[Heritage] Oregon Heritage News 2025-06-12
INFO Heritage * OPRD
Heritage.Info at oprd.oregon.gov
Thu Jun 12 12:23:46 PDT 2025
Oregon Heritage News 2025-06-12
In this Issue:
* Oregon State Historic Preservation Bids Farewell to Chrissy Curran
* Grants awarded for main street projects throughout the state
* State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation to Meet June 27 in Hood River
* Main Street America blog post on Disaster Resiliency
* Registration Now Open for the 2025 AASLH Annual Conference
* Premier of OPB's "Oregon Art Beat" featuring the Oregon Country Fair, June 25, in Eugene
* Oregon's only state-level preservation tax incentive is back
* National Park Service Lists Mingus Park Community Building in Coos Bay
* Catch up on recent Oregon Heritage Exchange Blog posts
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Oregon State Historic Preservation Bids Farewell to Chrissy Curran
Oregon's deputy state historic preservation officer (SHPO), Chrissy Curran, will be retiring the end of June 2025.
Curran joined the Oregon preservation office, part of Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD), over 25 years ago and has worked as federal and state compliance coordinator, National Register coordinator, and as associate deputy state historic preservation officer.
A native Oregonian, Curran received her undergraduate degree from Lewis and Clark College and her master of science from the University of Oregon's historic preservation program. During her time at the University of Oregon she submitted her first nomination to the National Register of Historic Places and completed a study of the Bonneville Power Administration master grid. She worked for Oregon Department of Transportation and consulting firms in Oregon, Arizona, and Minnesota before landing at the State Historic Preservation Office in 1999.
As the deputy SHPO, beginning in 2015, Curran provided leadership for all of the SHPO programs as well as Oregon Main Street, Oregon Heritage Commission, Oregon Commission on Historic Cemeteries, and eight grant programs. Curran encouraged more integration and cross coordination of SHPO work with other Oregon Heritage programs and within the agency. Some highlights of her tenure include:
* Serving on the OPRD executive team;
* Serving as subject matter expert and technical advisor for state legislation;
* Participating in the development and implementation of four state historic preservation plans;
* Staffing the State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation;
* Performing a job rotation with the National Park Service in Washington, DC in the National Historic Landmarks program;
* Developing relationships with Oregon's nine Federally recognized Tribes;
* Coordinating and presenting the Oregon Heritage Excellence awards;
* Serving on the board of directors of the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers and chairing the National Historic Designation Advisory Committee;
* Serving on the executive steering committee for the University of Oregon historic preservation field school;
* Forging strong relationships with other agencies and organizations, in particular, Restore Oregon, the statewide preservation nonprofit;
* Representing SHPO as an Oregon Cultural Trust partner organization and on the Oregon Heritage Commission;
* And so much more!
Curran's skills and leadership influenced the preservation of historic places in every corner of the state. And the relationships she nurtured will continue as a positive influence for years to come.
Oregon's historic places are in Curran's heart. She believes these places tell the story of Oregon like nothing else can, and that they make this state a more enriching place to live and visit. While Curran is retiring from this important position she will still be rooting for Oregon's historic places and we will likely see her documenting, designating, and advocating long into the future.
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Grants awarded for main street projects throughout the state
Oregon Heritage, a division of Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, awarded 35 matching grants worth over $10,600,000 to Oregon Main Street Network organizations across the state for building projects that will strengthen local economies. Projects range from façade improvement to basic facilities and housing with awards ranging from $17,900-$400,000.
The department funded Oregon Main Street Revitalization Grant (OMSRG) applications that best conveyed the ability to stimulate private investment and local economic development, fit within the community's long-range plan for downtown vitality, and community need.
Funded projects include:
* Several projects will address a variety of preservation needs to increase the viability of spaces for existing businesses or opportunities for new businesses. These range from window repair to electrical and plumbing and include projects by Baker City Downtown, Canyonville Main Street Association, City of Estacada, City of North Bend, City of Reedsport, Dallas Downtown Association, Downtown Alliance of Milwaukie, Downtown Corvallis Organization, Friends of La Grande Main Street, Gold Beach Main Street, Historic Willamette Main Street (West Linn), Main Street Cascade Locks, Main Street Grants Pass, Oregon Frontier Chamber of Commerce projects in Condon and Antelope, Port Orford Main Street, Spruce Up Warrenton, St Helens Main Street Alliance, Sutherlin Downtown Development, Inc., Tigard Downtown Alliance, Wallowa County Chamber of Commerce projects in Enterprise, Joseph and Wallowa.
* Creation of new or improved housing units including projects by Astoria Downtown Historic District Association and Tillamook Area Chamber of Commerce.
