Program Archive

Since 1991, the Bosco-Milligan Foundation and the Architectural Heritage Center have presented more than 300 education programs. Below is a representative list of our programs offered since the AHC opened in 2005.

Terra Cotta Portland: Downtown Walking Tour
Explore our downtown terra cotta district in a walking tour organized by Robert Jordan, Bosco-Milligan Foundation board member and longtime member of our EducationCommittee. You’ll find a new appreciation for this versatile material as we take a closer look at the architectural details and ornamentation it made possible.

A convergence of circumstances—the development of high rise buildings with elevators and steel construction, the growth in the streetcar system, and the move of the business district away from the river—gave rise to Portland’s collection of terra cotta buildings, one of the finest in the nation. Portland’s terra cotta riches range from the Wells Fargo Building (1907, the city’s first “skyscraper”) to the Art Deco Charles F. Berg Building (1930). Many of these buildings stand throughout the retail heart of downtown, from SW Oak to Yamhill, and SW 4th to SW 10th.

The South Park Blocks: The Evolution of a Portland Neighborhood
Pioneer Daniel Lownsdale had a visionary plan of a greenway that would extend from Portland’s northwest waterfront to the southwest hills. Unfortunately, his dream never came to fruition and Lownsdale’s park block property was lost to litigation after his death. During the past 130 years, property facing the South Park Blocks—the area to the south of Salmon Street—has consistently been used for educational, religious, cultural and residential purposes. Grand mansions and smaller residences later became boarding houses. Some of these houses were removed and were replaced by surface parking lots. In some cases these parking lot properties were later redeveloped into housing. Portland State University (PSU) has grown to cover most of the property south of Market Street. PSU has re-purposed many properties, including the former Shattuck Elementary School and Lincoln High School, as part of its expanding campus. Local author Don Nelson discussed the evolution of the South Park Blocks area the lecture based upon his book—The South Park Blocks: A Neighborhood History.

Ladds Addition: A Walking Tour of One of America’s Great Places
Prominent business and civic leader William S. Ladd designed the neighborhood that bears his name in 1891, but did not live to see any of the homes there constructed. This walking tour explores Ladd’s Addition, its importance in Portland history, and its connections to the City Beautiful movement.

Beyond Klickitat: A Walking Tour of Beverly Clearys Neighborhood
Beverly Cleary’s old neighborhood has changed little since the famous children’s book author lived there in the 1920s and ’30s. Adults who loved Cleary when they were children will enjoy this walking tour that takes participants to places where she and her characters lived, played, and went to school. It includes a visit to the old YMCA, now the NE Portland Community Center, and the old library building. You’ll even get a chance to see period newspaper articles about places from Cleary’s books. Freelance writer Polina Olsen, your guide, has contributed to national and local publications including Northwest Travel, Cat Fancy, and Country Woman. A contributing editor for the Jewish Review, she also leads tours through the South Portland immigrant area and has written three books on Portland’s ethnic communities.

Concrete Houses of Portland
In the early twentieth century, concrete challenged Portland’s ubiquitous timber as the building material of choice for “modern” residences. As early as 1906, Portland architects and builders had begun constructing homes from solid concrete blocks formed to look like stone. In following years, other local builders experimented with the “Edison mold”—houses built entirely of continuous poured concrete panels. Concrete houses never became the norm in Portland, but numerous examples can still be found in all quarters of the city.

Mid-Century Modern and the Recent Past: Documentation and Preservation
Buildings and residential enclaves from the mid-twentieth century are reaching and surpassing the 50 year mark, making them widely eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Yet preservationists still face a number of challenges, even when advocating for buildings that can now be recognized as officially “historic.” Development pressures, the economy, and aging infrastructure—along with widespread misconceptions about the role of modern architecture in the U.S.—put these resources at risk in the Northwest and throughout the country. The recent discussion surrounding Memorial Coliseum brought this to our own backyard. We look at this debate as a new opportunity for our community to discuss Portland’s architectural “recent past” and work to identify the significant buildings and landscapes that make that era—and our region—unique and memorable.

