Historic Preservation Theses and Dissertations

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Open Access
Lessons From the Second World War: Repatriation of Cultural Heritage
(University of Oregon, 2022-10-04) Carson, Alexandra; Randl, Chad
The Second World War continues to shape the world to this day as academics and novices alike research and evaluate the cataclysmic conflict. Amongst their other atrocities, Hitler and the Nazi Party systematically looted artifacts throughout Europe. Leaving not only millions of European families displaced but their possessions as well. For a better understanding of the effects of cultural theft, this thesis examines the role of historic preservation within repatriation, using the Second World War as an overarching case study. Despite the efforts made through international conferences, domestic agreements, and formal commitments to return pieces, the path toward repatriating stolen cultural heritage remains difficult. In light of the growing displacement of cultural artifacts, this thesis proposes that historic preservationists possess a position to influence the American repatriation process.
Open Access
PRESERVATION HYPERREALITY EXAMINING THE IDEOLOGICAL REPRESENTATION OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION IN AMERICAN CINEMA
(University of Oregon, 2022-06) Ause, Carter W.
This terminal project examines the ideological representation of historic preservation found within American narrative films, and how such cinematic narratives compare with the current privatist paradigm of American preservation practice. While the field of historic preservation and film studies have a sizable track record of tackling subjects such as architecture, ideology, and memory studies, both fields have yet to compile comprehensive studies examining the methods by which preservation is represented to the general public. Referring to the work of preservation scholar Christopher Koziol, this study determines a quantitative ideological commonality among twelve American preservation-themed films, as well as a qualitative, historical-interpretive, formalist examination of three films representing three ideological depictions of preservation. Upon further examination, this study found populism to be the most common ideological trend among American preservation-themed films, with only two out of twelve films selected having diverged from the predominant populist trend. Additionally, the American preservation-themed films with the widest range of cultural representation included the two films diverging from the predominant populist trend. This study determined that none of the twelve films examined in this study exalted a privatist message akin to the current state of the American preservation field. In short, the American cinematic representation of preservation offers a false depiction of how the American system of preservation actually works, thereby imprinting a simulacrum, or false image, upon the imagination of the American public. As long as the American public believes in this simulacrum, they will continue to unintentionally foster misguided impressions that naively negate how the preservation field has intertwined itself with privatist modes of real-estate speculation, housing policy, revitalization, and economic development. Acknowledging this fact does not discount the original progressive intentions that birthed the American preservation field in the 1960s. Rather, the predominantly populist milieu of American preservation-themed cinema is a reflection of a deeper American desire to have underrepresented communities, marginalized histories, person-oriented streetscapes, and unique cultural landscapes preserved for the benefit of every citizen. In this way, we should think of American preservation-themed cinema as a guide to the future rather than a simple hindrance to, or distraction from, the present privatist paradigm.
Open Access
Little Boxes on the Hillside: An Inventory and Analysis of Wildfire Lookout Structures in the Pacific Northwest Region 06 of the United States Forest Service
(University of Oregon, 2021-03-19) Berryoung, Megan
Fire watchmen have been employed by the United States Government to serve as guardians over the Nation's timber since before the establishment of the USDA Forest Service, originally the National Forest Reserves, at the turn of the 20th Century. Very early in its history, the Forest Service realized the value of providing an enclosed space or shelter for their firewatchers. This led to the advent of two types of lookout structures-Live-in and Observation-only-expressed through 16 different architectural styles. With the advancement of technology, it is no longer economically feasible for the Forest Service to employ fire watchmen at every established patrol point. Steadily over time, the Forest Service began to abandon or decommission their lookout structures while at the same time converted certain lookouts into profitable recreation rentals or communication relay sites. Several different departments and specialties within the Forest Service actively manage lookout structures including Fire, Recreation, Heritage, Facilities, and Special Uses; however, Region 6 does not have the means to manage every lookout. The goal of this Terminal Project is to provide a single document that all departments within the Forest Service can use to make a holistic assessment of the remaining lookout structures and use as a tool to determine which lookouts to invest in, which ones to nominate for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), and which ones to decommission. This is achieved through three means by providing: 1) An historic context that outlines the history and character defining features for the different lookout styles, 2) An inventory for all 17 Forest units, and 3) Metrics to help guide preservation efforts and maximize use. The Pacific Northwest Region (Region 6) of the Forest Service has 173 standing lookouts within its administrative boundary-52 of which are in Washington, 119 in Oregon, and two in Idaho. Of the 173 total lookouts, only 139 are actively managed.
