TALKS AND EVENTS
Join us at our West's Block location for various talks and events! All of our talks will be hosted on site, at 701 SE Grand Ave.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Portland 101: Crooked Grids, Tiny Blocks, and the Building of the City
How did Portland get this way, with its little square blocks and weird intersections, the funny pronunciations and the bridge ramps to nowhere? Why is it even located where it is? There’s a reason for everything (we didn’t say a good reason!)
Long-time AHC Education Committee member Robert Jordan will guide us through 150 years of Portland’s development – a great overview for those just getting interested in Portland’s architectural heritage as well as for anyone who ever wondered “Why did they do THAT?”
December 6, 2025
10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
The Builders: Northeast Portland
Thousands of hands have shaped Portland’s eastside homes and neighborhoods. The men and women who imagined and then built these places in the early 1900s are gone. But remembering them and the work they’ve left behind adds context to our own residency here today.
With words, photos, drawings and maps, Northeast Portland historian Doug Decker will share the stories of builders whose work typifies the homebuilding experience in Portland between 1912 and 1955.
January 10, 2026
10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Portland’s Residential and Commercial Architectural Styles
At the AHC we regularly receive calls, including everyone from residents to realtors, asking us to help determine the style of a house or other type of building. If you’ve ever wanted to learn what style to call your house or your favorite Portland area building, here’s a great opportunity!
Please join us, as Professor Tom Hubka presents this course in architectural styles, as he takes a look at common Portland area designs. Through photos and diagrams, Tom will help us to better understand the details to look for in styles, including Greek Revival, Romanesque, Classical Revival, International, and even Post-Modernism. From architect designed to the vernacular, this program will provide you with a better understanding of the buildings we live and work in every day.
January 17, 2026
10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
WALKING TOURS
From March to November, we offer tours of historic neighborhoods throughout the city. Click here to learn more!
