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Posts tagged ‘historic preservation’

Jun 8

Restoring a Historic Oregon Barn

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by Client Services Manager Jeremy Gould.

Greetings all, I wanted to take this chance to introduce everybody to the Shipley-Cook barn restoration project. Arciform founder Richard De Wolf has vowed to remove one building from Restore Oregon’s “Endangered Places” list each year, and the Shipley-Cook barn is this year’s choice. Past projects include the DAR cabin in Champoeg, the Smokehouse in Dayton and the First Congregational Church in Portland.

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One of the many cool things about this project is that since this barn is on the historic registry, Adam needed to use “period correct” lumber and construction methods. This means we had to special order “circular sawn” lumber from a saw mill out of Idaho. Circular sawn means that the lumber was cut with a very large circular saw blade (as opposed to a band saw) that measure three feet in diameter. These blades give the lumber a curved striation on the face.  Because different sized blades have been used throughout the years, you can actually judge the age of the existing lumber by measuring the curve of this striation.

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The barn was partially collapsing because the siding was missing which allows rain to access the interior. This project is basically replacing one of the main foundation/mud sill beams that has almost entirely rotted out.

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This will be no easy task since the beam is approximately 12” x 12” and a little over 30’ long! The lumber company tells me the beam weighs almost 2000 lbs. On top of replacing the beam, project manager Adam Schoeffel and lead carpenter Eric Delph needed to raise that end of the barn approximately 6” or 7”, replace all the siding there and some of the framing members (perlins and posts).

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Rick Cook is the owner of the Shipley-Cook barn and as you can tell from the name, this barn has been in his family for awhile. He currently is a teacher for West Linn High School and is incredibly grateful for Richard’s help in making this project happen as well as Brandon with Restore Oregon. The project is being funded by a grant that Richard and Brandon helped Rick attain. Here is a link to a really cool video showing the barn with footage from a drone http://restoreoregon.org/event/barns/. Click on the video once you follow the link and also look for the barn to be mentioned in future Restore Oregon events and advertising.  You can also look for Eugene Wine Cellars wine made with grapes grown on the Shipley-Cook property!

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Here you can see the completed project. We were proud to save this little piece of Oregon’s Pioneer history.

 

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Jun 26

Historic Cabin Brought Back to Life

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ODAR members serve refreshments at the ribbon cutting ceremony.

The Arciform team was thrilled to celebrate the completed reconstruction of the Pioneer Mothers Cabin with a formal ribbon cutting ceremony Sunday March 17th. The event marked the end of years of planning, fundraising and worry for the members of the ODAR (Oregon Daughters of the American Revolution) after watching their historic monument slowly slip into the Willamette River. Now relocated to higher ground at the Newell House Museum, the cabin is once again open and ready to educate and entertain!

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The Pioneer Mothers Memorial Cabin finally completed at it’s new location.

Although the building now stands proud with a structurally sound chimney and wall bracing, as well new radiant floor heat for comfort, this final celebration was many years coming. Arciform was fist contacted in the fall of 2013, but thoughts of moving the structure had been floating around for over 15 years. Listing it on Restore Oregon’s 2013 Endangered Places brought much needed attention to the cause and when aided by grants and the tremendous efforts and generosity of volunteers and subcontractors, funding for the project was finally made possible.

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Arciform team members prepare to reinstall one of the larger logs at the new site.

With all the architectural elements and individual logs cataloged and identified on a set of plans, the cabin was finally ready to be carefully dismantled piece by piece and stored at it’s new home at the Newell House Museum. A fresh concrete slab was poured over a network of tubes for hydronic radiant floor heat and a new reinforced cinder block chimney with firebox to meet modern safety codes was installed. After another bout of fundraising, every piece from window jamb and rafter to the forty foot logs spanning nearly the entire width of the cabin were reinstalled.

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Halfway through the deconstruction process, small white tabs indicate each log’s proper location.

