Nine projects in Oregon have been recognized by Restore Oregon with DeMuro Awards for excellence in historic preservation. The projects were selected by a jury of professionals in the field of historic preservation and related disciplines, including architecture, planning, and engineering.

The 2025 DeMuro Award honorees are:

• The Benson Polytechnic High School modernization in Portland was completed last year. The $269 million project, spanning over 379,000 square feet, has preserved and seismically upgraded four landmark buildings while introducing four new academic and CTE buildings organized around secure outdoor courtyards and a central commons. The project team included Bassetti Architects, Portland Public Schools, KPFF Consulting Engineers, Andersen Construction, Mayer Reed, PAE Consulting Engineers, and others.
• For an update of the Merchant Block in Dayton, three vintage buildings were rehabilitated. The $16.5 million project was completed this year. The project team included Paul M. Falsetto Architect LLC, Twin Towers LLC, TM Rippey Consulting Engineers, R&H Construction, IDEA, and others.
• The Joyce in Portland was rehabilitated and upgraded so that it can continue to serve as Permanent Supportive Housing. The $14.1 million project was completed in 2023. The project team included Carleton Hart Architecture, Community Partners for Affordable Housing, Bremik Construction, DCI Engineers, Vega Civil Engineering, and others.
• The adaptive reuse of the John Gumm Building in St. Helens was completed last year. In a $10.5 million project an elementary school was converted into a vibrant civic hub, symbolizing thoughtful preservation, innovation, and public stewardship, Restore Oregon stated. The project team included Bremik Construction, Emerick Architects, Columbia County, Schutte Consulting Engineers, Lower Columbia Engineering, and others.
• The $5 million restoration of the historic Brooklyn Railroad Roundhouse Turntable in Portland was completed last year. After 75 years of operation, the turntable was decommissioned in 1999, and the roundhouse was demolished in 2012. However, the turntable was preserved and donated to the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation, which undertook the project. The team included Roger L. Woehl, Hennebery Eddy Architects, the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation, KPFF, Omega Morgan, and others.

• Milwaukie City Hall in Milwaukie was transformed this year via a $5 million adaptive reuse project. The historic building of the Works Progress Administration era is now a commercial and cultural hub. The project team included GTO Development, Brett Schulz Architect PC, City Hall Holdings LLC, Kurt Fischer Structural Engineering, Owen Gabbert LLC, and others.
• The $5 million restoration of the Holly Theatre in Medford finished last year. The venue stands as a living symbol of Medford’s past and future, hosting concerts, film screenings, and civic events that draw thousands, according to Restore Oregon. The project team included Outlier Construction, Oregon Architecture, JRP Foundation, Firestop Co., Cannon Management, and others.
• The Oregon State University Rehearsal Classroom Building in Corvallis received a $4.8 million adaptive reuse project last year. The building, originally a heat plant and later a firing range, was preserved in conjunction with the construction of an adjacent performing arts center. The project team included Holst Architecture, Oregon State University, Froelich Engineers, Acoustic Design Studio, Hoffman Construction, and others.

• The 1879 Mark Prairie Schoolhouse in Canby is in better shape now. After two large oak trees fell on the building in 2021, a recovery and restoration project was launched to create a cultural destination offering historical, indigenous, and natural resource interpretation for both locals and visitors, according to Restore Oregon. The $850,000 project wrapped up this year. The project team included the Mark Prairie Historical Society, JE Design & Construction, Froelich Engineers, and Emerick Construction.

The award-winning projects will be celebrated from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Oct. 24 at the Redd in Southeast Portland. Tickets are available on Restore Oregon’s website, at .

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Three individuals or organizations have been recognized by Restore Oregon with 2024 DeMuro Preservation Awards.

Restore Oregon annually bestows awards on honorees that have “made a lasting impact on the historic preservation and cultural heritage landscape in Oregon.”

This year’s honorees are:

• Innovative Housing Inc. The affordable housing developer was recognized for a long record of adaptive reuse projects that turned historic buildings into housing.

Innovative Housing’s  “historic renovation work includes resurrecting the derelict Merwyn Hotel in Astoria, creating affordable workforce housing at the legendary Erickson Saloon in Portland and repurposing a National Historic Landmark while adding two adjacent complementary buildings at the Anna Mann House. Even when building new, IHI’s team found innovative ways to integrate important characters and elements of a historic neighborhood to create the Woodwind Apartments in Albany,” Restore Oregon stated.

• Earl Blumenauer, D-Portland. Blumenauer, who is retiring from Congress when his term ends early next year, “has worked on federal legislation to protect and improve our nation’s most important financial tool — the Historic Tax Credit,” Restore Oregon stated.

