Built in 1890 as a saloon, dance hall, and brothel, the Witherspoon Building, located at 424 SW 4th, is in the final stretch of its 123 year renovation , or, “redemption.”
In January 2014, the Witherspoon Building will be home to Parliament as well as a creative collective, a sidewalk-facing creative flex space and a below-ground workshop. They are actively seeking designers, writers, programmers, technologists, small start-ups, and other modern makers to help them build something great.
How do I know this? A really cool marketing campaign.
During one of my lunch-time walks, I noticed the building getting some retrofit work done to it and walked up to it to take a couple of pics and noticed the cool signage adorning the side. It had the name of the building and a URL to visit for more information.
On the website, there’s a bit of history, a live-cam (!!) of construction work and a photo journal.
Every building in town getting this type of retrofit work needs a story behind it – what a great way to bring history alive while re-using existing infrastructure.
Lost Oregon 
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[…] the video, and asked if they’d be interested in a trade — a sign for a video. The firm owns The Witherspoon Building, a 1890s-era brick building in downtown Portland and is spending millions for seismic upgrades and […]