Open Access
The Pacific Northwest Preservation Field School: History, Operational Guide, Program Curriculum and Future Opportunities
(University of Oregon, 2021-03-14) Geary, Allison Julia
Open Access
Wild Notions: Preservation of Historic Buildings in Oregon Wilderness
(University of Oregon, 2020-09-24) Helmer, Charlotte; Weisiger, Marsha
There is a common misperception that historic sites cannot be maintained once they are included in a wilderness designation. This conflict ultimately does a disservice to both heritage and wilderness resources. To that end, this thesis provides a baseline inventory of all known historic buildings managed by the U.S. Forest Service in Oregon wilderness, along with a set of condition assessments that direct attention towards specific maintenance needs. This study demonstrates how preservation projects can be applied in wilderness and further encourages the Forest Service and its partners to value and sustain these historic places. Ideally, the agency will continue to protect wild places, but in a manner that sustains connections to communities that once lived and worked within these landscapes. The physical acts of restoring and visiting these historic sites offer an unmatched opportunity for the public to engage and understand the paradoxical, intertwined relationships between people and wilderness.
Open Access
Addressing the Dam Problem: Balancing Historic Preservation, Environmentalism, and Community Place Attachment
(University of Oregon, 2019-09-18) Wunderler-Selby, Althea; Buckley, James
This thesis addresses the growing occurrence of historic dam removals across the United States and the complex balance of interests they entail. Historic dams are often environmentally harmful, but they may also represent significant cultural resources and places of community attachment. In the Pacific Northwest, hydroelectric dams powered the region’s growth and development, but today many of these dams are being removed for their negative environmental impacts. This thesis explores hydroelectricity’s significance in the Pacific Northwest region, the parallel growth of the modern river restoration movement, the intricate process of dam removal, and the primary regulatory method used to address the loss of historic resources. Through four case study hydroelectric dam removal projects in Oregon and Washington, the effectiveness of balancing interests during the dam removal process and the consequences of removal for community history are assessed. The outcomes of these assessments are several key elements necessary to planning and implementing dam removals that equally address the concerns of preservationists, environmentalists, and the community. This topic is explored at a relevant time and is applicable on a larger scale to other historic resources that carry significance but also have detrimental environmental consequences.
Open Access
Fraternally Yours: Interpreting Oregon's Masonic History
(University of Oregon, 2019-09-18) Seaver, Tara; Buckley, James
This thesis examines the adaptive reuse of Masonic buildings in Portland, Oregon. Buildings constructed by the Freemasons, a fraternal organization, provide a tangible link to uncovering a chapter of social history not thoroughly documented in the state of Oregon, and this paper examines how examples of the reuse of Masonic buildings for new functions can help communities share this history. To better understand the best methods of preserving the history of Freemasonry through reuse of Masonic buildings, this research poses two key questions. First, how have historic Masonic buildings been preserved in Portland, OR. Second, to what extent does this preservation address the compatibility of the new use with the history of these types of buildings? In answering these questions, this thesis will explore the current challenges facing historic Masonic buildings in Oregon and offer recommendations for preserving them in Oregon.
