Astoria honors historic restoration

Published 5:00 pm Thursday, June 15, 2006

Astoria is a city that celebrates its history.

Established in 1811, Astoria is closing in on its 200th birthday. And its historical homes and buildings – and the people who care for them – are among Astoria’s most valuable assets.

Every year since 1988, the city has been recognizing those people with the Dr. Edward Harvey Historic Preservation Award. The award goes to owners of residential, commercial or public buildings who have restored or beautified them in a way that exemplifies a building’s historic attributes or the architectural heritage of Astoria.

The award is named after the late Dr. Harvey because he was among the first to recognize the importance of Astoria’s architectural history. He spent many years restoring his home, the Capt. John Henry Dix Gray house at the corner of Seventh Street and Grand Avenue, which was built in 1880. He lived there for 40 years. In 1984, Harvey’s well-cared for house was one of the first private homes put on the National Register of Historic Places, according to Lisa Studts, of the Clatsop County Historical Society.

The Harvey award recipients were chosen by Astoria’s Historic Landmarks Commission from nominations by citizens, city staff and members of the commission. Buildings may be nominated in several categories, including residential, commercial, public and other types of buildings. To qualify, the work must have been done within the last two years, must be complete, and must have been done with appropriate permits and review, said Rosemary Johnson, Astoria’s city planner.

Occasionally, an individual is recognized for dedication to historic preservation. That’s the case this year. John Goodenberger, whose name has become almost synonymous with historic preservation, will receive the Dr. Harvey Outstanding Citizen Award Monday night from Mayor Willis Van Dusen at the Astoria City Council meeting.

Also to be honored by the mayor with Historic Preservation Awards Monday are Judge Guy Boyington Building at 857 Commercial St., owned by Clatsop County, in the public building category, and Pacific Coast Medical Building, 1210 Marine Drive, owned by Norman and Holly Stutznegger in the commercial building category. The Stutzneggers’ building also won a separate award from the Oregon Downtown Development Association.

Todd Scott, Astoria’s community development director, is a fan of the Harvey Award program. “It’s important to recognize the efforts citizens of Astoria put into preservation, because it’s such a significant component of our community’s culture,” Scott said. “This recognition encourages people and businesses to research their properties and gain greater insight into what Astoria’s all about.”

Award-winner John Goodenberger, an architect and historic building consultant, grew up in Astoria. His interest in old buildings started through conversations with members of Astoria’s First Presbyterian Church, where his father was pastor for many years.

Goodenberger is a walking compendium of Astoria history and he’s happy to share it. “He has a friendly manner and extensive knowledge. He’s always there to help citizens and staff and anyone who needs it,” Johnson said.

He is president of the Lower Columbia Preservation Society and is one of its original members. He also serves on many state and national boards and commissions on historic preservation, volunteers countless hours on historical projects and has even taught architecture classes for elementary school children and helped kids in the Outward Bound program produce photo histories and videos of architectural subjects.

“He believes if youth learn and appreciate architectural styles they will grow up to appreciate it,” Johnson said.

The county’s award-winning Judge Guy Boyington office and meeting building started out as First National Bank of Portland in 1923, and its exterior on the Commercial Street side is true to the original. Inside, the main meeting room is where the Clatsop County Commission now holds its meetings. The room’s high ceilings also call to mind the building’s original use. The remodeling project replaced the building’s front door and front facade, removed nonhistoric windows, upgraded other windows, cleaned and repointed terra cotta trim, sealed existing brick and repaired the roof. A new entrance was added to the rear of the building.

The Pacific Coast Medical Building, winner of the commercial award, was designed by well-known Astoria architect John Wicks and constructed in 1924. It long was home to Fisher Bros., one of Astoria’s oldest businesses. The Stutzneggers purchased it in 2004. The remodel included uncovering original wood windows, which hadn’t been seen for 40 years, repainting the building and turning the open floors inside into offices and examining rooms.

The remodeling project has received statewide attention. A few weeks ago the Stutzneggers’ building received the Outstanding Physical Improvement Award for 2006 from the Oregon Downtown Development Association. Accepting the award for the Stutzneggers, Astoria Community Development Director Todd Scott praised the project, calling it a great project for Astoria’s downtown. “It has the right combination of local property owner, local financing and local contractor, so the impact is significant,” Scott said. He added that the owners have taken advantage of the federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit and the Oregon Special Assessment Program.