Lost Oregon
Lost Oregon looks at a selection of resources from Oregon’s now-vanished built environment. In the past 250 years, Oregonians have built, and then lost, many remarkable structures, from Chinook longhouses to the Capitol Building, from nabob’s mansions to towering wooden trestles. Wood, our most common construction material, is cheap and adaptable; it also burns well and rots easily. Social and economic fluctuations have also driven changes in the built environment, as railroad trestles were superseded by freeway ramps, and country churches gave way to trailer courts.

The Fox’s Lady: Holistic Weatherization Meets Historic Preservation
Tour a fantastic 1884 home, learn more about the Clean Energy Works program, and how you can weatherize an older home without impacting its vintage character. Tours were given.
Click here to download a flyer about the program.

Guilds Lake Courts: an Impermanent Housing Project
Guild’s Lake Courts in Northwest Portland was designed as temporary worker housing for the steel and shipyard industries during the Second World War. When constructed in 1942, it was one of the largest housing projects in the United States. The massive development consisted of 2,432 units of housing, five community buildings, five childcare centers, a grade school, and a fire station. The population of the community peaked in January, 1945 at 10,000. Many of the residents were children from across the U.S. and 20 percent of the population were African Americans who had relocated to Portland from the South. During its short existence, the community underwent three rapid evolutions before being demolished in 1951.
This lecture will cover the significant social and architectural history of the community. Famed Portland architect Morris Whitehouse led the project’s development, but other wellknown local architects received commissions as well. Please join us as historian Tanya Lyn March shares her research on this little-known segment of Portland history. Ms. March interviewed 30 former residents of the community for her recent PhD dissertation in the Urban Studies Department at Portland State University.

Whidden and Lewis and the Maturing of Portland Architecture
At the turn of the twentieth century, architects William Whidden and Ion Lewis stood at the forefront of design in the Pacific Northwest, bringing new styles and innovations to Portland’s commercial, residential, and public buildings. From the six-story Concord Building to Portland’s City Hall, many of the firm’s buildings are today listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Additionally, their residential designs were so prolific that a 1989 book, Matters of Proportion, focused entirely on the firm’s Portland houses. Sponsored by: Hammer and Hand

Invisible Additions: Increasing Space, Minimizing Impacts
Local and regional planning goals emphasize the need for increased population density thereby putting pressure on our older and traditional neighborhoods—places that hold much of the City’s historic fabric. Homeowners, architects, builders, and developers have responded to this need, but often there are no specific guidelines or it is viewed as a far easier solution to just demolish and build something new. Fortunately, not everyone sees it that way. This panel discussion will bring together architect John Perkins of Perkins Architectural and builder Eric Eaton of Eaton Construction, along with Michael Musumeci of Space Down Under and a City of Portland building inspector to discuss how you can significantly increase living space in older homes and leave the original character intact, all the while limiting the visible impacts on surrounding neighborhoods.
Sponsored by: Craftsman Design and Renovation

Shake, Rattle, and Roll: Everything You Need to Know about Earthquakes and Your Vintage Home
It’s not OUR “fault” the Portland metro region is a seismically-sensitive area. There has been a great deal of media attention about the coming “big one”— that earthquake we all need to plan for. Fortunately, there are techniques you can use to make your home safer in the event of an earthquake. Cindy Hovind of Terra Dolce Consultants, Inc. will provide an overview of local geology and accompanying seismic issues. Greg Olson, Olson and Jones Construction, and Steve Gemmell, Earthquake Tech are both experienced contractors who will cover how older buildings behave in earthquakes, foundation “fixes” that will help protect your home, and working with a contractor. Mark Strauss of Leonard-Adams Insurance will explain the insurance programs that are available for homeowners. In the interest of protecting your own vintage home, this is an important and timely program.

Historic Preservation & The Portland Plan
Quite a bit of “buzz” has preceded the update of the long-revered “Portland Plan” – our city’s visionary plan from the 1970s and mid-1980s that looked ahead 30 years. That plan, and others, put a number of goals, principles and policies in place, but it is now the 21st Century and time for a re-examination of what we want Portland to look and feel like for the next 30 years. There are meetings scheduled by the city’s Bureau of Planning & Sustainability, of course, but we think that preserving Portland’s traditional neighborhoods through the consideration and adoption of new tools that meet 21st Century preservation needs is needed. How do we define the value of historic preservation for Portland’s future? How do we manage growth versus true sustainability – where the social and economic benefits are as important as the energy and environment? How do we tie all of these values together?
Please join us in this lively discussion as we develop an ongoing “tool kit” and collectively learn how we can all influence the right groups at the right time, as we advocate for knitting together the preservation values that the Portland Plan needs. We need to be sure that Historic Preservation plays its rightful role for the next 30 years.