Open Access
EARLY DENSIFICATION IN AN URBAN CENTER: PORTLAND, OREGON AND THE WAR CODE HOUSING PROGRAM
(University of Oregon, 2019-06) Franey, Kerrie
In order to house the thousands of workers migrating to Portland, Oregon to fill jobs in war-related industries during World War II, Portland’s government relaxed building code standards to allow temporary housing through internal conversions and accessory dwelling units such as garages, outbuildings, and trailers. This terminal project examines Portland’s War Code Housing Program as a historical example of rapid densification in an urban center. Using a database of property information and GIS shapefiles, this terminal project assesses the relaxation of the City’s building code to determine whether a similar relaxation of certain aspects of today’s building code could safely and effectively further encourage dense and affordable housing in Portland. The model of internal conversions and accessory dwelling units to create housing is not radical and is already in discussion among Portland’s urban planners. This is the first published record of the sites associated with the War Code Housing Program and the accompanying data will be valuable to future researchers, city officials, and Portland’s residents.
Open Access
Community Art Methods and Practices: A Model for a More Human-Centered and Culturally Sensitive Historic Preservation Practice
(University of Oregon, 2018-10-31) Ferry, Sabrina; Buckley, James
A growing number of Community Artists are doing work with potential relevance to the field of historic preservation. They have seen a need for action in low-income communities and communities of color that are losing their historic, physical, and social character through dilapidation, redevelopment, and displacement. These artists have found nontraditional ways to bolster communities while preserving neighborhood buildings, histories, and social structures. This thesis analyzes three community art case studies as a means to evaluate changes proposed to our current preservation system by leaders in historic preservation concerned with issues of equity and social justice. This study finds that these projects offer many useful examples for preservationists interested in better serving underrepresented communities through the field of historic preservation.
Open Access
Reproducing the River: Historic Context and Resource Survey of Oregon’s State Fish Hatchery System
(University of Oregon, 2018-10-31) Bohner, Rodney; Muller, Brook
Oregon’s fish hatchery system developed in the late 1800’s in response to salmon fishery losses. Salmon hatcheries consist of a number of built components. ‘Growing fish’ requires a variety of building types which support the hatchery process as well as constant input of resources. In addition to surveying and inventorying fish hatchery resources, this study will analyze the social, economic, cultural, and environmental conditions under which these fish hatcheries were organized and commissioned. Ultimately, this survey will not only serve as a baseline for future, more intensive-level surveys, but will also provide a foundation for a National Register Multiple Property Submission. The use of hatcheries to sustain native Oregon fish species constitutes a major aspect of Oregon’s fishing and environmental conservation efforts. Oregon’s heritage hatcheries stand as physical reminders of early conservation activity and while their preservation provides a more complete picture of Oregon’s relationship with natural resources
Open Access
Oregon Modern in Bohmann Park: A Case Study of Northwest Mid-Century Architecture
(University of Oregon, 2018-09-06) Gordon, Samantha Marie; Howell, Ocean
This thesis explores the Bohmann Park neighborhood of Washington County as a case study of contemporary style in Oregon. As both individual and the largest grouping of homes by Robert Rummer, Bohmann Park informs treatment of Rummer homes and contemporary resources. Nationally, contemporary homes by architects and builders have been recognized for their architectural and historic value through the historiography, National Register listing, and local protections. Modern architecture in Oregon has yet to be equally rigorously explored. Rummer’s prolific work is an ideal point of exploration. Within the context of architectural history and preservation practice, two condition assessments of individual residences in the neighborhood analyze the varied care and common threats faced by these resources. The adverse effects faced by Bohmann Park from the City of Portland’s Fanno Creek Pump Station and its mitigation efforts explore challenges faced by the subdivision as a potential historic district.
Open Access
The Nicosia Master Plan: Historic Preservation as Urban Regeneration
(University of Oregon, 2018-09-06) Ewers, Caitlyn; Buckley, James
Bifurcated by a demilitarized United Nations Buffer Zone since 1974, Nicosia is the only divided capital city in Europe. In 1979, its dual municipalities devised a radical, bicommunal Master Plan to mitigate some of the buffer zone’s divisionary effects and to revitalize the city center. This thesis examines the role of historic preservation within the Nicosia Master Plan, investigating the development of the plan’s preservation element and evaluating how the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of historic buildings on either side of the barrier have promoted peaceful interaction and spurred economic growth and resettlement in the central city. Population growth, the booming heritage tourism industry, and the proliferation of bicommunal cultural events all indicate the successful implementation of these strategies. Of interest to preservationists, planners, and policymakers faced with divisive and nontraditional planning challenges, this is a timely topic that reveals the potential for preservation strategies to effect lasting urban revitalization.
