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The building should remain while Northwest Natural cleans up the rest of the site. Other viable ideas for preservation might arise in the meantime. If nothing else, a ruin is an interesting idea!
I'm puzzled by Brian's description of this building as Romanesque. Anyone have a better historical description of its style?
"Industrial Victorian" is my shot at it....
Gas & Coke building: Superfund site to park and ruins?
Portland Gas & Coke (photo by Jody Miller) BY BRIAN LIBBY Imagine a few years from now you're driving on Highway 30 north of downtown Portland. You've passed miles of industrial facilities and train tracks, but as the city's most beloved bridge (the St. Johns) comes into view, so does the ci...
It's amazing to think of the care and design that went into a largely industrial building. We don't do it that way anymore, do we? I, too, am saddened by its prospective loss. I am also greatly saddened by corporate powers ducking responsibility to clean up the messes they've made. I know the web of responsibility is tangled, but notice how big business always gets somebody ELSE to pay for the clean-up.
Century-old Portland Gas & Coke building set to be demolished
Portland Gas & Coke building (image via gascobuilding.blogspot.com) BY BRIAN LIBBY It's a building that pretty much no one in Portland has even entered for more than a half century, yet as soon as I mentioned its planned demolition on social media today there was a flurry of responses, lament...
Hales understands development and opportunity better than most mayors. I think the big new project near Lloyd Center will provide additional stimulus for growth along the East Side Streetcar line. More problematic is deep East Portland. I'd LOVE to see builders and developers come up with creative ideas there rather than continuing to plunder our historic streetcar neighborhoods with inappropriate yet profitable projects. Builders seem more determined to take advantage of good "location" in old neighborhoods instead of building "good location" east of I-205. But don't get me started....
Mayor Hales talks design and planning with local architects
Mayor Hales (image courtesy eastpdxnews.com) BY BRIAN LIBBY Last week Portland mayor Charlie Hales, in his first year on the job after a successful City Council tenure in the 1990s, stopped by AIA/Portland's Center For Architecture to talk about the state of our built environment and his prio...
I enjoyed reading this. I watched the Design commission for several years when Tim Eddy was on it...he was a voice of calm intelligence, offering specific ideas, always trying to make a better product. He provided excellent public service.
The Architect's Questionnaire: Tim Eddy
Tim Eddy (photo by Kim-Oanh-Nguyen) BY LUKE AREHART Since forming in 1992, Portland firm Hennebery Eddy Architects has amassed an impressive portfolio fusing sustainable principles with a reverence for craftsmanship and simple, beautiful forms. The firm has won a slough of design awards, most...
I was interested in his comments about the Pearl. I think we all owe some thanks to the Portland Design Commission which demanded good work, both in the Pearl and the South Waterfront.
A conversation with Brad Cloepfil
Brad Cloepfil (image courtesy Allied Works) BY BRIAN LIBBY After forming in 1994 and then gaining local and national attention in the latter half of the '90s with projects like the Maryhill Overlook and especially the Wieden + Kennedy headquarters, Allied Works Architecture and founding archi...
I have no affiliation with GBD or Peter Meijer architects. It is unfair to suggest that it is THEIR decision not to do seismic work. That was the order from the client building owner. (I suppose the architects could refuse and let someone else do the work...) Ownership has its prerogatives, for better or worse.
A peek inside the US Custom House as it undergoes renovation
Entrance to US Custom House, from north (photo by Brian Libby) BY BRIAN LIBBY For most of its history since opening in 1901, Portland's U.S. Custom House has been a kind of gilded monolith: a grand Italian Renaissance structure one walks past with admiration and quiet awe but never steps insi...
Portland has plenty of buildable space without destroying our historic streetcar-era neighborhoods. Take a look east of I-205, for example. If there is greatness to be built, go do it.
Humble landmarks in North, Northeast await wrecking ball or champion
St. Paul/Gesthemane church (photo by Brian Libby) BY BRIAN LIBBY To move west on Failing Street from Northeast Portland across Martin Luther King Boulevard and Williams Avenue into North Portland's Mississippi district is to witness the changing demographics and architecture here. And chances...
I seriously doubt there are "thousands" of old Victorian homes left in Portland. When they are gone, they are gone. We can't build new ones. On the other hand, we can build countless examples of modern schlock, because that's wehere the money is.
Humble landmarks in North, Northeast await wrecking ball or champion
St. Paul/Gesthemane church (photo by Brian Libby) BY BRIAN LIBBY To move west on Failing Street from Northeast Portland across Martin Luther King Boulevard and Williams Avenue into North Portland's Mississippi district is to witness the changing demographics and architecture here. And chances...
I remember the consternation her article inspired. Of course, she was right on every point. Often, it takes a outsider to show the way. Her insight was truly spectacular.
Ada Louise Huxtable’s Portland
Ada Louise Huxtable (photo by L. Garth Huxtable) BY DAN HANECKOW Ada Louise Huxtable, the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times and Wall Street Journal architectural critic as well as a celebrated author and preservationist, died on January 7 at the age of 91. Although New York City was the p...