Blumenauer was among the first representatives to join the Historic Preservation Caucus when it launched in 2003, and secured funding for many historic preservation efforts, including the restoration of Pioneer Courthouse, the Columbia River Highway and the Oregon National Historic Trail/Sandy River.

• Japanese American Museum of Oregon. The Portland-based organization created the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center and the Japanese American Historical Plaza at the north end of Tom McCall Waterfront Park. The group helps to preserve and honor the history and culture of Japanese Americans in the Pacific Northwest, including educating the public about the Japanese American experience during World War II.

The DeMuro awards will be celebrated at 4:30-7 p.m. Oct. 4 at Castaway Portland, 1900 N.W. 18^th Ave. Tickets are available on .

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Restore Oregon is accepting nominations through June 10 for its annual DeMuro Awards, which recognize excellence in historic preservation.

DeMuro Award-winning projects serve as educational inspiration for preservation and reuse and illustrate best practices for using historic places and spaces as tools to solve current challenges such as insufficient affordable housing, stalled economic development and resilience from climate change.

A jury of professionals in the fields of architecture, engineering, planning and historic preservation will select this year’s winners. Criteria include:

• rehabilitation/redevelopment of a structure, public space or cultural landscape at least 50 years old;
• compatible addition to a historic building or infill development (new construction) within a historic district;
• a project completed in Oregon within the past five years;
• creative or unique approach to design, adaptive reuse and problem solving in the field of historic preservation;
• exceptional quality of engineering, craftsmanship, materials, standards and degree of difficulty; and
• positive impact on the community.

Self-nominations are welcome and previous submissions for projects not named winners may be resubmitted. To learn more and apply online, go to .

The awards honor the legacy of the late Art DeMuro, a developer, preservationist and Restore Oregon board member. Restore Oregon, a nonprofit, was founded in 1977 and works to preserve, reuse and pass forward historic places that reflect Oregon’s cultural heritage.

Previous award winners include the Belluschi Pavilion in Lake Oswego, Oregon City Public Library, Sovereign Hotel, Almr Apartments and retail spaces in Portland, the Fairmount Apartments, Firehouse 17 restoration and addition, and Lincoln Hall renovation and addition.

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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 Portland City Council is considering adoption of an amended Central City 2035 Plan after it was remanded by state regulators.

Historic preservationists successfully challenged the zoning overhaul, which called for increasing height limits in some areas, including 10 blocks in Old Town Chinatown in Northwest Portland. It also called for decreasing height limits on some properties, typically to preserve views of Mount Hood or the Willamette River.

The state Land Use Board of Appeals remanded the ordinance in August 2019, saying the city’s findings were inadequate to support the higher height limits in Old Town Chinatown. LUBA‘s remand forced the city to explain how the taller maximum heights “preserve and complement historic resources,” as required by the city’s comprehensive plan.

Restore Oregon and a coalition of Old Town Chinatown organizations challenged Guardian Real Estate‘s plans to build on Block 33, which under Central City 2035 zoning would have a 200-foot height limit with bonuses.

In January, the state Court of Appeals affirmed LUBA’s analysis in a lawsuit brought by Restore Oregon and various other groups.

The City Council received two hours of public testimony on Thursday, but did not vote. The written record was held open until 5 p.m. on June 4. The council is tentatively scheduled to vote on amended findings on July 2, with a final vote the following week.

Pearl Neighbors for Integrity in Design has pushed for the City Council to hold off on adoption until after November elections, when a new slate of commissioners will be seated.

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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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A group seeking to lure a Major League Baseball team to Portland announced it has agreed to relocate the historic Jantzen Beach Carousel to property adjacent to the envisioned ballpark.

Restore Oregon is planning to embark on a restoration of the 1921 carousel later this year. The nonprofit teamed up with the Portland Diamond Project after vetting multiple strong proposals to relocate the carousel, Restore Oregon Executive Director Peggy Moretti stated in a news release.

The two organizations will collaborate on the restoration and operation of the carousel, they announced.

“Locating the carousel adjacent to the ballpark supports our mission of creating an inclusive, family-friendly and accessible ballpark district,” Craig Cheek, founder and president of the baseball group, stated. “This effort is so much bigger than baseball – it is about making Portland a better place for all to live. Preserving the carousel – a wonderful civic asset – was an opportunity we simply couldn’t pass up.”

The carousel was donated to Restore Oregon in September 2017. Last year, the nonprofit published a request for expressions of interest to find a home for the North Portland icon.

Portland Diamond Project is evaluating the feasibility of a baseball stadium and mixed-use development at the Port of Portland‘s Terminal 2 property. The group unveiled architectural renderings by Populous Architects and TVA Architects for the ballpark in November 2018.