Open Access
Colors of the Western Mining Frontier: Painted Finishes in Virginia City, Montana
(University of Oregon, 2017-09-06) Geraghty, Kathryn; Heath, Kingston
Virginia City once exemplified the cutting edge of culture and taste in the Rocky Mountain mining frontier. Weathering economic downturns, mining booms and busts, and the loss of the territorial capital to Helena, Virginia City survives today as a heritage tourism site with a substantial building stock from its period of significance, 1863-1875. However, the poor physical condition and interpretation of the town offers tourists an inauthentic experience. Without paint analysis, the Montana Heritage Commission, state-appointed caretakers of Virginia City cannot engage in rehabilitation. As of 2017, no published architectural finishes research exists that provides comparative case studies for the Anglo-American settlement of the American West between 1840-1880, for American industrial landscapes, or for vernacular architecture in Montana. This thesis offers a case study of five buildings to add to the body of scholarly architectural finishes research, provide rehabilitation recommendations, and provide a published, baseline study for future research.
Open Access
Reappropriating the Rundbogenstil: Supporting Community Revitalization Through the Adaptive Reuse of a Historic German Brewery in Cincinnati, Ohio
(University of Oregon, 2016-10-27) Hussein, Deqah; Davis, Howard
Cincinnati, Ohio is a city with many architecturally significant, yet decrepit, historic brewery buildings. Most of these structures are centralized in Over-the-Rhine (OTR) and the West End, two adjoining neighborhoods bordering Cincinnati’s Central Business District. Prohibition, in combination with anti-German sentiment from World War I, led to the decline of the brewery industry in Cincinnati in the beginning of the twentieth century. The decline left the formerly German concentrated OTR neighborhood vulnerable to economic instability. Within the past ten years, gentrification has threatened the southern regions of the OTR neighborhood, forcing low-income families to relocate to the West End. This has left the West End community socially and economically disconnected from OTR. The purpose of this thesis is to present an adaptive reuse proposal for the historic Rundbogenstil style Bellevue Brewing Company building, as a means to help socioeconomically regenerate and connect OTR and the West End neighborhoods.
Open Access
"From Green Refugee Shacks to Cozy Homes of Their Own": San Francisco's Earthquake Refugee Cottages as Vernacular Architecture
(University of Oregon, 2016-10-27) Urban, Arianna; Heath, Kingston
The 1906 earthquake and fire in San Francisco devastated the city and left 200,000 people homeless. To house the displaced population, small cottages were built in camps in the city’s parks. With the closure of the camps after one year, refugees were permitted to move their cottages and establish them as permanent homes elsewhere in the city, providing many with the opportunity for first time home ownership. Remarkably, some authenticated cottages have persisted through the decades in the urban landscape. A survey revealed 45 cottage sites; all have been greatly altered over their 110-year lifespans. These modifications make the relief cottages outstanding examples of vernacular architecture--an originally blank building that was moved and adapted according to the needs of its occupants. As such, the cottages reflect manifestations of significance and integrity that necessitate careful, creative evaluation to fit within the framework of modern historic preservation in the United States.
Open Access
Understanding a Historic Downtown as a “New” Vernacular Form: Immigrant Influence in Woodburn, Oregon
(University of Oregon, 2015-08-18) Larson, Julia; Sandoval, Gerardo
What does historic preservation mean in a historic downtown with a long-standing immigrant population? With 90% of the business owners in the historic downtown identifying as Latino, Woodburn, Oregon presents the convergence of historic preservation advocates and Latino business owners. Some stakeholders view historic preservation as maintenance to preserve what exists, while some view preservation as restoring a building to its build date aesthetics. This thesis addresses what the field of preservation and the stakeholders in Woodburn value and how that causes conflicts when dealing with preservation efforts. The main method employed for study in this thesis was collection of qualitative data through interviewing historic preservation advocates, city officials, and Latino business representatives. By understanding Woodburn as an example of a “new” vernacular form, the analysis explores how the community of Woodburn can negotiate its regional dynamics to create a local distinctiveness, which includes a many-layered historical narrative.
