Irvington nominated to National Register as Portland's largest historic district

Photo by Jon Jensen for Renovation Style magazine 

After four years of work, the Irvington Community Association has completed its nomination for the Irvington neighborhood to be designated as a Historic District listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

"This is a bit of a big deal," Irvington historian Jim Heuer, who was involved with the application, writes by email, "since there are 2,804 properties in the proposed district, making it the largest proposed historic district in Oregon and one of the largest in the country.  Of these nearly 85 percent have been identified as 'contributing', meaning that they have retained their architectural integrity and were built between 1885 and 1948 - the "Period of Significance" for the neighborhood."

"If this is approved by SHPO [the State Historic Preservation Office] and the National Park Service," Heuer adds, "this will, at one stroke bring 3.5 percent of the estimated 80,000 historic residences in Portland under the protections provided by the State and City for National Register-designated properties.  Once that process is complete, there will be a very interesting and challenging task ahead to define the design standards for new and remodel construction in the district ... a process that will likely draw out into the open many of the issues raised in your blog as to what constitutes 'appropriate' development in a historic Portland neighborhood."

Indeed, if Irvington becomes a designated Historic District on the National Register, it will bring a level of review and bureaucracy when people want to build in the neighborhood. The designs will have to be in keeping with Irvington's existing scale and styles. That will no doubt be troubling for some projects, but overall it will enable the city's fine collection of historic houses in Irvington to be kept safely intact for historical prosperity.

The timing of this announcement couldn't be better for the annual Irvington Home Tour, which is scheduled for May 16.

Below is an abridged summary of Irvington's case for being a Historic District, taken from the neighborhood's National Register application. You can read the application in its entirety on the SHPO website here.

The Irvington Historic District is a residential neighborhood, composed primarily of single-family homes. It is bounded on the north by NE Fremont Street, south by NE Broadway, west by NE 7th Avenue, and on the east by 27th Avenue.  The district encompasses approximately 583 acres. 

The majority of homes were constructed between 1900 and 1930 but with surviving examples of early Queen Anne style cottages and mid-twentieth century residential buildings as well.  The district is notable for its collection of Queen Anne, Period Revival (revival style inspired cottages, English Cottage, Tudor Revival, Classical Revival, Mediterranean Revival, and Colonial Revival), Bungalow/Craftsman, and Prairie School residences.

As an example of a streetcar suburb derived from a “gridiron plat”, Irvington’s physical development and appearance was distinctively shaped in a manner similar to streetcar suburbs located throughout the United States. (The Streetcar Suburb is listed as a property subtype within the National Register’s “Historic Residential Suburbs in the United States, 1830-1960” Multiple Property Documentation Form.) Irvington was largely developed as a direct result of the expansion of the electric streetcar lines that extended from downtown Portland in the late-nineteenth century and by the first decade of the 1900s were extended along NE Broadway, NE 15th, NE 22nd, and NE 24th.

Irvington developed from south to north based upon the presence of the initial streetcar extension along NE Broadway as many older homes (1890s) are located along or in close proximity to NE Tillamook Street and south.  Later residences (1900-1948) are distributed throughout the neighborhood and are indicative of more intensive development activity and infill that occurred during that period.

The district contains approximately 2,807 buildings (not including ancillary buildings), of which the majority (84 percent) was constructed between 1900 and 1930.  Of the 2,807 total buildings, 85 percent (or 2379 buildings) contribute to the historical character of the district as National Register of Historic Places eligible or listed properties.  Architectural styles from the Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals and Late 19th/Early 20th Century American Movement categories predominate the district. The building boom years (1900-1948) resulted in the construction of approximately 87 percent of the buildings in the district.  

The district is visually cohesive, with Late Victorian architecture concentrated in the south, Period Revivals and Late 19th/Early 20th Century American Movement architecture concentrated in the center and north, and Modern period architecture scattered throughout the district as infill development. The architecture reflects the regional development of northeast Portland and the continuum of residential stylistic preferences.  The visual cohesion, which is expressed through the layout, architecture, and streetscape elements, distinguishes the Irvington Historic District from the surrounding neighborhoods.  Historic infill that occurred in the 1930s and 1940s contributes, rather than detracts from the district, because the massing and scale of the buildings is consistent with the earlier residences.  These later buildings represent a key period in the subdivision’s history when most of the lots had been developed and only a few remained available for new construction. 

Comments

[Ed]

Seems to me that this move is a way to keep the "rif-raf" out. By next year FHA will no longer finance properties in historic districts (HUD Mortgagee Letter 09-19) so those without large down payments are out. FNMA and FMAC often follow FHA so affordable mortgages in Irvington might be a thing of the past. Trustafarians should still be ok to live there as they pay cash.

[Jim Heuer]

As one of the many volunteers who toiled on the Irvington National Register District project I have to say that Ed's comment about this being a move to keep the "rif raf" out is ridiculous, unless by "rif raf" he means unscrupulous developers who want to tear down perfectly good housing stock to build new construction that is destructive of the character of the neighborhood.

If anybody takes time to read the fine print in the HUD Mortgagee letter referenced in his comment, you'll see that it relates to mortgage insurance on condominums, of which there are relatively few in Irvington. Further, aside from the stupidity of the HUD policy (properties in NR Districts tend to have greater appreciation in value than comparable properties outside a district according to multiple studies by the National Trust for Historic Preservation), there is every reason to believe that the stability and predictability afforded by the NR District listing will only enhance the interest of lenders in the area.

Unlike what some reverse-elitists might suggest, Irvington has a broad mix of incomes, home sizes, and cultural backgrounds. Further, there is a substantial population of renters in Irvington's apartment buildings, many of which date to the historic period and will be protected by the NR District as well. We are delighted in the diversity of our community, and believe that the NR District will help preserve both the smaller, affordable homes and the large, grand ones, ensuring that this area will retain its healthy mix of properties.

If anything, the development most likely to be stopped by the NR District listing will be that involving the demolition of small 1910s and 1920s bungalows and cottages and their replacement with 5000 sq ft behemoths well beyond the financial reach of their neighbors. I believe that the majority of Irvington residents welcome that result of the NR District.

[Ed]

Yes Jim, I can see how lower income folks (your know, those people that bought before gentrification) might really appreciate some busy-body requiring them to pay for a historic design review before doing any work on their own home. When and if they get the blessing of their overreaching elitist neighbors and the city, I'm sure the materials and craftsmen required to do a "period" restoration would be a lot less expensive than DIY or other ways of fixing the place up. Maybe they would be better off selling to some "rehabber" and he can remodel those cottages into massive "old style" starter castles.

What I have seen in the NW Alphabet district is homeowners ignoring the requirements and installing vinyl windows, hardiplank siding and composition roofing on their old houses. Developers still develop but are required to do some odd "faux" designs and iconic buildings like the one that Apple proposed for NW 23rd and Glisan are blocked. Can anyone tell me how the building that Kinkos now occupies there is better or more acceptable than an iconic Apple store?

Shame on you for doing it and for spinning it when it seems obvious that the goal is to increase the values of the fancy/expensive houses there and trying to spin it as though it is good for everyone.

[Thomas]

I live in an Irvington bungalow.
We moved here
because it has character and
charm. A hundred years from now
people will be glad we had the
foresight to preserve it's architecture.

Thank you volunteers
I hope you get Irvington historic status.