Portlands Historic Theatres: Overview and Evolution (updated encore)
(Theatre Poster PDF)
A surprising number of buildings in Portland once housed movie theaters and their stories are full of artistry and personalities. Come find out this and much, much more about the history of theaters in the “Rose City” from Steve Stone (theater historian extraordinaire) and Mike Mathews, who have researched Portland’s theater world in depth. Their presentation will touch on theater history nationally, and its history in Portland from the 1905 Arcade Theater, through the Depression, and end of vaudeville, and into the 1960s. They will take a closer look at several major theaters which illustrate the history of the building type in Portland, and the forces which led to their construction, and in many cases, eventual destruction. The Arcadia-published Theaters of Portland book, by Steve Stone and photojournalist Gary Lacher, will be available for sale and author signing.

Historic Preservation Needs Assessment – for Clackamas County
Here at the Bosco-Milligan Foundation, we frequently get requests for assistance from members and friends throughout Clackamas County. While we all know that historic preservation crosses all geographic boundaries, our resources have been limited to providing technical assistance within the Portland city limits. Thanks to our Partners in the Field matching grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and after a year of practicing advocacy, we are ready to expand into Clackamas County – both incorporated cities and unincorporated areas. While “rules and regulations” may govern preservation differently in various jurisdictions, public interest in preserving our building heritage and community character is shared by all.
We have learned that the best way to focus our limited resources and to truly be effective, we need to collectively determine the preservation needs throughout Clackamas County. With that objective, we invite you to attend one of the two meetings scheduled – in Oregon City on March 10th, or in the city of Sandy, on March 16th. Both evening meetings will feature a workshop format for participants to discuss and respond to a Needs assessment questionnaire – where you can tell us as much as you like about the preservation concerns in your neck of the woods.
This program is assisted by a Partners in the Field challenge grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation

Portlands Versatile Stylist: The Architectural Legacy of John V. Bennes (Updated program)
Between 1906-41, John Bennes was one of Portland’s most prolific architects. Recent research has helped to define Bennes’ place in the architectural history of Portland and Oregon, and new information about him continues to be uncovered. This presentation by Larry Landis, University Archivist at Oregon State University, will explore the rich architectural legacy that Bennes created and share new information about some of his design projects. Born in Illinois and raised in Chicago, Bennes brought his knowledge of the work of Frank Lloyd Wright to Oregon in 1900. After six years in Baker City, he moved to Portland, where he introduced the Prairie Style to residential construction. He also designed hotels, movie theaters, warehouses, and other commercial buildings in a variety of styles, from Art Deco to Zigzag Moderne. Bennes also designed at least 35 buildings on the Oregon State University campus and the administration buildings at Southern Oregon, Eastern Oregon, and Western Oregon universities.

Houses Without Names - Portlands Everyday Vintage Houses
Portland’s finest houses can usually be identified according to their exterior architectural style. Yet the vast majority of Portland’s houses can not be easily “classified” architecturally. Often the more common and simple the house, the harder it is to identify and classify it--usually these houses are simply called vernacular.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Come hear Architecture Professor Thomas Hubka, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, identify the most “common” types of Portland’s most familiar houses. Hubka’s Portland research is a part of a national study of America’s popular – common – vernacular - everyday houses. This includes the documentation of duplexes, cottages, bungalows, multi-unit, and manufactured housing. Instead of classifying housing exclusively by architectural style – and short-changing an abundance of wonderful buildings - Hubka emphasizes floor plan and room function analysis (as well as massing and style). Plan analysis has the advantage of not excluding any houses, even the most simple. Hubka’s articles and books have won numerous awards in vernacular architecture studies. He is currently writing a book about America’s “Houses Without Names.”

