Former home of The Bonfire.

I love when history and technology meet. The What Was There site (and app) is a perfect example of mashing old technology (photography) and newer tech (Google Street View maps). Essentially you get a “then” photo with the ability to drag your mouse to see the “now” version.

Closer to home, the folks behind the Dill Pickle Club are trying to launch a free Portland social history app and website called Know Your City. The app and website will utilize mapping and smart phone technology to create greater awareness of Portland’s history, culture and diversity through video, audio, photos and text. The project “aims to provide a holistic view of how neighborhoods change over time to deepen our understanding of Portland.”

The app will feature a Google map, with pinpoints around town. By clicking on the pinpoint, users will be able to learn about local buildings, historical tidbits and the stories behind Portland’s past, through illustrations, video or articles. The package we received had illustrations by Kate Bingaman Burt, creator of favorite Obsessive Consumption so this’ll be guaranteed to be top notch.

Here’s the catch, though. If you want to enjoy this free app, organizers need to raise more than $9,000 in the next 35 days to make the project possible.

They’re using Kickstarter, a social networking fundraising website, to raise the capital needed to pay for the app’s development. If they reach their goal, they will make the app free and available to everyone. If they don’t reach this amount, they won’t be able to dedicate the resources needed to implement the program.

Cool project and worth donating to. Check out how here.

Public History Graduates (PHiG) is screening Lens on the Community, a series of free public programs presenting films from the Center for the Moving Image (CMI) from the Tom T. Taylor collection at the Portland State Library. These films that represent, interpret, and shape the distinct communities that constitute the greater Portland metropolitan area.

The program kicks off on October 9th at 2pm at 5th Avenue Cinema. PHiG will present the CMI film Riches of a City (1975), which documents the development of the Skidmore District and recounts the struggle to bring this downtown Portland neighborhood into the modern era while preserving its cultural and historical significance. Dr. Carl Abbott (School of Urban Studies and Planning) and Bill Hawkins (Architectural Heritage Center) will be the guest speakers who will offer insights into the film and the district, then and now.

Lens on the Community is made possible by a generous grant from the Multnomah County Cultural Coalition and the Oregon Cultural Trust and the cooperation of Portland State University Library’s Special Collections.

What: Len on the Community: Riches of a City
When: Sunday October 9, 2011 at 2pm
Where: 5th Ave Cinema, 510 SW Hall Street (between 5th and 6th)
Cost: Free