Seven projects in Portland were among 11 selected by Restore Oregon to receive a 2021 DeMuro Award for excellence in historic preservation.

The awards, given since 2013, honor the people and places that preserve Oregon’s heritage and historic spaces. Among this year’s winning projects are: improvements of affordable/low-income housing units, adaptive reuse of industrial space, and restorations of vacant buildings to accommodate small businesses.

Winning projects were selected by a jury of professionals in architecture, engineering, planning and historic preservation fields. Projects were recognized for their positive impact upon the community, the ways they inspire historic preservation, and the degree to which they align with Restore Oregon’s mission, stated Nicole Possert, the nonprofit’s executive director.

“These DeMuro-award winning projects serve as inspiration for solving real-world challenges in every community in our state,” she stated.

This year’s winners include:

• The Rose Apartments (Portland) – a full seismic upgrade, an increase in ADA accessibility, and restoration of historical features including the main staircase, original Murphy bed alcoves and cast-iron radiators. The team included REACH CDC, Jones Architecture, Froelich Engineers and LMC Construction.
• The Henry Building (Portland) – a seismic upgrade and addition of 20 affordable housing units (now 173 total). The team included Central City Concern, SERA Architects, KPFF and Colas Construction.
• Premier Gear (Portland) – cuts of approximately 150 window openings to the existing concrete exterior walls and the addition of a sky-bridge to connect the north and south halves to the new interior mezzanine level. The team included Sturgeon Development Partners, LRS Architects, Catena Consulting Engineers and Lorentz Bruun Construction.
• For Mrs. Noble (Portland) – renovation of a two-story building originally commissioned nearly a century ago in order to suit more than a dozen small businesses. The team included several investors (all with ties to the neighborhood), EMA Architecture, Grummel Engineering and Joseph Hughes Construction.
• The Madeleine (Portland) – rejuvenation of the church’s original sanctuary included integrating and concealing modern building systems, refurbishing trim and stained-glass windows, and re-creating an accent wall that had been painted over. The team included The Madeleine Parish, Carleton Hart Architecture, TM Rippey Consulting Engineers and H & A Construction.
• Living Room Realty headquarters (Portland) – renovation of an aging office building with new finishes except for the use of curved, glulam beams for the ceiling. The team included SUM Design Studio, S. Baird Design and Deform NW.
• Jim Fisher Volvo (Portland) – addition of green Vitrolite glass to two sides of a four-story building. The team included the Fisher family, Hennebery Eddy Architects, KPFF, Interface Engineering and R&H Construction.
• Gray-Belle Building (Salem) – renovation of a structure more than a century old and vacant for several years into Salem’s first food hall and rehab of five second-story apartments. The team included the city of Salem, Ronald James Ped Architect PC, Design-Build by FXG, Gralund Engineering and FXG Construction.
• Caples House Museum (Columbia City) – foundation stabilization and front porch restoration for a community museum and event center. The team included the Oregon State Society of Daughters of the American Revolution, city of St. Helens, BK Engineers and Arciform.
• Carlton office building (Carlton) – transformation of a building originally constructed as an auto repair garage into office space by showcasing the ceiling’s heavy-timber bow trusses that allow for an open interior.
• Pole House 5 (Otis) – preservation of a wood-framed cabin perched on several poles off of the forest floor involved restoration of original carpentry and the addition of insulation without disrupting proportions or sight lines. The team included Beebe Skidmore Architects and Hoffman Taylor Construction.

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The show must go on, despite a pandemic. At least that’s the case for the , which will honor Oregon projects demonstrating excellence in historic preservation.

This year’s Restoration Celebration banquet is scheduled for Oct. 2, when winners in a host of categories will be recognized. Preservation professionals will judge projects on: creative or unique approach to design, adaptive reuse and problem solving; quality of engineering, craftsmanship, materials, standards and degree of difficulty; and impact on the community (cultural, economic or environmental).

Now in its eighth year, Restore Oregon‘s awards program is intended to promote historic preservation and share lessons learned from successful projects. The awards are named after the late Art DeMuro, a Portland developer who worked on many historic properties, including the Minnesota Hotel, Telegram Building, Northwest Fence & Wire Works, Ladd Carriage House, Fire Station No. 7 and the White Stag Block.

To submit a nomination, visit: . Nominations are due by 8 p.m. Pacific time on June 12; late submissions will not be accepted.

Call 503-946-6378 or send an email to erin@restoreoregon.org to learn more.

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In Moro, a tiny city in northern Oregon, a 120-year-old historic building again has a cupola. The project to restore and add to the Sherman County Courthouse wrapped up last year. It now has gained recognition from Restore Oregon as one of its 12 .

The awards honor exceptional efforts to preserve, reuse and revitalize architecturally and culturally significant sites in Oregon. The winning projects will be feted during Restore Oregon’s Restoration Celebration gala on Nov. 1, from 5:30 to 9 p.m., at the Sentinel Hotel in downtown Portland.

Many of this year’s winners are in Portland, but the Sherman County Courthouse is in a much more rural setting. The building’s original cupola had been removed decades ago after being destroyed in a storm. Hennebery Eddy Architects designed the rehabilitation of the unreinforced building as well as a new building.

“The cupola is fiberglass, so we replicated it,” said Meg Matsushima, a Hennebery Eddy Architects associate. “We worked with a group out of Texas (Fiberglass Specialties Inc.) where one of their other businesses is building extreme chicken coops. They did a great job, and in the courthouse itself that’s the only seismic upgrade we needed to do since we were moving sheriff’s operations to the new addition.”

Kirby Nagelhout Construction was the general contractor for the project. Interface Engineering performed the MEP engineering, lighting design, fire and life safety and building technologies. Surprises popped up along the way to completion.

“In the basement, with the excavation, we found that it wasn’t fully excavated at first,” Matsushima said. “There were obstacles in the way, so trying to get footings for the cupola down to the basement was a challenge.”

The team was careful, Matsushima said, both in how it designed and where it placed the 15,000-square-foot addition so it would neither overshadow nor detract from the historic courthouse. In addition, local artists were sought to provide landscape photographs and paintings depicting Sherman County for use in decorating the golden-hued interior of both the courthouse and the addition.

“I think the DeMuro Award is a big deal in our office and our historic resources group,” Matsushima said. “It sets you apart in a different way in the architecture community. It’s nice these types of buildings are recognized, because a lot of the awards are just the big, fancy buildings, and these little jewels are just as important to the fabric of our culture.”

Other 2019 DeMuro Award winners include: the Almr Apartments and retail spaces in Portland; the Altsource headquarters in Portland; the Fairmount Apartments in Portland; Firehouse 17 (restoration and addition) in Portland; the Central Hotel in Burns; the M&N Building in Astoria; Lincoln Hall (renovation and addition) at Portland State University; the Silas Beeks House (restoration) in Forest Grove; The Redd on Salmon Street in Portland; the U.S. Customs House in Portland; and the Woodlark Hotel in Portland.

The Restoration Celebration will begin with a happy hour at 5:30 p.m. and follow with a three-course dinner and program. Learn more and buy tickets – $125 for Restore Oregon members; $150 for nonmembers – at .

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