the originals, which were removed in the 1940s and then lost.

The casting process employed basically the same techniques that would have been used when the building was constructed in 1857, according to David Field, who owns the foundry with his brother George.

鈥淚t’s a craft that is pretty rare, and the knowledge of the foundry men is really, really critical,鈥� said Dave Talbott, president of Architectural Castings Inc., a Portland firm that helped develop drawings and molds for the foundry. 鈥淚t would be tough to do without the aggregate knowledge of these guys.鈥�

Russell, who owns multiple cast-iron buildings in Portland’s Skidmore/Old Town Historic District, said he will not install the recently cast pieces on the Hallock and McMillan Building until the area is improved.

鈥淭he neighborhood is just not ready for it; there are too many empty parking lots,鈥� he said.

However, this recent effort to restore the Hallock and McMillan Building, which is located at the corner of Southwest Naito Parkway and Oak Street, may influence future redevelopment of the area.

鈥淲e need to rehabilitate the resources we have left and infill the missing pieces (of the district) that right now are surface parking lots,鈥� said Peggy Moretti, executive director of the . The HPLO recently listed the Skidmore/Old Town district on its 2012 list of Oregon’s most endangered places.

The Hallock and McMillan Building originally had the kind of showy, cast-iron frontage that defined Portland in its early days. But many of the building’s cast-iron neighbors have been torn down, and an unclear vision for the district has stalled redevelopment.

鈥淭he whole district is in a gridlock,鈥� Moretti said. 鈥淭ackling that poor, pathetic-looking building represents what the district used to be and can be again.鈥�

A new Skidmore/Old Town task force is gearing up to tackle some of the district’s ongoing development issues. But Hawkins and other preservationists have already made it clear that they hope that the city’s stockpile of salvaged cast iron will be used to rebuild the Skidmore/Old Town area. The same process used for the Hallock and McMillan project could be used to recast the missing pieces.

鈥淚 hope (the project) will trigger a little renaissance for our historic district,鈥� Hawkins said. 鈥淚f the area is going to be reborn, it should be done in iron.鈥