Although the building’s original location perched on the edge of the Willamette River will most certainly be missed for it’s historical value and aesthetics, the ODAR members are thrilled to have this piece of history out of harms way for upcoming generations to enjoy. For more information and photographs of the construction process, check out the Pioneer Mothers Memorial Cabin’s Facebook page. If you have a historic building in need of relocation or simply repair please visit our website or Versatile Wood Products for all your historically accurate window, door, millwork and cabinetry needs.

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Dec 30

Help Pass the Revitalize Main Street Act and Save Oregon’s Historic Buildings!

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Since the Historic Preservation Act in 1966, state and federally funded tax credits specifically directed towards supporting historic preservation and rehabilitation projects have become the financial backbone for many ventures.  Oregon is currently one of five states that, while having an income tax, does not offer such incentives for preservation related construction.

With your help Restore Oregon hopes to turn that around when they bring the Revitalize Main Street Act to legislation in the January 2015 session.  Once passed the Act would lead to a 25% state tax rebate on historic preservation and rehabilitation construction projects.

What’s in it for Oregon?

While it’s easy to see benefits for individual buildings, a study by EcoNorthwest determined that with just a $10.6M investment by the state of Oregon we would see 1,369 jobs generated per year, a $2.3M net increase in property taxes to pay for public services, and a $35.8M net increase in the state GDP by 2018.

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What are the Rules?

  • The 25% state tax rebate can be applied to any costs directly related to the historic rehabilitation.  This includes any costs incurred during construction, but does not cover superfluous purchases such as hotel lobby chairs or drapes.
  • Funding would come from money generated by the state income tax at a yearly capped amount.
  • If passed, this 25% state tax rebate can be used in conjunction with the 20% federal Historic Tax Credit.
  • There must be a minimum investment of $10,000.

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Who Can Use It?

  • The credit can only be applied to income producing properties such as apartments, theaters, hotels, factories, stores, etc.If any portion of the structure being rehabilitated is non-income producing, any work done in that area would need to be separated out from the remaining cost of the rehabilitation and would not count towards the tax credit.
  • The credit can be used on properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  This includes approximately 2,600 buildings in 77 Oregon towns.
  • Only work done within the guidelines outlined by the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for an appropriate rehabilitation may be applicable.  An addition to a historic building may be allowed so long as it is reversible, but any costs incurred do not count towards the state tax rebate.

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What are the Benefits?

While there are tangible benefits to preserving our historic landscape that include a sense of identity, community pride and aesthetics, there are also many economic benefits on a state and local level.

  • Thriving main streets and historic attractions bring in tourists who give an added boost to the local economy.
  • Several studies have shown that construction waste can make up more than half of a city or town’s overall landfill composition.  Simply put, the reuse of existing buildings will keep more waste out of our nation’s landfills.
  • The rehabilitation and maintenance of older buildings create more sustained jobs for local businesses, while new construction materials are increasingly comprised prefabricated parts that are shipped in.
  • One study from Profiting from the Past: The Economic Impact of Historic Preservation in Georgia showed that between 1992 and 1996 the rehabilitation of historic properties created 7,550 jobs, $201 million in earnings, and had a total impact of $559 on the state economy.  as our current economic outlook brightens, imagine how the Main Street Revitalization Act could keep creating jobs and keep Oregon’s economic growth headed in the right direction!

Arciform and Versatile Wood Products are proud sponsors of Restore Oregon and the Revitalize Main Street Act, but they need public support to get the ball rolling in the right direction.  Click here to show your support and learn more about the Act so we can start saving Oregon’s historic buildings!

Dec 16

Support the Architectural Heritage Center

Volunteer Leslie Hutchinson leading a tour in Piedmont

Arciform has been a proud sponsor of the AHC for many years, and we invite you to support this wonderful organization.

The Architectural Heritage Center is all about saving historic buildings – and shaping the public policy and opinion to do so. As “home base” for historic preservation in the Portland metro area, the AHC loves to welcome people to their 1883 building, where they host programs, exhibits and research. When they “take history to the streets” with their popular and educational neighborhood architecture tours, they help show how our communities have been shaped in the past and inspire people to save them for the future.

