Wyatt federal building, Wells Fargo tower and KOIN Center (Brian Libby)
BY BRIAN LIBBY
Merchants And Markets: Touring Portland’s Historic Yamhill District
Exploring the heart of Portland’s late-nineteenth century commercial district, this Architectural Heritage Center tour visits the Yamhill Historic District and nearby historic buildings of SW Second and Third Avenues. The route is packed with the names of prominent city pioneers who made their mark as merchants, developers and architects as well as providing some of the city’s finest examples of cast iron, Richardsonian Romanesque and Classical buildings. The tour also will visit the Willamette’s first bridge, the first public market, and the city's first Chinatown as we discuss how the district spearheaded the first preservation efforts for Portland’s downtown. Tour begins outside the World Trade Center, SW First Avenue and Salmon Street. 10AM Tuesday, August 16 and 6PM Wednesday, August 31. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
ForWARD: Connect with a Leader
Presented by two American Institute of Architects Portland chapter committees, FoWARD (Forum for Women in Architecture and Related Design) and the AIA Fellows, this luncheon and talk features local designer Luke Arehart of Partnership Development, who is also a recurring contributor to Portland Architecture as well as a volunteer with the Architects In Schools program from the Architecture Foundation of Oregon. AIA Center For Architecture, 403 NW 11th Avenue. 10PM Tuesday, August 16. $18 ($15 for AIA members).
Metropolis Think Tank: Can Designers Help Colleges Survive in the Age of Rising Tuitions?
A healthy higher education system is crucial to a healthy, knowledge-driven economy. Yet the very existence of colleges and universities is threatened by diminishing public funding and the rising cost of education in the U.S. Solutions are layered and complex. Designers can help. Working with teams that bring together public-private partnerships and experts in data analysis, architects are key to building the kinds of facilities needed by digital-age students while keeping costs within 21st century expectations. The conversation is part of Metropolis magazine's ongoing Think Tank series. Hacker Architects, 733 SW Oak Street. 10:45AM Wednesday, August 17. Free (RSVP required).
Classical Downtown Portland Tour
Downtown Portland contains an extensive collection of classically influenced buildings, many of which are clad with glazed terra cotta, a building material that was at its height of popularity in the early 20th century. Visitors on this Architectural Heritage Center tour will see the city’s first “skyscraper,” a bank that could have been a Greek temple and learn about several architects from this period who left an indelible impression on Portland including A.E. Doyle, the firm of Whidden and Lewis, and the Reid Brothers from San Francisco. Tour begins on SW Broadway at Pioneer Courthouse Square, above the fountain. 6PM Wednesday, August 17 and 10AM Tuesday, August 30. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
Belmont-Sunnyside Neighborhood Tour
Explore Southeast Portland's Sunnyside neighborhood along SE Belmont Street in this Architectural Heritage Center tour. The neighborhood, which has lately seen controversy as a building on Belmont's last contiguous block of historic commercial storefronts has been threatened with demolition, contains a wonderful mix of late 19th and early 20th century homes, along with numerous streetcar-era commercial buildings. Tour begins at Sunnyside School Park, SE 35th Avenue and Yamhill Street. 6PM Thursday, August 18. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
Downtown Portland's North End and Chinatown Tour
This Architectural Heritage Center tour explores the abundant architectural and cultural history in the downtown neighborhood wedged between Old Town and the Pearl District. Along the way visitors will see 19th century gems like the Mariner’s Home building, which has just been rehabilitated and turned into the Society Hotel. One can also learn how the area became New Chinatown, and later Japantown, and see landmark buildings like Union Station, the US Custom House, and even a historic fire station. Tour begins at NW Third Avenue and Davis Street. 10AM Saturday, August 20. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
Mt. Tabor Walking Tour
This Architectural Heritage Center tour rambles through a stunning neighborhood on the west side of Mt. Tabor Park. From the former Baseline Road, now Stark Street, attendees will meander past numerous fine residences, as well as a school, church, and hospital. This area retains much of the freshness and beautiful views today that made it a popular place to build beginning in the 1880s and continuing well into the 20th century. Tour begins near Caldera on SE 60th and Stark Street.11AM Sunday, August 21. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
Pearl District Walking Tour - Preservation in the Midst of Change
Over the last 20 years, the Pearl District has been transformed from industrial enclave and rail yards into one of Portland’s most popular residential, cultural and retail districts. A century ago, the area went through a similar transformation, from a working class housing area at the edge of a marsh to the city’s biggest industrial and warehousing area. Many of Portland’s best known architects of the period designed buildings for important local and national companies. Most of these buildings remain, with their exteriors intact, and new uses inside. But as the pending demolition of the Pacific Northwest College of Art's Feldman Building (a renovated old warehouse) reminds us, the current wave of development could threaten more historic buildings. Tour meets at southeast corner of NW 10th Avenue and Johnson Street. 10AM Tuesday, August 23. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
Architects Without Borders: Nepal Report
The Oregon chapter of Architects Without Borders has been working with the nonprofit buildOn to design a seismically resilient school that can be constructed in remote communities throughout Nepal. Craig Totten, AWB Steering Committee member and structural engineer with KPFF Consulting Engineers, will discuss the design process and report on the earthquake damage he saw on a recent trip to Nepal. AIA Center for Architecture, 403 NW 11th Ave. 6PM Wednesday, August 24. Free.
