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Restore Oregon recently honored seven projects for outstanding efforts related to historic preservation. The nonprofit held its first DeMuro Awards ceremony last week and hopes to hold the event annually, Executive Director Peggy Moretti said.

The awards are named for late developer Art DeMuro, who was president of Portland-based Venerable Properties Inc. He had an honorable passion for restoring older buildings, including the White Stag Block in Portland, Moretti said.

“We just felt it was a great opportunity to honor his memory,” she said. “There is a lot of good (preservation) work going on, and the more we spotlight it, the more people see the possibilities.”

Five of the award winners were: the Astoria Train Deport in Astoria, built in 1925 and restored this year into the Barbey Maritime Center for Research and Industry; the Burkes-Belluschi house in Portland, a residence built in 1948 and restored in 2011; and a former U.S. Forest Service ranger station in Sisters, built in 1936 and repurposed in 2011 into a vacation rental; the Ladd Carriage House in Portland, built in 1883 and repurposed into a restaurant this year; and the Oswego Iron Furnace, built in 1866 and restored in 2010 into an educational and tourist destination.

Two projects at Oregon State University in Corvallis received awards. One, Furman Hall, was built in 1902 and restored in 2011. The project, including restoration of the building’s stone exterior, was designed by Portland-based FFA Architecture and Interiors.

“(OSU) went to extraordinary measures to maintain the historic integrity,” Moretti said.

Although not a preservation project, OSU’s Hallie E. Ford Center for Healthy Children and Families received a DeMuro Award because it was designed by Portland-based THA Architecture to fit in with neighboring historic buildings, Moretti said.

“The way they designed that was a home run,” she said. “They made a compatible new building with historic context. They had a lot to consider, and we just thought they did a wonderful job.”

When reviewing award nominations Restore Oregon looked at how projects addressed historic preservation challenges, Moretti said.

“Our criteria had to do with creative problem-solving,” she said. “We looked at the craftsmanship and the respect for the historic fabric.”