Your tax-deductible gift by December 31st will help fund development of a new walking tour in 2015, and training for the dedicated volunteers who lead it. We invite you to accept a complimentary ticket to a walking tour in the coming year as a thank you for your contribution. We look forward to getting to know you in the coming year.
Click here to donate today.

Volunteer Tom Hubka leading a tour in Eastmoreland

Dec 14

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Support Restore Oregon

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Richard De Wolf, owner of Arciform and Versatile Wood Products, is a proud board member of Restore Oregon which works to protect the historic bridges, barns, homes, neighborhoods, churches and Main Streets that make Oregon Oregon. We join them in believing that building reuse “honors culture, revitalizes neighborhoods, resurrects downtown’s, creates jobs and reuses materials.” Versatile Wood Products is a proud sponsor of the De Muro Awards that honors successful historic rehabilitation projects throughout Oregon.

Donate $100 or more before December 31st through the Willamette Week Give!Guide and receive an Oriental Car Rug Mat from Atiyeh Brothers. Donations will be matched dollar for dollar by Versatile Wood Products up to $1000. Plus, if you make a gift of $500 or more, you’ll be entered to win $1000 of custom product from Versatile Wood Products.

Click here to make your donation, and be sure to mention Arciform & Versatile Wood Products.

Atiyah car rugs for Restore Oregon

 

May 21

Postcards from the Field: Knotts Owen Barn

This week Richard and our preservation associate Catherine Cuthbert took a trip out to Corvallis to survey a historic 1870 barn that we are working with the owners to stabilize and preserve. This barn, called the Knotts Owens Barn, was listed as one of Restore Oregon’s 2013-14 Most Endangered Places.

Here are some pictures from our first look at the place:

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About the Knotts Owen Barn (from the Restore Oregon website)

The Knotts-Owens Barn is one of a handful of hand-hewn barns standing in Benton County today. This rare farmstead complex is regionally significant because it shows the evolution of a family farm from the settlement era through the 20th century.

The storyline of the Knotts-Owens farmstead begins in 1849 when Iowa natives William and Sylvia Knotts received a 640-acre donation land claim three miles north of present-day downtown Corvallis. The farmstead has stayed in the same family and the existing collection of buildings date to the 1870s, providing an excellent example of subsistence farming around the Mid-Willamette Valley. The complex consists of a farmhouse, machine shed, pump house, brooder house, and the barn.

Read more about this endangered place here.

 

We’ll keep you posted about the progress of this important preservation project.

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Nov 14

Pioneer Mother’s Cabin Rescued from Willamette

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We are delighted to report that the Oregon State Society, Daughters of the American Revolution have commissioned Arciform to begin rescuing one of Restore Oregon’s 2013 Most Endangered Places, the Pioneer Mother’s Cabin in Champoeg, Oregon.

Threatened by the encroaching Willamette River, the historic Pioneer Mother’s Cabin will be minutely catalogued, tagged, deconstructed and prepped for storage by Arciform starting this week as part of a multi-year project that will ultimately see the cabin restored and re-built on the grounds of the Robert Newell House and Museum.

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Although the structure is in overall good condition, the south bank of the Willamette River has eroded to within 20 feet of the cabin walls. Moving the cabin to higher ground is imperative to prevent the structure from sustaining water and flood damage this winter. Deconstruction will begin November 11th and will be coordinated by Arciform Project Manager Scott Mumma in collaboration with Arciform owner and historic preservation advocate Richard De Wolf.

De Wolf explains,
“We’re honored and excited to help rescue this important historic structure. Our team has extensive experience with historic restoration projects including the Heceta Head Lighthouse, the Waggoner Farmstead and the Silver Falls Historic Log Cabin. We look forward to putting that experience to work in support of this important effort.”

The Pioneer Mothers Memorial Cabin was built in 1931 to honor female pioneers and house artifacts that crossed the Oregon Trail in the mid-1800s. Built with funds raised by the Oregon State Society, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), it today operates as a museum and living history exhibit for school children.