Old Town Historic District Tour
The commercial district near the Skidmore Fountain and the oldest standing buildings in downtown comprise this tour of Portland’s only National Landmark Historic District. Visitors on this Architectural Heritage Center tour will see the work of Portland’s earliest architects, learning how cast iron played a central role in their designs and how the city developed so close to the river. Along the way, visitors will also learn about some beautiful but long-lost buildings while also seeing great examples of historic preservation. Tour begins at Waterfront Park's Japanese-American Historic Plaza, NW Naito Parkway and Couch Street. 6PM Wednesday, August 24. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
Modernism And Beyond Tour: The Architecture Of Downtown (South)
Downtown Portland contains an abundance of post-World War II architecture by Pietro Belluschi, Michael Graves, and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. This Architectural Heritage Center tour explores the southern portion of the central business district. You’ll learn about the controversial as well as the award winners, the architects and firms that designed them, and the issues of the times that led to such dramatic changes to our built environment and skyline. Tour begins at Salmon Springs Fountain, SW Naito Parkway and Salmon Street. 6PM Thursday, August 25. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
Garthwick Neighborhood Walking Tour
Located just south of Sellwood and north of the Waverly Country Club, this hidden residential neighborhood provided a great outdoor laboratory for architects and builders working in the most popular residential styles of the 20th century. This Architectural Heritage Center tour explores one of Southeast Portland's lesser-known historic neighborhoods. Tour begins at SE 17th Avenue and Ochoco Street, 10AM Saturday, August 27. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
Dwell Portland Home Tour
Dwell, the popular modern residential design magazine, brings its tour (versions of which are held in a variety of West Coast locales like San Diego, Los Angeles and Scottsdale) to Portland for the first time. And the roster is impressive, with a home in Allied Works' magnificent 2281 Glisan Building, a passive house in Northeast Portland by Hinge Build Group, the Fivesquare house by Lever Architecture, and houses by Olson Group as well as Lisa McClellan and Hunter Williams. The tour will be preceded by a "meet the architects" talk in the Portland Art Museum's Mark Building (1119 SW Park Avenue) the night before (Friday, August 26 at 7PM). Ticket pickup at Froelick Gallery, 714 NW Davis Street. 10AM Saturday, August 27. $100.
Beaux Arts Portland Tour
This downtown Architectural Heritage Center tour explores the influence of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris on Portland architecture of the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Attendees will learn how American architects, including some from Portland, attended the school and started a trend in the U.S. emphasizing classical Greek and Roman designs, elaborate ornament, and heavy masonry – all used in a very formal manner. Stops on this tour include several of Portland’s most recognizable historic buildings and preservation success stories. Tour begins at SW Park and Madison. 11AM Sunday, August 28. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
Last Sundays at the Watzek House
The University of Oregon's John Yeon Center for Architecture and the Landscape invites the public to tour Portland's only National Historic Landmark residence, the Aubrey Watzek House. Completed in 1937, the home's bold yet timeless synthesis of many traditions of residential architecture into a refined new language became an important inspiration for the Northwest Style of Modernism. Published widely and exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art next to such icons as Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye and Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. Watzek House, 1061 SW Skyline Boulevard. 1 and 2:30PM Sunday, August 28. $20-30 sliding scale (free for students and Yeon Center members).
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