[Heritage] Oregon Heritage News 2015-04-23

[INFO Heritage * OPRD]

In this Issue
1. Leo Dean Williams to receive McMath Award
2. NEH announces “Common Heritage” grant program
3. Klamath Tribe seeks basket inventory RFP


LEO DEAN WILLIAMS TO RECEIVE MCMATH AWARD

The University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts will present Leo Dean Williams, with the seventh annual George McMath Historic Preservation Award during an awards luncheon from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., May 13 at the UO in Portland’s White Stag Block, 70 NW Couch St.

For nearly thirty years, Williams, an urban design architect and Portland planner, was an essential member of a team of civic leaders who created, expanded, and implemented Portland’s historic preservation program. He served as lead staff member to the Portland Historical Landmarks Commission from 1968 until 1996, and reinstituted urban rail in Portland.

Williams arrived in Portland when state and local governments were gearing up to administer provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. The City of Portland had adopted only the second municipal landmarks ordinance on the West Coast, after that of Los Angeles. Williams helped create the Urban Conservation Fund, which assisted in restoring many of Portland’s iconic landmarks, such as the New Market Theater.

Attuned to the value of historic buildings and cohesive older neighborhoods, Williams oversaw the formation of Portland’s first two downtown historic districts (Skidmore-Old Town and Yamhill), and led neighborhood preservation efforts with the creation of Ladd’s Addition and Lair Hill conservation districts. Williams also championed the state’s model 1975 property tax abatement program for buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Williams also played a key role in the evolution of Portland’s transportation planning into the globally recognized model it is today. In the 1970s he was part of a small group of downtown revivalists hoping to stem the migration of businesses from downtown Portland to suburban shopping centers, says William L. Failing, Jr., past president of the Oregon Historical Society and founding board member of the Oregon Architectural Center and the Portland Streetcar Board.

Presented each year, the McMath award recognizes individuals whose contributions have raised awareness and advocacy for historic preservation in Oregon. For further information, visit https://hp.uoregon.edu/mcmath-historic-preservation-award.


NEH ANNOUNCES “COMMON HERITAGE” GRANT PROGRAM

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) recently announced a new grant program, called “Common Heritage,” that will bring to light historical records and artifacts currently hidden in family attics and basements across the country and make them digitally available to the wider public and for posterity.

NEH invites historical societies, libraries, archives, museums, colleges and other local institutions to apply for the Common Heritage grant program, the first federal grant program of its kind. Grants will support day-long events, organized by community cultural institutions, in which members of the public will be invited to share materials important to their family or community histories, such as photographs, artifacts, family letters, and works of art.

These items will be digitized, along with descriptive information and context provided by the community attendees. With the owner’s permission, the hosting institution will make the digitized materials publicly available through its online collections. Contributors will receive a free digital copy of their items to take home, along with the original materials.

The grants will also provide funding for public programming – including lectures, exhibits, discussion programs, and film screenings – that celebrates and expands knowledge of the community’s past and the diverse histories of its members.

For application guidelines and other information, visit the NEH online<http://www.neh.gov/news/press-release/2015-04-20>.


KLAMATH TRIBE SEEKS BASKET INVENTORY RFP

The Klamath Tribes Culture and Heritage Department is seeking proposals for a professional inventory of its basket collection. The collection consists of approximately 700 - 900 baskets.  The contractor will inventory, apply identification to, catalog, describe and photograph each basket, as well as prepare a final report about the collection. The RFP deadline is 4 p.m., May 5. The project completion date is June 30. For complete RFP instructions, contact Klamath Tribes Culture and Heritage Department at 541-783-2219 x 178 or 541-783-22196 x140 or email perry.chocktoot at klamathtribes.com<mailto:perry.chocktoot at klamathtribes.com>.


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Oregon Heritage, part of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, provides technical support and services to people and organizations documenting, preserving, interpreting and sharing Oregon's heritage. Keep up with the latest heritage issues and trends at Oregon Heritage Exchange<http://oregonheritage.wordpress.com/> and follow us on Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/OregonHeritage>.

Oregon Heritage News is a service of the Oregon Heritage Commission. Do you have an issue or item you would like to share? Email us<mailto:heritage.info at oregon.gov>.


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