Major League Baseball officials have said Portland is a leading potential expansion market, but have not indicated when the league might add or move a team. The league’s most recent expansion was in 1998.

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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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When the Ancient Order of United Workmen Temple was demolished last fall, many preservationists lamented the loss of the building that had stood in downtown Portland since 1892.

Formerly located at 915 S.W. Second Ave., the six-story Temple building was the first of two unreinforced masonry structures to come down to accommodate the ambitious : a 20-story hotel and a 10-story office tower. The second structure, the 112-year-old Hotel Albion, has now been razed. It previously housed the Lotus Cardroom and Café from 1924 until its closure two years ago.

Neither building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Also, both were removed from the city of Portland’s Historic Resource Inventory at the request of the property owner in November 2015.

Initially, plans called for preservation of the Temple building and integration of it into the office tower portion of the project. But an extensive engineering study carried out by Ankrom Moisan Architects, KPFF Consulting Engineers and Turner Construction found that the cost of a retrofit would be greater than demolition and new construction.

While workers demolish the old and build the new, preservationists hope history won’t repeat itself.

“I could criticize what’s replacing those buildings,” Restore Oregon Executive Director Peggy Moretti said. “But the bottom line is the system here in Oregon for designating and protecting and incentivizing the restoration of important historic buildings is woefully lacking. We have a system that we could definitely be fixing.”

The good news for preservationists is that the Auditorium building, which is under separate ownership, will remain on the block. What that building opened in 1894, it featured a dance hall on its second level and a concert space with a balcony on the third. The building was converted into office space in the 1980s.

Next door, the Lotus Cardroom and Café had a long and colorful history as a local night spot. It apparently was the site of a 1927 bootlegging bust, and rumors are that there once was an upstairs brothel. The building regained popularity as a nightspot in the 1990s, when throngs of young people came to party and dance.

Moretti is eager to see changes that prevent losses of such spaces in the future.

“I think it requires careful planning and community engagement,” she said. “You can’t freeze a city in time, and we would not propose that. But we need to be able to make thoughtful decisions. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t recognize that Portland is special because of the historic fabric it has maintained.”

But strong demand for new office space in the central city has opened the door for this redevelopment effort. The project team includes Third and Taylor Development – a partnership between Arthur Mutal and Onder Development – as well as Ankrom Moisan Architects and general contractor Turner Construction.

Excavation and other below-grade work is taking place on the downtown block’s north half, where a 10-story office tower will rise. It will also have ground-floor retail space.

Developers even have the luxury of knowing the building will be fully occupied when it opens in 2020. According to several media reports, NW Natural has already signed a lease to occupy all 183,500 square feet of available office space.

Turner Construction crews are preparing to start pouring concrete for the foundation and the two below-grade stories of parking for the office building. A break in the site’s water supply led to a delay in demolition, but that was merely a hiccup, project manager Len Anderson told the 91��Ƶ.

Once demolition of the ex-Hotel Albion wraps up, excavation work for the 20-story hotel will be able to start on the south half of the block. The hotel will have a rooftop pool and bar along with a pair of restaurants.

The big question for many observers is whether similar redevelopment projects will follow. In the future, developers may have more options when working with historic buildings, said Brandon Spencer-Hartle, historic resources program manager for the city of Portland.

“We are looking to increase the incentives that would encourage a property owner to seek a (historic) designation,” he said.

Portland’s new 2035 Comprehensive Plan took effect last week. It includes new rules that allow for transfers of floor area ratio involving buildings on the city’s Historic Resource Inventory, which has not been updated since 1984.

Property owners of designated historic buildings could also sell that development capacity.

“The new regulations that went into effect Monday we hope will be more used by owners of existing landmarks and those who are looking at their development options,” Spencer-Hartle said.

Separately, a draft of a proposed city effort to update city code surrounding historic resource designations will be released to the public in September. Feedback will be sought.

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Restore Oregon last month honored 10 historic rehabilitation projects in Oregon when it handed out the 2017 DeMuro Awards. They’re named after the late Art DeMuro, a developer recognized for exceptional preservation efforts. The winning projects were chosen for exhibiting extraordinary quality, creative problem-solving, and noteworthy community impact. They also showcase Oregon’s diverse architectural history and culture.

The projects honored in Portland included the Mason Ehrman Annex and Tower seismic strengthening, the Overland Warehouse, the Sovereign Hotel, the Swift Agency and the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Access projects.

Two projects in Lake Oswego were honored: the Belluschi Pavilion and the Iron Company Worker’s Cottage.

Other honorees were: Leever Motor Co./Monarch Building (Medford); Oregon Supreme Court exterior rehabilitation (Salem); and the Oregon City Public Library (Oregon City).

More information about each project is available at .

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