Tag Archives: historical preservation

PDX Rose Festival HQ Renovation

Peter Meijer Architect, PC (PMA) was the Historic Preservation Architect for the renovation of the Rose Festival Headquarters building. The Rose Festival Headquarters is Portland’s former Visitor Information Center. This building is John Yeon’s only non-residential building still in existence, and PMA was responsible for restoring and further preserving an innovative mid-century modern designed building widely considered to be one of John Yeon’s finest works.

As part of the scope, PMA provided the review of compliance for the overall design intent, lead an investigation of exterior conditions, including an analysis for improvements to the window performance, and CA services. In addition, PMA wrote the National Register nomination and developed the color scheme and current signage for this iconic John Yeon building, present Rose Festival Headquarters.

City of Lake Oswego ILS

The City of Lake Oswego, Oregon retained Peter Meijer Architect, PC (PMA) to update the City’s Intensive Level Survey and database forms for a minimum of 33 properties on the City’s Landmark Designation List, which included the preparation of Architectural & Historical Significance narratives required for each survey. All work was completed in accordance with SHPO’s current “Guidelines for Historic Resource Surveys in Oregon.”

PMA recorded property characteristics for the selected properties that included: the location, construction date, original use, architectural style, plan type, primary and secondary siding materials and height, and made a determination of eligibility (eligible/significant, eligible/contributing, not eligible/non-contributing, or not eligible/out of period) for each surveyed property. This data, along with latitude and longitude information and digital photographs, was entered into the Oregon Historic Sites database. All research emphasized the verification and documentation of historic facts.

Northwest Portland Residential Garage

The combination of a steeply sloped site, a contributing resource within a historic district, and a historic design review process turned the request for creating a two car garage into a challenging design proposal. Compounding working with the site’s steep slope was the perpendicular steep slope of the sidewalk, street, and right-of-way that created cross slopes and drainage concerns. The property also has an existing historic basalt retaining wall approximately ten feet high simultaneously creating an imposing structure next to the sidewalk but bringing visual interest to the front of the property.

Concrete garages at the front of the property were common in the area when houses were first constructed in the early 1900s. The district guidelines also noted that garages are an integral part of the historic district. New materials were chosen to reference historic precedence and to be compatible with the historic main house and surrounding contextual properties. Careful attention was given to surveying the corner elevations of the lot so that accurate site grades could be determined in order to take advantage of set-back exemptions within the zoning code.

Overall the design celebrates simplicity of materials, minimizes the exposed portions of the structure, and respects the historic district by incorporating the basalt stone retaining wall as part of garage face. The roof of the structure is designed such that the owner can create an amenity deck for the basement apartment or a flat landscape area within the steep slope.

Olympia Mid-Century Modern Survey

Peter Meijer Architect developed a Reconnaissance Level Survey within the City of Olympia of approximately 400 residential properties built between 1945–1965. As part of the process, PMA identified those resources eligible for National Register of Historic Places listing.

In conjunction with the survey work, PMA, in collaboration with City of Olympia, presented the findings to the City of Olympia Heritage Commission and general public. Products included complete Department of Archeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) short forms and entry into the DAHP database, a written report summarizing survey findings, photographs of each resource, and historical and geographic context overview. All work was completed in accordance with DAHP’s “Standards for Reconnaissance-Level Survey.”

To see the full report, please visit: Architectural Survey of Olympia’s Mid-Century Homes

OHSU Auditorium Building Exterior Condition & Interior Assessment

The Auditorium Building was designed by the architect Ellis F. Lawrence and constructed in 1939. The University of Oregon (now Oregon Health and Science University) had hired Lawrence to design other buildings on the campus with the vision of creating an “acropolis of healing” on top of Marquam Hill.
The condition assessment included the exterior facade of the Auditorium Building and categorized the need of repair into three priority levels.

Building Envelope Corrections:
• Level 1 Priority Repairs should be completed in order to prevent further damage to the building. Many of these repairs are necessary to solve water intrusion problems.
• Level 2 Priority Repairs are repairs to damaged areas within the building. The repairs are designed to maintain building materials and to extend the lifespan of the materials.
• Level 3 Priority Repairs are associated with rehabilitation of the space to create greater historic integrity.

Additionally, PMA collaborated with Heritage Conservation Group, LLC, to survey and document the cultural heritage holdings in the Auditorium building.

