Frank Lloyd Wright's Gordon House, 2001 (Al Staehli)
BY BRIAN LIBBY
The History of Irvington: NE Tillamook Street and Beyond
The largest National Register Historic District in Portland, Irvington encompasses 583 acres and 2,800 buildings. This Architectural Heritage Center tour explores only a small slice of this remarkable neighborhood, including the work of notable architects like Joseph Jacobberger and Ellis Lawrence — all with the goal of providing a broader understanding of the fascinating and rich history of this one-time streetcar suburb. Tour meetup location to be announced. 6PM Thursday, June 1. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
Brian Squillace on Creating Unique Design Processes to Support Communities
For nearly two decades Brian Squillace has encouraged discourse on community empowerment and activism though architecture. His work focuses on creating a unique design process to best support each community he serves. Crafting the approach is critical to creating a safe space that allows participants to look beyond their day-to-day activities, acknowledge challenges, seek opportunities, and strategize the implementation to enact change. Through work that includes citizen-led development, sweat-equity design-build and asset-based community planning, Squillace advocates for communities to have ownership of and pride in the design intent if a designer’s best laid plans for sustainability, change-making, and resiliency are to be effective. To understand, and best benefit those that we serve, the architectural process must start long before conceptual design and look beyond the confines of the built environment. Squillace will share strategies and reflections from working closely with diverse clients in architectural and master planning efforts that range from cohousing, mission-based development, affordable housing, higher education, K-12 and child care, as part of the CPID Talks series from the Portland State University School of Architecture and its Center for Public Interest Design. Portland State University, Shattuck Hall Room 217, SW Broadway and Hall Streets. 11AM Friday, June 2. Free.
Leach Botanical Gardens Manor House Tour and Presentation
Learn about the history of the Manor House at Leach Botanical Garden at a lecture by local Portland architect and historian William J. Hawkins III FAIA, author of Classic Houses of Portland: 1850-1950. The property was originally part of a 320-acre donation land claim belonging to Jacob Johnson, one of the sawmill operators who was furnishing lumber for the very early homes in Portland. Later pharmacist John and botanist Lilla Leach lived here while dedicating much of their land to their fascination with plants. Leach Botanical Garden, 6704 SE 122nd Avenue. 6PM Friday, June 2. $50.
Historic John's Landing
John's Landing is a name created by real estate developers in the mid-1970s for the former industrial district of Southwest Portland located along SW Macadam Avenue, known originally as Fulton. The focal point of the re-development is the re-purposed B.P. John Furniture Company factory, built in the early 20th century. The area is now a mix of condos, apartments and an eclectic array of retail shops and restaurants. This Positively Portland Walking Tour will start at the historic Fulton Pub and make its way north through the neighborhood as far as the Water Tower Building, returning via the scenic riverfront trail south to Willamette Park and back to Macadam and Nebraska Streets. Optional food, beverage and social time after the walk at the cozy Fulton Pub. Tour begins at Fulton Pub & Brewery, 618 Southwest Nebraska Street. 6PM Friday, June 2. $10.
Winter Recovery: Spring Volunteer Day at The Shire
It’s been a rough winter at The Shire, John Yeon’s fabled 75-acre, picturesque landscape directly across the Columbia River from Multnomah Falls: snow, freezing rain, wind, a flood. But Multnomah Falls is still cascading. The wildflowers are blooming. And ivy and holly are on the march. In conjunction with the Portland Art Museum exhibit "Quest for Beauty: The Architecture, Landscapes, and Collections of John Yeon," running through September 3, will include tours of The Shire in August and early September, the John Yeon Center is seeking help to get ready for summer these tours. Pick up fallen limbs, pull ivy and holly, and receive a free lunch. All one needs to bring is a thick pair of gloves and clothes to match the weather. And, if you’ve got them, bring along a shovel and sturdy set of pruning clippers. The Shire, near Stevenson Washington. 9:30AM Saturday, June 3. Free.
The Boise Neighborhood and Mississippi Avenue
The dramatic redevelopment occurring along Mississippi Avenue today is merely the latest chapter in the remarkable and unique history of this neighborhood. From an electric streetcar line to “real estate redlining,” this tour explores the cultural and economic changes that have shaped Boise's built environment. Attendees on this Architectural Heritage Center will see some of the finest examples of late-19th century working-class homes in Portland, built primarily by Scandinavian, German, and Polish immigrants, as well as some hidden architectural gems and a forgotten dance hall that once housed a temple of the Nation of Islam. Tour meetup location to be announced. 10AM Saturday, June 3. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
Historic Sellwood
Sellwood was once an independent, incorporated village before it became part of the City of Portland in 1893. Much of the original commercial and residential fabric of “Old Sellwood” remains along Umatilla Street, with several buildings dating back to the 1870s. For the past several decades 13th Avenue has been a destination for antique hunters. The antique shops remain, but brew pubs, designer retail shops and distinctive coffee shops and restaurants now predominate on the streetscape. This Positively Portland Walking Tour will make its way along SE 13th Avenue and provide a feel for the continuity and change that defines Sellwood in the 21st century. Like many Portland neighborhoods, Sellwood has a mix of well-preserved early 20th century vernacular architecture. Tour begins at Oaks Pioneer Church, 455 SE Spokane Street. 10AM Saturday, June 3. $15.
