As a result of the 2020 Labor Day fires, hundreds of homes in the Santiam Canyon were reduced to ashes and dozens of businesses were razed. Four people lost their lives, and life has been altered for everyone who calls the community of Gates home. According to the USDA Forest Service, in 2020, 2017, and […]
Arthur’s Restoration Journey: A Preservation Planning & Testing Case Study
The Jantzen Beach Carousel has provided Restore Oregon with a unique opportunity to demonstrate how the process of historic preservation planning works, and why it is so vital to any preservation project, be that preservation of an object (like the carousel), a landscape, a structure, or a building. Our team spent the pandemic testing repair […]
Building a Preservation Roadmap: Inventory and Condition Assessment
Back in 2017, when the Jantzen Beach Carousel was offered to our organization, we had to scramble to make acceptance of such an unusual donation possible. Simply scraping together funds to pay for storage and insurance was a challenge. So, while we would have loved to have launched our stewardship with a thorough inventory and […]
Big Grants for Billy Webb Elks Lodge!
As one of Oregon’s Most Endangered Places, Restore Oregon staff has worked closely with the volunteer leadership of the Billy Webb Elks Lodge (BWEL) to raise close to $200,000 in grant funding and donations since the devastating fire occurred last September. An award of $140,000 from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a program […]
Welcome Our Newest Staff Members!
Restore Oregon Staff and Board of Directors Welcome Two New Staff Members Please give a warm preservationist welcome to JB and Sara! Meet Sara Masser, Development Manager Sara brings over a decade of fundraising experience, and a healthy obsession of all things historic, into her new role at Restore Oregon. Sara serendipitously stumbled into a fundraising […]
Gather in the Garden: Thank You for Joining Us!
We can’t thank you enough for joining us yesterday—rain and shine—for Gather in the Garden at Victorian Belle. Not only did you celebrate Peggy Moretti and take part in some of our event activities, you took an active role in restoring Oregon. Each event ticket, auction purchase, and donation goes towards our mission to preserve, […]
Update on Federal Legislation (Funding) for Historic Preservation
Congress is starting the appropriations process which will determine Fiscal Year 2023 funding levels for historic preservation. Co-chairs of the Historic Preservation Caucus, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Rep. Michael Turner (R-OH), are leading the bipartisan FY23 Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) effort in the House. Their $200 million request for funding for the HPF would […]
We’re Bringing MCM BACK!
Restore Oregon Publishes Mid-Century Modern Retrospective Book to Raise Awareness of Oregon’s Architectural Heritage Publication Celebrated with Architectural Book Fair, MCM Lecture, and Home Tour Restore Oregon, the only state-wide nonprofit working to save historic places in Oregon, marks a return to in-person events by bringing back their popular mid-century modern (MCM) educational events. On […]
We are Hiring!
Founded in 1977, Restore Oregon is a state-wide, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, supported by members/donors, led by a volunteer board, and staffed by professionals, who help people save and revitalize historic places and spaces. We work on the front lines and behind the scenes to leverage relationships, resources, and creativity to preserve, protect, and pass forward […]
2020 Most Endangered Place Spring 2022 Update: Billy Webb Elks Lodge, Portland
Since the September 2021 fire that devastated the Billy Webb Elks Lodge (BWEL) ballroom, Restore Oregon and BWEL leadership have been working together on fundraising and restoration planning for the lodge, beginning with authorizing a condition assessment led by Restore Oregon Board member Sean Bolden, in collaboration with John Flynn of Resolve Architecture and Planning […]