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The Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church, in North Portland, saw its congregation swell in the wake of the 1948 Vanport flood, which displaced Oregon’s largest African-American community in a matter of hours. This led to a significant alteration of the church building, and it’s still noticeable today.

Such history will soon be documented by the Architectural Heritage Center, thanks to a $12,000 grant from the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office. documenting early history of African-Americans in Portland, and cover structures ranging from the stately Vancouver Avenue church to houses that formerly housed working-class families.

鈥淲ith a project like this it was really important that we get it right,鈥� said Brandon Spencer-Hartle, historic resources manager for the city. 鈥淚n this case, getting it right means bringing on people who have a connection to the population that we’re trying to better document and understand.鈥�

The grant was awarded by the city of Portland. The AHC was chosen over five other bidders 鈥� mainly Portland-area preservation consultants. Its research program is expected to ultimately result in an application to list Portland’s varied African-American cultural sites on the National Register of Historic Places. Combining multiple sites into one historic district is done through a Multiple Property Documentation process, which is said to be more involved than the one to list an individual site.

AHC distinguished itself via its deep connections to Portland’s African-American community, according to Spencer-Hartle.

鈥淲hat stood out about AHC’s bid, and the reason why ultimately they were selected,鈥� he said, 鈥渋s that they’ve got a lengthy history of not just documentation of buildings, but direct involvement with property owners and renters and businesses in North and Northeast Portland that have long-standing associations with the African-American community.鈥�

Along with technical writing and research, the project’s scope includes a heavy public engagement component. The AHC’s first community meeting for this project is scheduled for May 20, at 10 a.m., at the Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church, at 3138 N. Vancouver Ave. Attendees are asked to bring photographs, oral histories or other materials detailing what life was like in Portland in its first 75 years. These could include present owners or occupants of properties formerly occupied by African-Americans decades ago, Spencer-Hartle said.

Many of the key properties are expected to be in North and Northeast Portland, where many of the city’s African-American residents took root. Others could be located elsewhere, and help tell stories of displacement as a result of unfair mortgage lending practices or other racism.

Additional meetings will take place later this summer, depending on the outcome of the first one.

The AHC is expected to deliver around August a completed nomination for a federal Multiple Property designation containing a wealth of relevant contextual history. It should come in a form compatible with the U.S. Forest Service’s best practices for documenting historic resources. Plus, the AHC is being asked to present the information in a way that hasn’t been done before.

If the designation is awarded, that opens the door for individual property owners to designate their individual buildings.

Previous efforts by historic preservationists often weren’t oriented toward telling the stories of African-Americans, Spencer-Hartle said.

Spencer-Hartle, a former Restore Oregon staffer, said the city has studied similar documentation efforts in Los Angeles and Wichita, Kansas.