It's difficult to imagine this ever happening. A couple reasons: This is Union Pacific's main west coast line. How does it get rerouted during construction? Second, UPRR is willing to pay NOTHING, even to speed up its own trains. (We got a taste of this years ago when there was talk of smoothing out a curve near the Dreyfuss grain elevators near the Rose Garden...ostensibly the worst curve on the Seattle-Los Angeles run.) So locals would have to pick up the entire tab. Granted, I lack imagination, but there are some really difficult real-world issues.
Imagining a Central Eastside rail trail
Central Eastside railway (photo by Brian Libby) BY BRIAN LIBBY In Tuesday's New York Times, Lisa Foderado reports on an initiative underway in the Queens borough of New York City to replicate the success of Manhattan's High Line park with one of its own. "It has been abandoned for five decade...
I agree, Brian, that the Coliseum has a bright future and that the plan should be approved. It concerns me, however, that Paul Allen -- who has scarcely proved he can manage ANYTHING -- has managerial authority for 10 years or whatever. There are so many great opportunities for that building, but I don't think he's the guy to envision them and carry them out. So I fear the MC will continue to be an under-utilized building for years to come.
City Council to vote on Memorial Coliseum restoration Thursday
Memorial Coliseum (photo by Julius Schulman, from Modernism Rediscovered) BY BRIAN LIBBY It's a vote that has been more than three years in the making, but will demonstrate our city's values for generations to come. This Thursday, City Council will vote on the proposed $31 million deal to res...
I hope your kind feelings for Portland continue. Maybe being a stranger helps. Many years ago I had to spend two weeks in LA on a journalistic assignment. I was surprised at how friendly and helpful everyone seemed to be. It certainly wasn't the LA I had heard about....
A transplanted designer's Rose City thank-you
Portland Outdoor Store sign (photo by Brian Libby) BY LUKE AREHART Before I found my opportunity and decided to move to Portland, all of my sunny Southern California pals warned about the soggy and dreary Northwest that grays out eight months of the year. I moved to Portland in the month Octo...
This is another fine example of adaptive re-use of old buildings allowing successful new opportunities. When the bigwigs talk about "small business incubators," our street-car era neighborhood commercial districts and their old buildings offer low rents and platforms for creativity. This article helps spread the message.
The Ocean: five tiny restaurants and an epiphany
The Ocean on NE Glisan (photo by Brian Libby) BY BRIAN LIBBY Kevin Cavenaugh, the architect-trained developer who has spent much of the last decade embodying smart do-it-yourself place making in Portland, said something to me yesterday I've scarcely heard from any architect. "I know as an arc...
Maybe I'm not the right person to answer, but I'd say roof forms, massing, siding materials, double-hung windows and window framing.
Compatible but not caricature: Landmarks Commission approves Goose Hollow row houses infil
Rendering courtesy Argo Architect BY FRED LEESON The design solution would not be easy. For starters, the site at 2004-2010 SW Madison Street slopes downhill in two directions. It also sits in a corner of Portland’s Kings Hill Historic District, meaning that the design would have to be compat...
Interesting response by Jeff. I always assumed the windows were intended to lure people in by giving them a glimpse of the beauty. Still, I think the garden is further proof of how difficult it is to stimulate nearby development...same result at the Convention Center, which was assumed to prompt user-friendly projects nearby. Still hasn't happened....
A return visit to Lan Su, Portland's Classical Chinese Garden
Lan Su Chinese Garden (photo by Brian Libby) BY BRIAN LIBBY "Most cherished in this mundane world is a place without traffic," reads a poem by 16th century poet Wen Zhengming inscribed in a rock formation at Portland's Lan Su Chinese Garden. "Truly in the midst of the city there can be mounta...
They're off to a good start, in my book, by undertaking a successful adaptation of a historic building. That is an under-appreciated aspect of architecture that needs to be more widely recognized for its historical, social and energy conservation benefits.
Designing an architecture school: a conversation with PSU's Clive Knights and Jeff Schnabel
Ecological Learning Plaza, Shattuck Hall (photo by Brian Libby) BY BRIAN LIBBY The fall term at Portland State University doesn't begin for a few weeks yet, but on a recent visit to Shattuck Hall, the architeture deparment's home, there was already a palpable energy. As my bicycle pulled up t...
It's a thought-provoking discussion, indeed. One thing to think about is that the younger generation is much less car dependent than the boomers. I have two adult sons, 25 and 28, and NEITHER is a car owner. I once lived in Northwest Portland, where literally dozens of apartments were built in the teens and 1920s without parking. Yes, parking was difficult (I owned a car at the time) but the Northwest neighborhood was then -- and still is today -- perhaps the most vibrant in the city. Yes, I think the city needs to monitor the impact of these new developments, but let's not jump to premature conclusions.
Parking, density and politics: balancing vibrant urbanity with practicality
Parking lot in Southeast Portland (photo by Brian Libby) BY BRIAN LIBBY Today's issue of Willamette Week includes a small blurb in its Murmurs section that got me thinking about the relationship between the urban places we most want to frequent and the parking issues that can ensue. We want to...
