[Heritage] Oregon Heritage News 2012-02-14

[Heritage Info]

In this Issue: 
1. HPLO Program Asks: “Will There Be a THERE, There?”
2. High Desert Museum Featuring Black Impact Exhibit, Program
3. Preservation Focus Part of Portland Candidates Series
 
 
HPLO PROGRAM ASKS: “WILL THERE BE A THERE, THERE?”
 
What will Portland look like in 2035?  In our race for sustainability,
density, and development, will we lose the human scale and historic
character that sets us apart?  As Oregon cities debate their long-range
urban plans, a program by the Historic Preservation League of Oregon
(HPLO) asks: “Will There Be A THERE, There?” at 3 p.m. March 11, UO /
White Stag Bldg., 70 NW Couch St., Portland. 
 
The program, which includes noted author, architect, and critic Steven
Semes, will present “a conversation about preservation, design,
development, and saving our unique sense of place” and point out that
the design of our built environment matters a great deal. Semes
challenges the conventional wisdom about Modernism, density,
sustainability, and what makes for compatible infill in historic
settings.  He makes a persuasive case that context matters and that new
buildings and additions to old buildings should be harmonious with their
neighbors. 
 
The HPLO program will include a panel discussion on how we can achieve
development goals without sacrificing livability, lead by Michael
Mehaffey, former Education Director of the Prince’s Foundation for the
Built Environment and Project Manager for Hillsboro’s Orenco Station.
The panel will include notable representatives of the Portland
development, planning, architecture and preservation communities.
 
For further information, visit www.historicpreservationleague.org (
http://www.historicpreservationleague.org/ )or call (503) 243-1923.
 
 
HIGH DESERT MUSEUM FEATURING BLACK IMPACT EXHIBIT, PROGRAM
 
“Black Impact: African American History in the Far West”, recently
opened a Bend’s High Desert Museum, will run through May 20. Built
around a range of compelling and uplifting personal stories of African
Americans who influenced Western U.S. history, the exhibit features rare
artifacts, along with audio and video, such as footage of World War II
African American paratroopers, gospel and jazz music and oral history
recordings, which bring the stories to life. 
 
“The story of African Americans’ impact on the growth of the West is
rarely told,” said Curator Linda Rhine, who created the exhibit
illuminating the African American migration west, the rising black
middle class through industrial and railroad jobs, and the importance of
community. “This is an opportunity for us to share some unique accounts
of individuals who have truly made a difference in their communities.” 
 
Exhibit highlights include a discussion of laws on the Oregon frontier
designed to exclude blacks; African American fur trapper George
Washington Bush who settled Bush Prairie in Washington; the Buffalo
Soldiers of the 1860s. It explores how former slaves, employed as
railroad porters in the 1870s, helped start the black middle class in
the West; how black newspapers, magazines, churches, and recreational
clubs formed the foundation of the African American community in the
West. It also features former Bend resident and wife of assassinated
civil rights leader Medgar Evers, Myrlie Evers Williams, who served as
the first woman chair of the NAACP.  
 
Have you ever wondered why the black population in Oregon is so small?
Oregon has a history of black exclusion and discrimination, but also of
a vibrant black culture that helped sustain many communities throughout
the state - a history not taught in schools. Walidah Imarisha will
present “A Hidden History: Why Aren't There More Black People in Oregon?”
from 6:30 – 8 p.m., Feb. 27 at Wille Hall, Campus Center, Central Oregon
Community College in Bend. The presentation features an interactive
timeline of black history in Oregon and explores how history, politics
and culture shape the landscape for black Oregonians. 
 
Visit www.highdesertmuseum.org for further information about the
exhibit or related programs, or call (541) 382-4754.
 
 
PRESERVATION FOCUS PART OF PORTLAND CANDIDATES SERIES
 
The Historic Preservation League of Oregon, the American Institute of
Architects-Portland (AIA/Portland) and the Architectural Heritage Center
(AHC) will present a series of three candidate forums at various
locations around Portland beginning at 6:30 p.m., Feb. 21. 
 
Moderated by Jim Heuer, the first forum will feature city council
candidates and will take place at the AHC, 701 SE Grand Avenue. Joseph
Readdy will moderate the second forum, also featuring city council
candidates, beginning at 6:30 p.m., March 6 at AIA/Portland, 403 NW
11th; and Randy Gragg will moderate the third forum, featuring mayoral
candidates beginning at 6 p.m., March 21, at the UO / White Stag Bldg,
70 NW Couch St.
 
Preservation, urban design, and livability have become significant
election issues as the city grapples to balance growth and increased
density with sustainability and conservation of historic resources. How
will the candidates for mayor and city council protect what makes
Portland, PORTLAND?  With recent data showing that rehabbing existing
buildings creates more jobs than new construction, manufacturing,
highway construction, or agriculture, should the city invest more in
this area?  What's the economic potential for heritage tourism if
revitalized historic neighborhoods attract more visitors or the economic
impact if hundreds of unreinforced brick apartment buildings collapse in
the Cascadia earthquake? The public is welcome to ask these and other
questions during the events at various locations in Portland.
 
For more information, visit www.historicpreservationleague.org (
http://www.historicpreservationleague.org/ ) ; www.aiaportland.org (
http://www.aiaportland.org/ ) or www.visitahc.org (
http://www.visitahc.org/ ) . 
 
 
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Save the dates for the 2012 Oregon Heritage Conference: April 26 - 28!

Oregon Heritage News is a service of the Oregon Heritage Commission.
Contact us by emailing heritage.info at state.or.us .
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