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ABOUT THE PROJECT
Primary goals of the multi-phase preservation project include upgrading the engineering to meet current code without modifying the look and feel of the historic structure and upgrading the comfort and energy performance characteristics of the structure. Deconstruction will require careful cataloguing of each element to be sure that it can be reconstructed in a way that will conserve and restore as much of the existing architectural material as possible. The reconstruction phase will include comfort and performance upgrades like the integration of insulation into the roof and a seismic upgrade that will require drilling threaded rods through the structure to invisibly lock the logs to the foundation.

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Mar 28

Let’s Go to the Theater!

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What stories does your house have to tell? What role does your neighborhood, its unique history and the larger community play in defining what happens to your home, even after you buy it?

Preservationists, neighborhood associations, neighbors and families collide in this award winning hit Portland Center Stage comedy about the complex life (and impending demise) of a nearly 100 year old home in Chicago.

You are cordially invited to join Anne, Richard and the Arciform crew at the April 30th 7:30 pm performance, which will feature a post-show discussion about preservation in Portland’s changing neighborhoods.

Here’s the details from PCS about the performance and the discussion, which will include Arciform owner Richard De Wolf.

Join Arciform  at Clybourne Park
with a post-show discussion about preservation in Portland’s changing neighborhoods
April 30th at 7:30 pm
Portland Center Stage
Save $10 with Special Offer Code: ARCIFORM
Buy Tickets for the April 30th Performance Here

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Details: Clybourne Park explores the transition of one home in a Chicago neighborhood from a middle-class suburban structure in 1959 to a dilapidated urban building in 2009. It’s new owners just want to tear it down and start over. But should it be preserved?

On April 30 join experts in the field of historical preservation, who’ll share their thoughts about the house in Clybourne Park.  Panelists include Peggy Moretti, Executive Director of the Historical Preservation League of Oregon; Cathy Galbraith, Executive Director of the Architectural Heritage Center; and Richard De Wolf, HPLO board member and owner of Arciform.

We hope you will join us for this fascinating performance and discussion.

Click here to purchase your tickets online and don’t forget to use the code “ARCIFORM” to save $10 off per ticket!

We look forward to hearing  your thoughts after the show!

Mar 21

Saving a Piece of the Oregon Trail

There’s a great blog post today on Preservation Nation on the efforts to preserve the “Pioneer Mother’s Memorial  Cabin,” a historic remnant of the Oregon Trail that is in danger of literally being washed into the Willamette.

This piece of history is in imminent danger of falling into the Willamette river and being lost forever.

Arciform is working with the Robert Newell House Museum to create an extensive project plan and arrange for the cabin’s deconstruction and reconstruction of the structure in a safer location.

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Why worry about an old building on the verge of falling into the river? The post explains:

“There are very few log cabins left, as you can well imagine, and even though this one isn’t an original log cabin from the 1840s and ’50s, it represents that structure,” says Judy Van Atta, director of the Pioneer Mothers Memorial Cabin and the nearby Robert Newell House. “Everything within the cabin is an artifact that came across [the country] on the Oregon Trail, so it represents our beginnings here in Oregon and for the nation, the westward movement.”

The cabin was dedicated in 1931 and sits on a piece of land originally claimed by Robert Newell, the first man brave (or crazy) enough to bring a wagon overland into the Willamette Valley and a pioneer of the Oregon Trail in the 1840s. Today, the site serves as an educational experience for thousands of school children each year to learn about the Oregon Trail, Oregon government, and other elements of the state’s history. Read more here.

As a teaching tool, a historic structure like this can literally “ground” kids in their native soil, illuminating the hardships and opportunities that brought settlers to the state and the way those challenges continue to impact how the state functions today.

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To save the building, the Robert Newell House Museum will need to deconstruct it log by log in order to extricate it from the property without disturbing the soil and trees of the protected park land it sits upon.

The “un-building” process should itself provide an extraordinary opportunity to learn and teach about the historic building techniques that helped form the architectural history of Oregon.

Read all about the Memorial Cabin (and how it impacts the lives of Oregon’s kids) here.

We are excited to participate in such an important preservation project.

You can help! Contribute to the costs of saving the Pioneer Mothers Memorial Cabin here.

Photos used in this post were by Ronald Peterson.

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