It's creative and fun, but extremely resource-intensive, no? Would a better exercise be to build a shelter of similar function with the fewest materials?
Master class on a simple structure: UO and OCAC students collaborate on imaginative Burn Box shelter
Burn Box at OCAC (photo by Brian Libby) BY BRIAN LIBBY In recent decades, smokers in public buildings and spaces have been pushed further out to the margins: not just outside the doors of architecture, in some cases, but a stipulated several yards away. But when you're an art school, it's par ...
The Gibbs Street bridge was intended to help remedy some of the MANY devastations the neighborhood suffered at the hands of Interstate-5, the Ross Island bridge-ramp tangle and Barbur Boulevard. (Not to mention as a sop to the over-wrought protestations against the tram.) I agree with Linder on the need for sidewalks. As a parent and walker, I wouldn't live in one without them. Sidewalks are a sign of civilization.
The TriMet civil war: taxes, entitlements, and the mythical "Portland creep"
Portland Streetcar and MAX train (photo by drburtoni via Flickr) BY BRIAN LIBBY Depending on where you live in the Portland metro area, what tax bracket you occupy and your mode of getting around, the regional transit service is either failing to meet your needs or grossly over-reaching. It's ...
While talk of political accountability is nice, the sad fact is that if TriMet had been subject to direct political control, MAX never would have been built or expanded. We have the rail system today because dedicated transit experts struggled to make it happen. MAX would NEVER win at the polls. We'd have the Mt. Hood Freeway instead. I lived through that era and reported about it at the time. Transit never would have had a chance. And I don't think it would now, either. You can see the resistance today in Clackamas County. Nothing has changed.
The TriMet civil war: taxes, entitlements, and the mythical "Portland creep"
Portland Streetcar and MAX train (photo by drburtoni via Flickr) BY BRIAN LIBBY Depending on where you live in the Portland metro area, what tax bracket you occupy and your mode of getting around, the regional transit service is either failing to meet your needs or grossly over-reaching. It's ...
It will be interesting to see what this team comes up with for future uses. There is considerable brainpower among them....
Electric history: Jeff Joslin on preserving the Bull Run power station
Bull Run Powerhouse (image courtesy Powerhouse Re Gen LLC) BY BRIAN LIBBY For more than 15 years, Jeff Joslin was one of the most important figures in City of Portland's planning and development bureaus, acting as the city's senior urban planner as well as its land use supervisor. But when his...
Really informative post. I learned a lot. I like the "reed" approach to the facade screen. One concern I have is the tilting platform that holds the rooftop electricity-generating panels. Seems to me a strong east wind is going to put a lot of pressure on the underside. I trust it has been "engineered" for that kind of force...but I hope they got it right! If not, we're talking life-threatening disaster....
Landmark opportunity: James Cutler talks about designing the Edith Green Wendell Wyatt federal building
Edith Green Wendell Wyatt federal building (photo by Brian Libby) BY BRIAN LIBBY James Cutler has long been considered an architect's architect. Operating from a small office on Bainbridge Island in Puget Sound, he has become internationally acclaimed particularly in the use of wood, and mostl...
Both the first and second versions of the Oregon Convention Center were intended to be generators of renewal in the neighborhood. It simply never happened, as one can tell by glancing at the under-utilized commercial sites on adjacent streets. The hotel is just another indication of failure. In an earlier run at the hotel long before the crash, one developer proposed starting at 300 rooms with room for expansion later if needed. That seems like a reasonable approach to me, although I know nothing about development or the hotel/convention business. I think TriMet's elimination of the free rail zone will be another dagger for the neighborhood, unless conventioneers are given free transit passes.
Metro revives headquarters hotel proposal...again
Oregon Convention Center (photo by Nancy Erz) BY BRIAN LIBBY If one searches on OregonLive for news stories tagged with the phrase "Portland headquarters hotel," the list of stories published since 2008 says it all: "Convention center hotel back on life support," one story reads. A few weeks l...
This is a magnificent piece of historic architecture. I know the structural issues will be a huge challenge. It appears that the prospective new owners have signed up a good local team of professionals. That's good news, as well.
US Custom House sold again, this time to Boston-area firm
US Custom House (image courtesy Wikipedia Commons) BY BRIAN LIBBY Portland and Boston have had numerous connections over the years. The original coinflip that gave Portland its name (after the city in Maine) could alternatively have seen it named Boston. One of Portland's largest corporate hea...
Apple's architecture is all about corporate ego. The company is so rich, nothing else matters...sustainability, context, blah blah. Money does what money wants. This is corporate greed and insensitivity at its "best."
A bigger, more prominent downtown Apple store? [Sshh!]
Drawings for an alleged downtown Apple store proposal (courtesy ifoApplestore.com) BY BRIAN LIBBY Perhaps I should begin with an apology. I'd like to write about Apple's proposed new downtown store on Yamhill Street, across from the Pioneer Place mall. And here's hoping it happens. After all, ...
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