Portland Modern Home Tour
Now in its fourth year, the Portland Modern Home Tour offers an inside glimpse at a combination of midcentury-modern and contemporary homes across the metro area. Partly curated by Portland Architecture's Brian Libby, the tour includes homes by Scott Pitek (as featured in Dwell Magazine), Hinge Build Group, Risa Boyer, and much more. Various locations. 11AM Saturday, June 3. $35 ($40 day of tour).
Merchants and Markets: 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. Attendees will visit the Willamette’s first bridge, the first public market, and Portland's first Chinatown. Tour meetup location to be announced. 10AM Tuesday, June 6. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
Wright This Way: Tinker Hatfield
As part of celebrations commemorating Frank Lloyd Wright's 150th birthday, Tinker Hatfield, a senior vice president of design and special projects at Nike, will discuss the impact Frank Lloyd Wright's design ideals had him, first as an architecture student at University of Oregon and later as he began his long association with Nike as the designer responsible for many of the critically acclaimed Air Jordan series sports shoes. Hatfield is currently featured in a Netflix original series called Abstract: The Art of Design, which examines some of the most innovative designers of our time. The talk is a fundraiser for the Gordon House Conservancy, which operates Oregon's only Frank Lloyd Wright design, the Gordon House near Silverton. Workplace Resource of Oregon, 825 NE Multnomah, Suite 270. 5PM Thursday, June 8. $50 ($25 for senior and emerging professionals, $10 for students with ID).
The South Park Blocks: A Cultural Mandate
This eleven-block portion of the downtown area was first platted and donated to the City of Portland in 1852, transforming a fire break parcel into the most desirable residential area of its day, complete with schools, playgrounds, stately homes and places of worship. On this Architectural Heritage Center tour one can take a stroll through the groves of elms and recount some of the stories they would love to tell about the area’s history and architecture. The South Park Blocks stand alone as a place of revitalization, refreshment and cultural allure. Tour begins outside the First Congregational Church, 1126 SW Park Avenue. 6PM Thursday, June 8. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
The Portland Garden Club: A History of Estate Gardens in Portland
An original glass lantern slide show on the history of twentieth century gardens told through the lens of the Portland Garden Club. These slides were created locally by George C. Stephenson (1866-1940) on behalf of the PGC, many of which document the famed Portland gardens of the time including the Kerr gardens and the Frank and Meier Estates. All slides have been delicately colored by hand and will be screened using an original lantern slide projector. Suzanne Bishop will narrate the show using Stephenson's original script. Columbia Learning Center, 375 South 18th Street, St. Helens. 7PM Thursday, June 8. Free.
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, June 10. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
FLW 150th Birthday Bash
Oregon's only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed work of architecture, the Gordon House, will play host to a 150th birthday celebration for the legendary architect featuring Portland-based band Kendálin, as a fundraiser for the Gordon House. Originally located in Charbonneau along the Willamette River with framed views of Mt. Hood, the house was moved to the Oregon Garden near Silverton in 2002 after being threatened with demolition. The Gordon House, 869 West Main Street. 7:30PM Saturday, June 10. $25.
An Architecture of Many Scales: The Oregon Legacy of John Yeon
Randy Gragg, curator of the exhibit "Quest for Beauty:The Architecture, Landscapes, and Collections of John Yeon" at the Portland Art Museum, will lecture on Yeon's impact on architecture, ecology and visual art. Few architects have influenced so many facets of a region as John Yeon. Largely self-taught, and working independently, he saw both architecture and conservation as visual arts, whether he was designing distinctive buildings, shaping precedent-stretching gardens, or successfully fighting to preserve some of the Northwest’s most treasured vistas. Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Avenue. 2PM Sunday, June 11. $19.99 ($16.99 for seniors, free for children 17 and under).
Historic Downtown Hillsboro
Hillsboro began as a pioneer town in the 1840s and developed as a center of agriculture, commerce and government by the early 1900s. Main Street has changed over the years, but one can still see the pivotal buildings of the late 19th and early 20 centuries. This Positively Portland Walking Tour will be an exploration of the historic streetscapes of downtown Hillsboro, now surrounded by the ever-growing Silicon Forest. Included on this walking tour of downtown will be a re-purposed Carnegie Library and a unique "Airplane Bungalow." Tour begins at Hillsboro Civic Center, 150 East Main Street. 1PM Monday, June 12. $15.
Sullivan's Gulch Walking Tour
When Ralph Lloyd began his 35-year effort to create an east Portland "downtown" in 1926, the site for his project, Holladay's Addition, was one of Portland's grandest neighborhoods. The remaining neighborhood, now known as Sullivan’s Gulch, was heavily impacted by the development of the nearby Lloyd Center mall. But as this Architectural Heritage Center tour demonstrates, the neighborhood still retains some significant historic residential architecture. Tour begins at northeast corner of Holladay Park, NE 13th Avenue and Multnomah Street, 10AM Thursday, June 18. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
Pearl District - 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. 6PM Thursday, June 15. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
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