This Week in the Mercury
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Build Out Is the Portland Building a Historic 29-Year-Old?
Posted by Sarah Mirk on Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 1:30 PM
The state is considering nominating Portland's arguably most controversial building for the National Register of Historic Places, according to an article in the Portland Tribune. It looks like a group of architects are pushing for the state to nominate the 29-year-old building to be placed on the official list of historic buildings.
Michael Graves' post-modern box was finished in 1982, which means it would need a waiver from the most basic rule of the national historic register: Under national guidelines, a building has to be at least 50 years old to qualify as "historic" (Memorial Coliseum, for example, just barely qualifies). That mere 50 years is a reflection of how short our history is here in America, but 29 years seems like quite a stretch to me.
At that rate, I'm verging on historic myself.
There's some serious benefits to being listed on the register, including tax breaks for rehabbing the buildings. It's also worth considering listing on the register so that some future generation (um, mine) doesn't tear the thing down. I can see why they'd want to rush it in this case—it's an important architectural work that's often reviled. By the time it's 50 years old, people might be calling to screw it's architectural significance and burn it down for, I don't know, a baseball stadium. But it's also a joke to call a 29-year-old building historic. We should wait.
1
We should've burned this thing down 28 years ago. The only good thing is the Portlandia statue, and that can get moved.
2
It's even more unpleasant on the inside. A complete architectural failure, not something to celebrate.
5
How will our children know what portland looked liked before gentrification if we don't save historic (i.e. dilapidated) buildings today?
6
like green carpet and faux wood paneling, this represents something that many thought was a good idea at the time, but turned out not to be an enduring aesthetic decision. wait until it turns 50 and see how it feels then.
my guess would be that it will be an oppressive ode to Michael Graves prodigious ego then, too.
my guess would be that it will be an oppressive ode to Michael Graves prodigious ego then, too.
9
We preserve too many buildings based on too-loose standards of "historical preservation" already. I kind of like the Portland building, but I don't think it's of such great historical importance that we should preempt its eventual replacement before it is even conceived.
12
I'm "historic" enough myself to remember that the Portland building was considered ugly when it was new.
They built it backwards because Portlandia was so ashamed of it that she's hiding behind it.
They built it backwards because Portlandia was so ashamed of it that she's hiding behind it.
13
No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. NO! Fuck no and no. NO NO NO NO NO! No. Fuck and no and no. Fuck no. NO! No.
15
FYI. Wander in the 'front door, and turn immediately to your left. There it is - a bronze plaque commemorating an American Institute of Architect's Honor Award the year after the project was built (or was it Merit?). This, for a building that left out the seismic reinforcement on floors 14 and 15. Who needs that up there anyway?
In Michael Graves' defense, the City screwed the building up big time with an inadequate budget and not insisting on a shelf life beyond say, 25 years.
Oh, and we all know that Howard Roark would have individually expressed himself after an extended bout of brooding by demolishing the building in a jealous rage before it was half done.
In Michael Graves' defense, the City screwed the building up big time with an inadequate budget and not insisting on a shelf life beyond say, 25 years.
Oh, and we all know that Howard Roark would have individually expressed himself after an extended bout of brooding by demolishing the building in a jealous rage before it was half done.
16
Postmodern architecture is like grunge or adolescence. It's a necessary historic period of rebellion against what came before - the international style and modernism. Hating on something important doesn't mean it needs to be destroyed. Instead maybe there is a self help group for Target design phobias?
It is the only large Portland building designed by an internationally known out of town architect who didn't come from Portland. The only. Sad.
It is the only large Portland building designed by an internationally known out of town architect who didn't come from Portland. The only. Sad.
17
Someone called this the Donald Trump of buildings.
Let us tear it down and build a Spanish Ballroom.
Me thinks that maybe it is finally rotting away, all Michael Graves' buildings had construction defects to the max. Does it still leak, have bad HVAC, and did they do something about the bracing on the upper floors ?
Wow it seems like it was easy to build defective building in Portland during the mid seventies to eighties.
Someone wants the historic designation so they can do a Green-Wyatt (1975) "remodel" and try to build it right this time.
Let us tear it down and build a Spanish Ballroom.
Me thinks that maybe it is finally rotting away, all Michael Graves' buildings had construction defects to the max. Does it still leak, have bad HVAC, and did they do something about the bracing on the upper floors ?
Wow it seems like it was easy to build defective building in Portland during the mid seventies to eighties.
Someone wants the historic designation so they can do a Green-Wyatt (1975) "remodel" and try to build it right this time.
18
Because National Register of Historic Places designation requires comprehensive documentation of historic significance and context, the nomination forms are often very good reads that lay out the case for the specific property(s). In order to be designated, the nomination must pass state and national review, the former occurring on Friday, June 10, in Salem. The nomination for the Portland Building can be found here: http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/HCD/NATREG/docs…
19
Also, it is worth noting that the Equitable Building, one of America's first modern high-rises, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, just 28 years after it was finished. Today it still maintains its place in the National Register and is a hallmark of architectural history textbooks and one of Portland's few internationally known works of architecture.
20
Move the office workers out, add a blindfold and scales to Portlandia, and the Portland Building would make a wonderful postmodern federal prison. Those cute little windows are perfect. They'll all want to come, we could even have Bernie Madoff living in downtown Portland! Voodoo doughnuts for everyone!
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