Energy Efficiency and the Historic Home
Just because your home is older or historic, does not mean it is energy-inefficient. Come learn from Joy Sears, of the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, who will offer easy and relatively inexpensive ways to make your home more energy efficient while keeping its historic character intact. Whether you want to do-it-yourself or hire someone to do the work for you, this workshop will provide you with the information needed to get the job done right. You’ll even learn about contractors who specialize in historic repairs and suppliers of energy efficient products. Joy has served as a Restoration Specialist for the Oregon SHPO since 2005. Prior to joining Oregon SHPO, she worked as a Restoration Specialist for five years with the South Dakota SHPO. She received her masters in Historic Preservation from the University of Oregon in 2001, where she worked on the restoration of Villard Hall, a National Historic Landmark.

Stories in Stone: Geology and American Architecture
Most people don’t think of looking for geology from the sidewalks of a major city, but for the intrepid geologist any “good rock” can tell a fascinating story. All one has to do is look at the stone used to construct many buildings in downtown business districts to find a range of rocks equal to any assembled by plate tectonics. Furthermore, building stones provide the foundation for focusing on cultural as well as natural history.

Infill Development in Traditional Neighborhoods: Conflict & Resolution
The term “Infill Development” is common in Portland’s vocabulary, as new buildings arrive on the streetscapes of neighborhoods across our city and region. Typically, one thinks of “infill” as filling a vacant space between buildings, but instead we see the demolition of long-standing buildings, replaced with new or “mega” structures that don’t take their surroundings into consideration. During our late 2008 Portland Historic Preservation Needs Assessment meetings, an overwhelming majority of people identified “new large-scale infill construction in older neighborhoods” and the need for “better fit” as the city’s most pressing preservation challenge.

Alameda Neighborhood History: Its Founding and Early Life
Northeast Portland’s Alameda Park Addition was first platted in 1909. Construction soon followed and by 1920, hundreds of houses and a busy streetcar line had been built in the new subdivision. Successive waves of homebuilding in the decades that followed have shaped the neighborhood we know today. Doug Decker will track the initial development of the area, profile key builders and building styles, and share stories of the early years from former residents. Doug has lived in the Alameda neighborhood for 20 years and during that time has done research on many aspects of its history. He also runs a website dedicated to the Alameda neighborhood and old house research: www.alamedahistory.org. He and his family live in a 1912 Arts and Crafts bungalow built by William B. Donahue.

Portland's Classic Houses
The quality of residential architecture in Portland can be traced back to the city’s founding in the 1850s. Passing decades saw the rise and (sometimes) the fall of incredible homes designed by architects such as Justus Krumbein, Jameson Parker, A.E. Doyle, and John Yeon. Today, house styles ranging from late 19th century Italianate and Queen Anne to the Arts & Crafts and Northwest Style homes of the first half of the 20th century, continue to dot Portland’s architectural landscape. This pogram takes a visual stroll through Portland’s residential architectural history as Bill Hawkins, architect and co-author of Classic Houses of Portland, Oregon 1850-1950 (1999), shares images of some of the amazing residences that help define Portland’s irreplaceable architectural heritage.

Herman Brookman, Architect: Three Early Portland Works
One of Portland’s most important residential architects, Herman Brookman (1891-1973) practiced in the Northwest from the early 1920s until his retirement in the mid 1960s. Architectural historian Henry Kunowski presented an overview of Brookman’s remarkable early career in Portland and the influences that shaped it. The presentation featured three of Brookman’s most notable early buildings in Portland: the residence of M. Lloyd Frank, now part of the Lewis & Clark College campus; the Harry Green Estate north of Laurelhurst Park; and the main sanctuary at Congregation Beth Israel at NW 19th and Flanders.

Mid-Century Modern: Preserving the Recent Past
“Modern" buildings from the postwar era (1940s to '60s) transformed cities, suburbs, and landscapes throughout the country. Now preservationists are taking a serious look at these resources to consider which ones merit protection. Jeanne Lambin, author of Preserving Resources from the Recent Past, examined the historic context of the postwar building boom and the special challenges of preserving this legacy.

