[Heritage] Oregon Heritage News 2011-10-12

[Heritage Info]

In this issue:
1. Commission on Historic Cemeteries to Meet in Weston
2. Oregon Main Street Awards Announced
3. Bowers House listed in National Register
4. Meriwether Lewis’ Air Gun Subject of Talk

COMMISSION ON HISTORIC CEMETERIES TO MEET IN WESTON

The Oregon Commission on Historic Cemeteries will meet from 1 p.m. - 4
p.m., Oct. 14 at the Weston Memorial Hall, 210 East Main Street, Weston.
Agenda items will include the grant program, current projects and
upcoming plans. The commission will invite public comments. For further
information call Kuri Gill (503) 986-0685 or e-mail
Kuri.Gill at state.or.us .


OREGON MAIN STREET AWARDS ANNOUNCED

Oregon Main Street announced its 2011 “Excellence in Downtown
Revitalization” award recipients at the annual Oregon Main Street
Conference in Baker City recently. The Awards Presentation was a
highlight of the Oregon Main Street Conference, a popular annual
conference that brings together people with an interest in downtown
revitalization. 

Baker City hosted this year’s event, which included sessions on the
ingredients of creating an outstanding downtown destination, achieving
sustainability while maintaining historic significance, nuts and bolts
of downtown circulation, attracting and keeping volunteers, essentials
of an eye-catching and appealing storefront, preserving with
authenticity, getting started on business retention and recruitment. 

The award recipients included the Astoria Downtown Historic District
Association for its “Bicentennial Revue and Jane Barnes Cat Dance”
in the category of Outstanding Organizational Project and
Springfield’s Armory Building Remodel received an award for the
Best Economic Restructuring Story. 

To learn about all of the award recipients, email
sheri.stuart at state.or.us . For more information about the Main Street
program, visit
http://www.oregon4biz.com/Grow-Your-Business/Business-services/Main-Street
.


BOWERS HOUSE LISTED IN NATIONAL REGISTER

The George and Hetty Bowers House in NE Portland is Oregon’s latest
entry in the National Register of Historic Places. 

An example of a residential structure made of poured concrete, the
Bowers House is one of only three known early-twentieth century Portland
houses constructed using this method. The house is a two-story
foursquare design, similar to the plan patented by Thomas Edison, though
it includes unique classical details. Due to its notable and
experimental construction and design, the Bowers House is a good example
of a middle-class adaption of poured-concrete housing in the Classical
Revival style. 

Oregon’s State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation
recommended the building’s nomination in June 2011 and it joins more
than 500 historic Portland properties and 14 historic districts listed
in the National Register. More information about the National Register
and recent Oregon listings is online at www.oregonheritage.org (click on
“National Register” at left of page).


MERIWETHER LEWIS’ AIR GUN SUBJECT OF TALK

William K. Brunot and Michael Carrick will present “The Air Gun of
Meriwether Lewis on Brunot’s Island” at 1 p.m., Oct. 16 in the Fort
Clatsop Visitor Center, Seaside. 

When Captain Meriwether Lewis left Pittsburgh on August 31, 1803, his
crew of 11 included three young men whose identity has been unknown
until recently. Who were they? Why did Lewis' party stop that afternoon
at Brunot's Island, only three miles downstream, and what happened
there? Which Brunot’s Island residents were involved in an accident
with the air rifle demonstrated by Lewis? Brunot, a descendant of the
island's owner, provides surprising answers to these questions. Carrack
will discuss the innovative air rifle used by Lewis and show an air pump
and reservoir kit of the type issued to Austrian army soldiers of the
period.  

For more information, call the park at (503) 861-2471.



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