* Façade restoration projects by the Albany Downtown Association, City of Cornelius, Friends of Old Town Stayton, and Historic Downtown Gresham Association.
* Structural and roof prepare projects were approved for Thrive Umpqua (Roseburg) and United Community Partners, Inc. (Halfway).
* Creation of new or improved lodging options by Chiloquin Visions in Progress and Klamath Falls Downtown Association.
* New construction will be funded by Mosier Main Street and Yamhill Downtown Association.
Oregon Heritage received a record number of 76 applications which demonstrates a clear need for building related funding. The local organizations participating in the Oregon Main Street Network developed plans based on community input to prioritize needs and solutions for the commercial district and city. The funds brought to the community by the local organizations through this grant will provide significant economic development impacts. "Vibrant downtowns don't just happen," notes Oregon Main Street coordinator Sheri Stuart. "They take the collective efforts coordinated by local main street organizations to achieve a community's vision based on short- and long-term goals. The OMSRG is an important tool to help strengthen local economies by activating underused spaces while preserving and leveraging a community's heritage."
Since its creation by the Oregon Legislature in 2015, the Oregon Main Street Revitalization Grant has supported building projects to stimulate economic vitality in 59 communities. The local Main Street organizations administer the application and grant processes for the local property owners. These organizations brought between $53,000 to $900,000 to their communities through the life of the program, which awarded grants in 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023. For example, the City of Reedsport has improved 10 properties and has six more in progress over multiple grant cycles which represents a significant investment downtown.
The results demonstrate that the grant is meeting its purpose to acquire, rehabilitate or construct buildings to facilitate community revitalization. Even with several projects still in progress, the local benefits are remarkable.
* 92 buildings improved
* 101 housing units added
* At least 12 vacant buildings filled
* 5 intentional ADA improvements
* 7 structural re-enforcement projects
* 31 façade restoration projects
The grant program was created during the 2015 legislative session and placed with the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office. The legislation established a permanent fund for the Oregon Main Street Revitalization Grant, with an initial infusion of funds from the sale of lottery bonds. If funded by the 2025 state legislature, there will be future grant rounds in the 25-27 biennium. The funds must be used to award grants to participating Oregon Main Street Network organizations to acquire, rehabilitate or construct buildings to facilitate community revitalization. The program also requires that at least 50 percent of the funds go to rural communities as defined in the bill.
To learn more about the Oregon Main Street Revitalization Grant or the Oregon Main Street Network, visit www.oregonheritage.org<http://www.oregonheritage.org/> or contact Kuri Gill at Kuri.gill at oprd.oregon.gov<mailto:Kuri.gill at oprd.oregon.gov> or 503-986-0685.
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State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation to Meet June 27 in Hood River
The State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation (SACHP) will meet on Friday, June 27, at the Hood River County Library (502 State Street, Hood River) to consider proposed nominations to the National Register of Historic Places. The SACHP meeting is open to the public and offered in a hybrid meeting format.
The meeting agenda includes a guided walking tour, presentations, and hearings for two proposed nominations. The guided tour will begin at 9:30 a.m., and the business meeting will begin at 12:45 p.m. While the tour is available to in-person participants only, anyone may attend the business meeting in person or virtually; instructions for how to attend virtually are posted on the committee web page: https://www.oregon.gov/oprd/OH/Pages/Commissions.aspx. Registration is required to speak at the meeting, either in person or through the virtual meeting platform. For those wishing to observe the proceedings but not wishing to provide testimony, the business meeting will also be livestreamed to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@oprddirectorsoffice5783/streams.
The business meeting will include an update on Oregon Heritage's grant programs and a presentation on the role of context in assessing historic significance. Beginning at 3:00pm, the committee will review proposed nominations for the Methodist Episcopal Church of Union, Union County, and the Balch Gulch Bridge in Portland, Multnomah County. For copies of the proposed nominations and the full meeting agenda, please see the committee web page: https://www.oregon.gov/oprd/OH/Pages/Commissions.aspx.
The SACHP is a nine-member, governor-appointed citizen committee with credentials in many historic preservation-related fields. Nominations recommended by the SACHP are forwarded to the National Park Service, which maintains the National Register of Historic Places under the authority of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. This effort aligns with the Oregon Historic Preservation Plan<https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjo_6mo1rCNAxUcODQIHdiOMvoQFnoECAoQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.oregon.gov%2Foprd%2FOH%2FDocuments%2F2024_OR_PreservationPlan_%2520English_web.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1ZYXjICYgsFInuCiyX0QNk&opi=89978449> goal to increase the thematic diversity of Oregon properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It also supports the goals to include more voices and increase access to Oregon heritage that are part of the Oregon Heritage Plan<https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjL-5ex1rCNAxWeAzQIHWmKL5kQFnoECAoQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.oregon.gov%2Foprd%2FOH%2FDocuments%2F2020_Oregon_Heritage_Plan.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1KpL9gvpCn2x-8i-CCLwca&opi=89978449>.