Open Access
Stealing Home: How American Society Preserves Major League Baseball Stadiums, Ballparks, & Fields
(University of Oregon, 2014-10-17) Grilc, Brandon; Narath, Albert
This study focuses on a cultural phenomenon that is driven by the demolition of Major League Baseball stadiums, ballparks, and fields. Prompted by their inherent role in the evolution of the sport and the inadequacies of the existing historic preservation framework, this study examines how American society preserves this utilitarian form, after their demolition, through observations, data collection, and analysis. In doing so, this study exposes that Major League Baseball stadiums, ballparks, and fields are preserved through the use of nine overlapping preservation methods, which memorialize five significant features. However, though these preservation methods do not prevent Major League Baseball stadiums from being demolished, they do illustrate how our society alternatively preserves historically and culturally significant resources when the existing historic preservation framework is rendered incompatible.
Open Access
Shaping Whiteclay: Agency and Desire in the Preservation of American Indian Sites
(University of Oregon, 2014-09-29) Schwartz, Tracy; Cunningham, Erin
Historic preservationists have struggled with how to best interpret the diverse history of the United States. This is especially true when faced with sites that represent the continued colonization of American Indian populations. While preservationists are continually striving to provide a more inclusive history, historic sites remain where preservationists are omitting Native voice, perpetuating stereotypes, and telling history with an emphasis on damage within communities. Whiteclay, Nebraska offers a case study of a site with a complex history where multiple cultures have embedded the same place with different meaning. This thesis argues that through the incorporation of agency, the challenging of stereotypes, and the addition of desire-based research into the historic preservation field, a re-interpretation of Whiteclay, as well as other sites with multifaceted pasts, can emerge and places of colonization can become places of healing.
Open Access
Place Among the Displaced: Envisioning Preservation of a Metis Settlement in Montana
(University of Oregon, 2014-09-29) Sakariassen, Emily; Weisiger, Marsha
The focus of this study is on the South Fork of the Teton River Canyon Settlement, a previously unevaluated historic settlement associated with the history of the Métis in Montana. The site is located along the South Fork of the Teton River, approximately thirty miles west of Choteau, Montana, and was once occupied by Métis families fleeing persecution for alleged involvement in the Northwest Rebellion of 1885. The study establishes precedent for the site's inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places and addresses the potential for the site's designation as a Traditional Cultural Property, despite the challenges inherent in such an approach.This study contributes to both existing documentation of the Métis narrative across the state of Montana and to the ongoing discussion among historic preservation professionals concerning the viability and possible revision of National Register Bulletin 38: Guidelines for Evaluating and Documenting Traditional Cultural Properties.
Open Access
Behind the Scenes: Investigating Processes Shaping Willamette Valley Architecture 1840-1865 With a Case Study in Brownsville
(University of Oregon, 2014-09-29) Trexler, Susan; Hardwick, Susan
This thesis studies the diffusion of architectural types and the rise of regionally distinct typologies in the Willamette Valley's settlement period (1840-1865) in Oregon. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to analyze the dispersion of architectural types within the Willamette Valley revealed trends amongst the extant settlement architecture samples. Brownsville, Oregon, was identified to have a locally-specific architectural subtype, the closer study of which enabled deeper investigation of the development of architectural landscapes during the Willamette Valley's settlement period. Field and archival research revealed that the appearance of an architectural subtype, at least in Brownsville, was not directly connected to a shared provenance of settlers but rather came about through a number of regionally-specific circumstances, especially an active local carpenter community.