Port of Tillamook Bay

Since 2005, Peter Meijer Architect, PC (PMA) has been engaged by the Port of Tillamook Bay for historic consulting services. Commissioned in 1942 and operational through 1949, the Naval Air Station Tillamook (NAS) is a 1,600 acre site with a smaller 400 acre site designated as an eligible historic district. The original use by the NAS Tillamook contained structures including 32 defense, eight industrial, five government, four transportation, three commercial, three agricultural, three residential, two recreational and cultural, one educational, one utilitarian, and one cemetery. Much of it still operational, the roads, sidewalks, water power sewer and utility lines, as well as the railroad infrastructure were constructed by the US Navy.

PMA’s historic consulting services have included the review of structural repairs, grant writing applications, preservation planning services related to historic compliance requirements, permit applications, and project funding compliance requirements. PMA continues to work with the Port on adaptive reuse of existing structures, incorporation of new structures on a historically significant site, funding opportunities, and on regulatory compliance requirements at the local, state, and federal level. The diverse projects include: Roads, Water & Sewer improvements; New Greenhouses properties; New warehouse properties; Industrial digester facility.

Pittock Mansion Restoration

Built for Henry Pittock, an Oregon pioneer, newspaper editor, publisher, and wood and paper magnate, Pittock Mansion was designed in 1909. PMA updated and rewrote the existing Historic Structures Report and acted as Conservator and lead Preservation Architect.

As part of the Historic Structures Report (HSR), PMA conducted Infra-red analysis, ground penetrating radar and non-destructive evaluation to locate exterior veneer anchors and concrete reinforcing steel.

Building Envelope Corrections:
• Sandstone restoration repair.
• Infra red analysis to locate existing plumbing.
• Ground penetrating radar.
• Non-destructive evaluation to locate exterior veneer anchors and concrete reinforcing steel.
• Exterior repair documents of the water intrusion damage to the terraces and deck levels.

Memorial Coliseum National Register Nomination

Peter Meijer Architect, PC (PMA) conducted historic research and prepared the National Register nomination for Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. In 2011, the building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its architectural significance.

PMA’s advocacy for the preservation of Memorial Coliseum earned the firm a role on the building’s 2011 rehabilitation design team. PMA provided drawings of the building overlaid with “preservation zones” highlighting historic character-defining features with low, medium, and high priority for preservation to guide the design team. PMA’s research and nomination enabled the City to take advantage of significant tax credits in the rehabilitation of the public structure. The Memorial Gardens and Timber Industry conference rooms features were included in the building’s interpretation and marketing plans.

When completed in 1960, Memorial Coliseum was a technological feat of engineering and operation unrivaled by any other large civic structure, and a fully-articulated example of International-Style Modernism. In addition to the glass curtain wall, Memorial Coliseum’s other features, such as the undulating concrete seating bowl, contribute to the significant social history of the building. The building is the only large-scale public arena glass-walled structure of the mid-century retaining its original design, materials, workmanship, highly urban context, and original relationship to nearby geographic features such as the Willamette River.

UW Denny Hall Renovation

Denny Hall was built in 1895 and was the first building constructed on the current University of Washington campus. Peter Meijer Architect, PC (PMA) conducted a full exterior envelope assessment and full window survey on this historically significant building in anticipation for renovation.

The assessment included terra-cotta and masonry attachment investigation, decorative iron work assessment and mortar petrographic examination. The window survey of the multi-paned steel sashes, the installation of which occurred during a campus-wide 1950 upgrade, provided information allowing the University and design team to retain the character defining features.

Additionally, PMA guided the design team on repair of the existing sandstone entry stairs and provided information on the “hidden” header course, which was a key factor in reducing the need and expense for further seismic anchors.

St. Louis Modern Movement Survey

PMA collaborated with the St. Louis Cultural Resource Office and Missouri SHPO to conduct a multi-tiered thematic survey of Modern Movement non‐residential architecture built between circa 1945 and 1975 in the City of St. Louis city limits.

Five project objectives were established and successfully completed:
• Reconnaissance Level historic resources Survey (RLS) for 200 selected non-residential properties constructed between 1945-1975.
• A broader understanding of the historic themes and resources associated with
the Modern Movement in St. Louis by writing three historic context statements in conjunction with the survey.
• An expanded property list of approximately forty (40) properties and present it to
the public for input (informational handouts provided pictured above).
• An Intensive Level Survey (ILS) of twenty-five (25) properties.
• A survey report that provides the City of St. Louis with baseline historic resource data for future preservation planning and land use planning. The results of the project will contribute to the body of knowledge regarding modern resources in St. Louis.