The meeting is accessible to people with disabilities. Special accommodations may be made with at least three days of advance notice by calling (503) 986-0690.
More information about the National Register of Historic Places process is online at www.oregonheritage.org<http://www.oregonheritage.org/>.
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Main Street America blog post on Disaster Resiliency
A recent post on the Main Street America Blog looks at Building Resiliency for Hurricane Season lists ways you can prepare your community and increase resiliency that can apply to many disasters that impact communities, not just hurricanes. Check it out here<https://mainstreet.org/the-latest/news/main-spotlight-building-resiliency-for-hurricane-season?utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9cGd_Mghy4ddlfLjxVGbb_q4Pqu-HnuVYacYmA4zrM30GTM0dADB6_spWoT5_tbs-iaccPjc3TLcnQsmL950YCrZLUQA&_hsmi=365939316&utm_content=365939316&utm_source=hs_email>.
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Registration Now Open for the 2025 AASLH Annual Conference
The American Association for State and Local History opened up registration for the 2025 Annual Conference taking place in September in Cincinnatti, Ohio. Find more information about the conference here.
Oregon Heritage Note: Need financial assistance? If you are in a rural Oregon community, Roundhouse Foundation has a technical assistance grant that can be used for attending conferences. More information here<https://roundhousefoundation.org/how-to-apply-for-roundhouse-grants/> and scroll down to the 2025 Technical Assistance & Professional Development Grants.
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Premier of OPB's "Oregon Art Beat" featuring the Oregon Country Fair, June 25, in Eugene
OPB is having a screening screening at the McDonald Theatre in Eugene of the global premiere of "Oregon Country Fair: Magic in the Woods."
This one-hour "Oregon Art Beat" feature gives you a chance to meet the artists and volunteers behind the Oregon Country Fair, one of the longest running art and music festivals in the country. Thousands of people gather in a wooded fairyland outside Eugene for this annual three-day festival in July. OPB explores the Fair's 50+ year history and takes viewers on an hour-long immersive journey into this other-worldly celebration.
The screening is on June 25 at 9 p.m. with a runtime of one hour. Tickets are free, but required to attend. Find tickets to the screening at opb.org/fair.<https://opb.org/fair>
The special will also premiere online at opb.org on June 27, and on OPB TV on July 10 at 8 p.m.
The Oregon Country Fair was designated as an Oregon Heritage Tradition by the Oregon Heritage Commission. To learn more about this designation, visit here<https://www.oregon.gov/oprd/OH/pages/heritage-designations.aspx>.
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Oregon's only state-level preservation tax incentive is back
Governor Kotek signed House Bill 3190 into law on May 28 during the 2025 Legislative session, reauthorizing the program as a 10-year benefit for commercial, income-producing historic properties. The changes to the Special Assessment program also restrict eligible properties to improved real estate used or held for income production, adjust the fee calculation for the program, and permit eligible properties to have an unlimited number of consecutive or non-consecutive 10-year special assessment terms.
The previous version of the Special Assessment program closed to new applicants on July 1, 2024. Existing participants were allowed to continue their involvement in the program for the duration of their terms. The program is limited to properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Qualified properties were specially assessed for ten years, contingent on the execution of a preservation plan, and could be eligible for a consecutive second ten-year term if the preservation plan included significant investments in seismic upgrades, energy conservation, or disability access.
The Special Assessment of Historic Properties program provides a 10-year property tax break for properties listed in the federal National Register of Historic Places. Currently, this is the only state historic preservation tax incentive program. The program began in 1975 as the nation's first state-level historic preservation tax incentive and has since evolved to address changing laws and political realities.
The next step involves the review of the Special Assessment program by the State Parks and Recreation Commission on Thursday, June 18th. If approved for rulemaking, staff anticipate starting the official public comment period on July 1, 2025, which will include a virtual public hearing to facilitate both verbal and written comments.
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National Park Service Lists Mingus Park Community Building in Coos Bay
The Mingus Park Community Building (850 W Park Roadway) in Coos Bay, popularly known as the "Scout Cabin," is among Oregon's latest entries in the National Register of Historic Places. Oregon's State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation (SACHP) reviewed the nomination at their February 2025 meeting, recognizing the building's significance as a rare example of Work Progress Administration (WPA)-constructed Rustic architecture in Coos Bay. The National Park Service, which maintains the National Register of Historic Places, accepted the nomination in May 2025.
