71 SW Oak (1966)

Aubrie Koenig and Will McKay from The History Press were in town for a couple of days to check out Portland. (History Press is publishing my book on lost Portland eateries and it was cool to meet Aubrie and Will in person and chat about the book.)

As part of their brief stay in Portland, Dan Haneckow presented a two-hour walking tour of downtown Portland on a recent non-rainy but chilly Portland morning. (He’s also working on a book for History Press on Portland’s Great Light Way.) I also got to do some catching up with photographer Alexander Craghead, who recently gave a sold-out presentation for AHC on Railroad Architecture and the Northwest.

The theme of the tour was Three Downtowns in Two Hours (the downtowns of the 1860-1880s, the 1890s and the teens-twenties and beyond).

Dan’s knowledge of this area of Portland’s past shined during the walk as he pointed out surviving buildings, parking lots of lost buildings and horrifically remodeled ones. Since I’ve started working downtown last summer, I’ve had the chance to do a lot of exploring and have become increasingly fascinated with Portland’s cast iron buildings and the area along the Willamette that once housed them.

It’s one thing to read about the history of this section of town, but to walk it and see buildings in person really resonated and helped connect the dots from my lacking early Portland history.

Fechheimer & White Building, built in 1885.

Plaque on the Fechheimer & White Building.

71 SW Oak (retrofitted in 1976)

SW 1st and Oak

SW Ash and 2nd (next to Kells and in desperate need of a retrofit back to its former cast-iron self)

Call it what you will, a retrofit, renovation, re-do. We like to call it “re-birth,” or the taking of an existing structure and repurposing it a usable space or place.

One good example is Eugene’s Fifth Street Public Market.

What was once a poultry plant built in 1929, it re-morphed into the current-day vibrant market for artisans, foodies and retailers in 1976 – and gets 1.4 million visitors a year.

The next phase for the space, which continues to grow, is the addition of the Inn at the 5th, a boutique hotel that opened last month that connects to the past by:

incorporating elements of the past throughout the hotel, including mantles made using wood from the original Nike Store. Bedside tables and a signature lobby coffee table were handcrafted from the trunk of the stately maple tree that once grew on the site.

Here’s a photo set of pics from the previous decades (no, those aren’t Instagram retro filters) that illustrate how the space has changed through the years:

As if I didn’t have enough to do with Lost Oregon, writing a book and working, I’ve launched another blog, PDX: Then and Now. It’s photo-based and is a collection of photos I’ve been snapping around Portland that compare “now” shots with older photos.

Take a look!

The Architectural Heritage Center hosted a “hard hat” tour last Saturday at the Salvation Army building on MLK Blvd.

I’ve driven past the building so many times over the years and it’s so a part of the urban landscape of the Grand/MLK Blvd. fabric that I almost knew where it was by memory alone (“the Salvation Army logo on the brick building by that one office supply store and the indoor soccer place?”). Usually – mostly – MLK/Grand is sadly used as a driving route to get to and from downtown. It was a nice to be able to slow down and do some walking before the tour and check out the neighborhood, recently dubbed Produce Row by the city. And walking – running- across MLK to the Salvation Army building was an adventure.

I showed up a bit early and checked in and walked around the space a bit. Immediately noticeable was that funky smell of abandoned building – which brought back memories of illegal activities and secret hideouts, way back before I knew what the word “preservation” and “retrofit” meant. Attendees started to gather and were milling about on the first floor, some snapping photos and others chatting.

Impressive beams and other structural feats aside, the building has an interesting story, as does the Salvation Army. The crowd gathered around displays while Morgen Young from Alder told the tale of the Salvation Army and its auspicious beginnings in Portland (members had rotten fruit and vegetables thrown at them for displaying signs) and its history dating back to England.

Next up was Venerable Properties who explained the history of the building and how it’s being retrofitted. The building itself is actually two buildings. The south half was constructed in 1893 and was then expanded and remodeled in 1930 by architect Frederick Manson White, giving it the uniform appearance it has today.

According to Venerable:

While the 1893 building first had a hay-and-feed use, it was later owned and used by the Salvation Army as their Industrial Home in 1913. Industrial Homes were more common in major American cities during this time as the Salvation Army was growing and spreading their mission to help the poor. The purpose of the Home was to provide work and shelter for homeless, unemployed men. They would collect, sort and resell recyclable items such as rags and paper and collect, repair and sell second-hand merchandise such as clothes, shoes, furniture and household items.

The original exterior?

Venerable says once the rehab is complete, the first floor multi-tenant retail spaces will have restored storefronts, high ceilings and exposed structure. The upper floors will have high ceilings, original timber construction and operable windows with downtown views. The building will be brought up to code with a seismic upgrade, all new HVAC and mechanical systems, elevator, and parking lot upgrades.

The rehabilitation is by the same team that resurrected the White Stag Block, including Venerable Development, Fletcher Farr Ayotte Architects, and Bremik Construction.

If the AHC hosts another hard hat tour, I’ll be there. Great way to see history up close, nerd out on architecture, chat with the architects and learn more about re-using Portland’s many amazing older buildings, not tearing them down.

So, I’m writing a book about Portland’s lost restaurants, diners and bars. The book will cover mostly post WW2- Portland, mid-century, 1960s and 1970s.

I’d love to speak with you if you have memories of your favorite hangouts – and especially if you worked at a restaurant, lounge or bar.

Please send me an email at lostoregon@gmail.com and I will be in touch.

Thanks!

-John

SE 7th – before its widening in the 1920s.

From Portland’s Bureau of Transportation.