Restore Oregon strongly supported this bill and provided multiple letters of support through public testimony.  We were also featured in a news story by Erika Bolstad at Stateline in April 2023, when the bill was under consideration, that provides more indepth context for these important streamlining changes for owners/developers of commercial properties in Oregon.

This policy change is a perfect example of successful advocacy where varied interests came together in support of a shared cause: the historic preservation voice of Restore Oregon was joined by housing advocates, environmental organizations, climate action groups and environmental justice advocates all seeing the value in repurposing existing buildings to efficiently create housing units through reuse! 

Restore Oregon thanks the elected leadership who made this happen, starting with the chief sponsor Representative Marsh and sponsors Reps. Andersen, Dexter, Fahey, Helm, McLain, Senators Anderson, Dembrow, Golden, Jama and Patterson!  (Please thank them too!)

You can review the final enrolled bill that is now law:

https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023R1/Measures/Overview/HB2984

Restore Oregon’s dedicated community of donors helped us hit our $40,000 year end goal and met our $15,000 matching gift challenge from Jim and Sue Kelly!

Each year donors energize Restore Oregon’s mission to empower Oregonians to reimagine and transform their communities through the preservation and reuse of historic and cultural places. 

We are humbled by our donors’ generosity and dedication to our cause.

New this year! Bundled Sponsorship Packages

Annual sponsors at the Foundation and above level who bundle with an event sponsorship get to be a part of all our events and programs. PLUS your logo will be on all of our digital communications and the footer of our website—that gives you exposure to well over 10,000 Oregonians a month. Save 20-40% off by bundling your sponsorships!

Don’t miss the deadline! 

Restore Oregon Modernism 2024 communications begin on February 1—sign up by January 15 to maximize your advertising benefits! Our Modernism sponsors reach over 1,000 event guests throughout the year and are included on event websites as well as yearlong communications to our exclusive Restore Oregon Modernist Society.

DID YOU KNOW that Restore Oregon provides FREE access to technical preservation assistance, now known as Preservation Together? Get Help with your next project using Preservation Together’s digital resource library, which now includes a comprehensive Resources for Rural Oregon information hub for our rural neighbors. Check out our FAQs, view our preservation business directory, learn about saving heritage barns and mid-century modern architecture, read back issues of Field Notes Magazine, and more! You can also download our Preservation Toolkit, the Oregon's Intangible Heritage: Supporting the Preservation of Legacy Businesses report, and our Historic Resources Inventory Planning Guide. And if you still have questions, just head over to our inquiry form to ask the experts…it’s FREE!

Elected Official Educational Tours of the State Forester’s Office

In December, Restore Oregon, the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) and Architectural Resources Group collaborated to provide State elected officials Senator Deb Patterson and Representative Tom Anderson with an educational tour of the State Forester’s Office, which Oregonian dubbed a “Symphony of Oregon Woods” back in 1939. This still-functioning headquarters office in Salem faces decades of deferred maintenance and needs significant financial investment to make it ready for its next century of use.

Both Representative Anderson and Senator Patterson were delighted to see and learn (and expressed their appreciation and support for the investment needed) about the critical operational upgrades needed that can be attained with a historic rehabilitation project in a climate friendly and sustainable manner.  ODF’s facilities team has scoped the project with Architectural Resource Group. 

Senator Patterson’s electronic newsletter covered the visit with the headline “A Treasure in Our Midst” broadening the awareness about this Oregon treasure in her district.  If you’d like to learn more, please also read Doug Decker’s story from last year.  

Restore Oregon has a long history of saving and advocating for Oregon’s WPA-era resources. Starting with our early work (as the Historic Preservation League of Oregon) to save Crater Lake Lodge to our work with the Friends of the Oregon Caves and Chateau to preserve another amazing park lodge in Southern Oregon that has been part of our Most Endangered Places program since 2013.

In 2020-2021, Restore Oregon partnered with the State Historic Preservation Office/Oregon Parks and Recreation Department to hire Sara Munro, a New Deal historian, to conduct the first comprehensive statewide study of Oregon’s Works Progress Administration and Public Works Administration resources built between 1933- 943. This study, known as a Multiple Property Documentation Form or MPDF, is a document that provides definitions and historical contexts for a group of properties and used to streamline future National Register nominations.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Living Room Realty Tour & Lecture!

Special thanks to Jenelle Isaacson Etzel, Living Room Realty, Sally Painter, and Brandon Spencer-Hartle!