[Heritage] Oregon Heritage News 2010-05-24

Tue May 24 12:22:53 PDT 2011

In this issue:
1. Endangered places list includes 10 Oregon sites
2. National Trust offers preservation grants
3. Tours planned in Bend, Vale
4.  Weekend-long events slated for Baker City, Eugene
5.  Columbia River dam talk scheduled for Troutdale
6.  River crossing issues to be explained

ENDANGERED PLACES LIST INCLUDES 10 OREGON SITES

The Historic Preservation League of Oregon has announced its first list
of Oregon's Most Endangered Places at a luncheon in Portland.  According
to the league, each property represents an important historic resource
in imminent danger of being lost to hard times, development pressures,
demolition or neglect.  

Properties listed range from a hand-hewn settlement era barn, to a
mid-century roadside tourist attraction, a 1920s movie house complete
with Wurlitzer organ, to a beloved WPA-project ballpark, one of the last
lifesaving stations on the West Coast, to a one of the oldest homes in
Oregon. Selected from nominations, properties on the list will receive
assistance from the league to address immediate threats and develop
strategies for long term viability.

The list of endangered places includes Baker City Middle School, Baker
City; Josiah Burnett House, Eagle Creek; 
Civic Stadium, Eugene; Dr. Pierce's Barn, Cottage Grove; Egyptian
Theater, Coos Bay; Ermatinger House, Oregon City; Tillamook Bay
Lifesaving Station, Rockaway Beach; Petersen Rock Garden, Redmond;
Watson-Price Barn, Philomath; and Kirk Whited Farmstead, Redmond. For
more information, visit http://www.historicpreservationleague.org/

NATIONAL TRUST OFFERS COMPETITIVE GRANTS

The National Trust for Historic Preservation invites applications from
nonprofit organizations with current 501(c)3 status, as well as local
governments and public agencies, for its National Trust Preservation
Fund grants. 

The grants are awarded in three competitive rounds with applications
due Feb. 1, June 1 and Oct. 1. Grants fund feasibility studies or
historic structures reports for endangered buildings and sites;
landscape research and planning; fund-raising and media campaigns; and
interpretation and heritage education activities. Grants typically range
from $2,000 to $5,000 and require dollar-for-dollar match. 

Applicants are encouraged to contact the trust's western office at
wro at nthp.org for assistance in identifying an appropriate eligible
project prior to submitting an application. For applications, as well as
complete guidelines and instructions visit
http://www.preservationnation.org/resources/find-funding/nonprofit-public-funding.html.

TOURS PLANNED IN BEND, VALE

Bend: The Des Chutes Historical Museum will conduct guided heritage
walks of downtown Bend during the summer. The walks will begin at 1 p.m.
Fridays and 1 p.m. Saturdays starting June 4. Beginning at the museum,
129 NW Idaho Ave., and lasting approximately an hour, the walks will
feature the prominent historical buildings, events, and people involved
with downtown Bend. Visitors should bring water, sunscreen and dress
appropriately for the weather. Visit the museum’s website
www.deschuteshistory.org  or call 541-389-1813 for more information.

Vale: Pick up an open house tour map on May 28 while attending the
“Art Beat on Main Street Dance and Art Fair." From 3:30-5 p.m. that
day, you can see restoration in progress on two recent listings on the
National Register of Historic Places: the 1908 Vale Hotel and the Grand
Opera House built in 1895. Following the open house tour, visitors will
also see the Rinehart Stone House built in 1872, the Rex Theater, a
Sears and Roebuck kit house built in 1912 and the Oregon Trail Inn. For
more information call 541-473-3470.

WEEKEND-LONG EVENTS SLATED IN BAKER CITY, EUGENE

Baker City:  The National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center,
near Baker City, will hold a pioneer wagon encampment over Memorial Day
weekend from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. May 28-30. Costumed re-enactors will do
crafts and prepare food in Dutch ovens using recipes from the Oregon
Trail era within an outdoor circle of wagons. Visitors can sample food,
see a team of oxen, practice gold panning and observer black powder
demonstrations.  A living history drama will feature missionaries Jason
Lee and Narcissa Whitman, fur trappers and other characters from the
Oregon Trail May 28-29 at the Leo Adler Theater. Visit
oregontrail.blm.gov for more information or call (541) 523-1843.

Eugene: The Eugene Masonic Cemetery Association will present an open
house from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. May 28-30. Visitors will see the newly
restored weather vane dating to the 19th century, hear a social history
presentation about people interred at the Hope Abbey Mausoleum, located
within the cemetery, and participate in the “Find the Veterans”
history hunt, which will feature awards to the winners. The 9th annual
Sacred Harp sing will feature historic traditional shape note tunes from
the Sacred Harp hymnal at the Mausoleum from 7 - 9 p.m., June 2. The
cemetery and Hope Abbey Mausoleum are listed in the National Register of
Historic Places. The site is located at East 25th Avenue and University
Street.  All events are free and open to the public.  For parking
information or special assistance contact Mary Ellen Rodgers at (541)
684-0949 or visit www.eugenemasoniccemetery.org 

COLUMBIA RIVER DAM TALK SCHEDULED FOR TROUTDALE

William Lang will present “At the Crossroads: the 1946 Decision to
Stop Building Dams on the Columbia River” at 6:30 p.m., May 31 at
McMenamins Edgefield, 2126 SW Halsey St., Troutdale. 

In 1946, the Department of the Interior issued a 10-year moratorium on
building dams below the site of McNary Dam on the Columbia River. The
moratorium was a response to concerns by biologists and Native and
commercial fishers who were concerned about the health of the salmon
fisheries on the river. Within 18-months, however, the department made a
complete turn-around and began to build dams in earnest. Lang, an
environmental historian at Portland State University and executive
editor of the Oregon Encylclopedia, will explain why the moratorium was
reversed, who was involved, and what was—and still is—at stake. 

For more information, visit www.oregonencyclopedia.org 

RIVER CROSSING ISSUES TO BE EXPLAINED

The Columbia River Crossing project will host an informational open
house about the CRC five-mile project area from 6 p.m.- 8 p.m. May 25 at
the Red Cross community room at the Fort Vancouver Historic Reserve, 605
Barnes Road in Vancouver.

Project staff and partners will present results of a study of the
historic and cultural resources in the project area as well as proposed
measures to offset identified impacts. Participants will have the
opportunity to provide input on the proposed measures, converse with
cultural resource experts and local historians and document their
stories and photographs relating to sites within the project area,
including the I-5 bridge, Pier 99 building, Fort Vancouver and other
places.

For more information visit www.columbiarivercrossing.org or phone
Heather Wills (360) 737-2726 or (503) 256-2726.
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Oregon Heritage News is a service of the Oregon Heritage Commission,
which can be contacted at heritage.info at state.or.us 