Located along the northwest edge of Mingus Park in Coos Bay, the Mingus Park Community Building was designed by local teacher Clarence E. Landes and constructed by WPA workers between December 1939 and July 1940. The building's construction was part of a broader initiative by the United States government to create infrastructure that provided both employment and lasting public benefits during the Great Depression. The WPA, one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs, was responsible for building thousands of recreational spaces, roads, bridges, and civic buildings across the country.
Like many of the recreational buildings and structures constructed by the WPA, the Mingus Park Community Building exhibits a Rustic style characterized by the use of local materials, hand construction techniques, and rugged finishes. WPA workers used locally sourced timber and quarry stone to craft the one-story building, which is clad in vertically-oriented half-log siding and features a Dutch gable roof. The interior features and finishes, which include a high post-and-beam ceiling, a double-sided stone fireplace, and hanging log benches, maintain the Rustic style of the exterior. The building has experienced only minor modifications in the 85 years since its construction, and it remains one of the only surviving WPA projects in Coos Bay.
Beyond its architectural importance and notable association with New Deal programs, the Mingus Park Community Building has also been an integral part of Coos Bay's recreational and social life since its completion in 1940. Its original, primary purpose was to serve the local Boy Scouts of America program, which used the space for meetings, skill-building workshops, and overnight training exercises; the building's nickname, "the Scout Cabin," reflects this longstanding role in fostering leadership and outdoor education among local youth. In addition to scouting programs, the space has also hosted civic events and strengthened community ties for generations. Throughout the decades, local organizations and volunteers have worked tirelessly to maintain and preserve the building in the face of challenges such as vandalism and budget constraints. The site remains a valued historic and cultural resource in Coos Bay, preserving a tradition of shared experiences and community connection.
To celebrate the building's recent listing in the National Register of Historic Places, the City of Coos Bay welcomes the community to the Mingus Park Community Building (850 W Park Roadway) for a Cabin Celebration Day on June 28th from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Join generations of those who have cherished this building in honoring its long-standing community legacy!
Recognition of the Mingus Park Community Building in the National Register of Historic Places aligns with the goals of the 2024-2033 Oregon Preservation Plan<https://www.oregon.gov/oprd/OH/Documents/2024_OR_PreservationPlan_%20English_web.pdf>, which encourages the preservation and documentation of historically significant places that contribute to Oregon's cultural and architectural history. The National Register is maintained by the National Park Service under the authority of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. Properties listed in the National Register are:
* Recognized as significant to the nation, state, or community;
* Considered in the planning of federal or federally-assisted projects;
* Eligible for federal tax benefits;
* Qualified for historic preservation grants when funds are available;
* Eligible for leniency in meeting certain building code requirements;
* Subject to local laws pertaining to the conservation and protection of historic resources.
State law in Oregon requires local governments to offer a minimal level of protection for properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places; the decisions about how to accomplish that goal reside with local governments, which also have the authority to create and regulate local historic districts and landmarks.
More information about the National Register and recent Oregon listings are online at oregonheritage.org<http://www.oregonheritage.org/> (under the heading "Designate").
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Catch up on recent Oregon Heritage Exchange Blog posts
Unlock Google's Power: Free Tools for Your Nonprofit<https://oregonheritage.wordpress.com/2025/06/12/unlock-googles-power-free-tools-for-your-nonprofit/>
Cultural Landscapes: Historic Orchards Documentation<https://oregonheritage.wordpress.com/2025/05/23/cultural-landscapes-historic-orchards-documentation/>
Oregon Digital Newspaper Program: Digitizing and Preserving Oregon's News<https://oregonheritage.wordpress.com/2025/05/14/oregon-digital-newspaper-program-digitizing-and-preserving-oregons-news/>
Have a story to share on the Oregon Heritage Exchange Blog about a project that increases access to heritage, includes more voices, promotes the value of heritage, and/or pursues best practices? Get in touch with the outreach team at oregon.heritage at oprd.oregon.gov.
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Follow us on Facebook at @oregonheritage, on LinkedIn<https://www.linkedin.com/company/oregon-parks-and-recreation-department/>, on the Oregon Heritage Exchange blog<https://oregonheritage.wordpress.com/>.
Oregon Heritage News is a service of Oregon Heritage, a division of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department that includes the State Historic Preservation Office. Learn more about our programs at www.oregonheritage.org<http://www.oregonheritage.org/>. The news editor can be contacted at heritage.info at oprd.oregon.gov<mailto:heritage.info at oprd.oregon.gov>.
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