Window Pains -- Wood Window Repair Workshop
Original wood windows contribute tremendous charm and authenticity to a vintage home. But after many years of doing their duty of regular openings and closings, these windows can develop a set of maintenance needs. Robert Kraft, owner of Kraft Custom Construction, brought his “sash and pulley show” to the AHC, along with his many years of experience in preserving and restoring wood windows of all types and sizes. This hands-on workshop covered the signs of window deterioration, preventive measures, and good maintenance and repair practices.

Codes, Permits & Old House Renovation
There is a lot to think through and manage when you’re renovating an old house, not the least of which is the world of city permits. Jeff Eldredge, an inspection manager with the City of Portland, helped attendees to better understand and navigate the world of permits and inspections, avoiding the common pitfalls that can result in property owner liability, nullification of insurance coverage, and resale headaches.

Portland Comes of Age: 1890-1905
Portlanders today are living and thriving within the basic urban framework created by our predecessors a century ago. Still a small town in 1883 when Portland got its transcontinental railroad connection (and our own West’s Block building was constructed), it had grown up into a substantial city by the time it staged the Lewis and Clark Exposition in 1905.

Dr. Carl Abbott, professor of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University, shared how Portland built a new downtown during this era, received thousands of European immigrants, and expanded across the Willamette River. With new elbow room, the city sprawled (nineteenth century style) into new neighborhoods for the rich, the middle class, and working people.

Montavilla Memories: Walking Through the Past (walking tour)
Tourgoers learned about the development of one of Portland’s original streetcar suburbs on this walking tour of Montavilla guided by AHC volunteer Li Alligood. The tour included a stroll along the historic Southeast Stark Street commercial district and its adjoining residential neighborhood.

The Foursquare – A Very Un-Square Type House
The American Foursquare house, popular from just after 1900 well into the 1930s, is found in every older Portland neighborhood. AHC member Jack Bookwalter explored what constitutes a Foursquare and the many different ornamental details which have been appended to this form to create architectural hybrids. The style’s popularity peaked in the decade 1905-1915, nicely coinciding with Portland's building boom following the Lewis and Clark Exposition of 1905.

Portland’s “Versatile Stylist": the Architectural Legacy of John V. Bennes
Between 1906-41, John Bennes was one of Portland’s most prolific architects. Despite his volume of work, Bennes’ place in the architectural history of Portland and Oregon had not been well defined. This presentation by Larry Landis, University Archivist at Oregon State University, explored the rich architectural legacy that Bennes created.

Modern is Historic: Mid-Century Modern in Portland
Between World War II and the Viet Nam war, a sleek, forward-looking style of architecture arose known simply as "Modern." The hallmarks were large expanses of glass, stark horizontal and geometric forms, unadorned panel surfaces, and visible underlying structural components. This program traced the European, American, and Japanese inspirations for Mid-Century Modern architecture and how it was interpreted in Portland and along the West Coast.

The Buildings Of A.E. Doyle
Portland’s greatest period of growth was between 1905 –1930, when the city evolved from a frontier town to an urban center. Dominating the architectural revolution was Albert E. Doyle whose career spanned the Lewis & Clark Exposition to downtown’s Public Service Building, Portland’s last major structure completed before the Great Depression. Today, nearly all of Doyle’s major downtown buildings still stand. The program was presented by Philip Austin, who used the research materials of Doyle’s grandson George McMath, FAIA, who donated his personal library to the Bosco Milligan Foundation.

Period Lighting In The Age Of Electricity: 1880-1960
Historic lighting expert Bo Sullivan, Rejuvenation’s senior designer and historian, offered a basic introduction to gas and electric lighting from 1880 to 1960. In addition to covering lighting vocabulary, manufacturing methods, and technological advances, Bo reviewed the major American historical styles and their impact on fixture design.

After The Fair: The Buildings Of The Lewis & Clark Exposition
The 1905 Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition celebrated the 100th anniversary of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark’s Corps of Discovery. Local historian Jan Dilg and Cathy Galbraith, the executive director of the Bosco Milligan Foundation, explored the history of the Expo buildings, including those that were lost and those that have been saved.

When Prairie Met Portland
The horizontality and ground-hugging characteristics typical of the Prairie style evoke the landscape of the American Midwest even when they are found in the Rose City. Volunteer and local historian Jan Dilg discussed the reasons behind the expansion of the Prairie style beyond its Midwestern origins and the architects who worked in this style in Portland.

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