Fremont Bridge from NW Portland (Brian Libby)
BY BRIAN LIBBY
The Pearl District: Preservation in the Midst Of Change
Over the last 20 years, the Pearl has been transformed from an industrial area into one of Portland’s premier residential 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 premier industrial and warehousing area. As this Architectural Heritage Center walking tour will demonstrate, 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. Tour meeting location to be announced. 10AM Tuesday, August 1. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
InProcess with Office 52 Architecture and PLACE
The Portland chapter of the American Institute of Architects' quarterly lecture series features local architecture firm Office 52 and landscape architecture firm PLACE. Founded by Michelle LaFoe and Isaac Campbell, Office 52's portfolio includes Scott Hall, the new $81.5 million Nano-Bio-Energy Technologies Building for theCollege of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and the upcoming Tykeson Hall, an academic center for the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oregon in Eugene. LaFoe earned a bachelor's and master's degrees in architecture from Rice University as well as a post-baccalaureate graduate degree in drawing and painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, while Campbell earned bachelor of architecture and a bachelor of arts degrees from Rice University after study at the School of Liberal Arts at Alfred University in New York. He previously worked for acclaimed architect Cesar Pelli. PLACE's speaker at this event has not been announced, but the firm has been responsible for a variety of high-profile projects in Oregon including Tanner Springs Park in Portland, the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex at the University of Oregon in Eugene, and an expansion of the Nike campus in Beaverton. AIA Center For Architecture, 403 NW 11th Avenue. 6PM Tuesday, August 1. Free.
Best of Downtown Walking Tour
Downtown Portland has an excellent array of visually diverse skyscrapers, residential towers and government buildings dating from the early 20th century to early 21st century. This Positively Portland Walking Tours event is comprised of a downtown stroll highlighting some of the best examples of over 100 years of modern and contemporary architectural and urban design. Tour begins at AIA Center For Architecture, 403 NW 11th Avenue. 10AM Thursday, August 3. $15.
Mock Bid
Hosted by ForWARD (the AIA Portland chapter's Forum for Women in Architecture & Related Design) Mock Bid and presented as part of its Reality of Construction Series, this class will help participants identify the different components that make up a subcontractor bid; describe the experience of being a general contractor on bid day; compare how different project delivery methods affect how a bid is prepared, and how the project will be managed; and clarify the role the general contractor plays in preparing the bid and preparing for construction after the bid is won. AIA Center For Architecture, 403 NW 11th Avenue. 5:30PM Thursday, August 3. Free.
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 Thursday, August 3. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
Ladd's Addition Tour
Enjoy a stroll through this leafy enclave of early 20th century homes, churches, and businesses, not to mention yours truly for the past 18 years. This National Register Historic District is Oregon’s oldest planned community and in 2009 the American Planning Association honored it as one of America’s Great Places. Easily identifiable on any map, the neighborhood, once comprising the property owned by former Portland mayor William Ladd, eschews a traditional street grid for a series of circles dotted with rose gardens. As attendees on this Architectural Heritage Center will see, Ladd's Addition also boasts one of the largest tree canopies in the city, making it ideal for a spring or summer walk. Tour meetup location to be announced. 10AM Saturday, August 5. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
Old Town Historic District Walking Tour
The commercial district near the historic Skidmore Fountain and the oldest standing buildings in downtown comprise this tour of Portland’s only National Historic District. Attendees 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, and along the way learning about some beautiful but long-lost buildings while also seeing great examples of historic preservation. Tour meetup location to be announced. 10AM Tuesday, August 8. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
Portland Heights and Vista Avenue Tour
This Architectural Heritage Center tour explores Portland Heights, a mostly residential Southwest Portland neighborhood with Vista Avenue running through its center. It was once a very difficult area to build in, or even get to, before it became a popular residential district, as transportation options increased in Portland during the late 19th century. Today the mixture of homes, ranging in style from Colonial Revival to Art Deco, is a veritable “who’s who” of Portland architects and their masterworks. Attendees will see homes designed by the likes of A.E. Doyle, Emil Schacht, Edgar Lazarus, and Morris Whitehouse. Tour meetup location to be announced. 6PM Thursday, August 10. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
East Portland/Grand Avenue Historic District Tour
Along Grand Avenue, once the main commercial spine in the original and separate city of East Portland, lies an amazing mix of architecture from Italianate to Art Deco. Among the many buildings, including a few hidden gems, this Architectural Heritage Center walking tour will revealthe well-known Barber Block, a one-time mortuary, and West’s Block, the oldest building on Grand Avenue and home of the AHC itself. Tour begins at Architectural Heritage Center, 701 SE Grand Avenue. 10AM Saturday, August 12. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
COTE Tour: BUILT Lab
The AIA Portland chapter's Committee on the Environment hosts this tour of the BUILT (Building Science Lab to Advance Teaching) Lab, a building science research lab geared towards undergraduate students located in Portland State University's School of Architecture. The facility promotes early development of building science research skills in higher education by exposing students to hands on, collaborative building science research activities. Tour begins at Shattuck Hall, 1914 SW Park Avenue. $37.92 ($27.37 for AIA members, $16.82 for Associate AIA members, $6.27 for students or those not seeking AIA Continuing Education credits).
Walking Tour: Kenton Neighborhood
In the early 20th century, before it was known best for its Paul Bunyan statue, Kenton was the heart of Portland’s meat-packing industry and home to the largest livestock exchange on the West Coast. Swift & Company, through various subsidiaries, platted, developed, and heavily influenced the industrial, commercial and residential growth of Kenton. This Architectural Heritage Center tour shows how a dominant employer influenced the housing stock of management and labor in a neighborhood that possessed many elements of a company town. Tour meets at Paul Bunyan statue, at North Denver Avenue and North Interstate Avenue. 10AM Tuesday, August 15. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
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