Founded by the same two guys--Jerry Bosco and Ben Milligan-- who once owned the building housing The Pied Cow on Belmont (very yummy brie and apple plate there!) and the Queen Anne directly behind it, the Architectural Heritage Center is a direct result of these gentlemen's vision of the past. Portland's historical architecture was falling fast to development and generally unappealing apartment buildings throughout the mid 20th century. It's a story told too often in cities across the globe: slow-earning heritage sacrificed for "progress". Thankfully, Bosco and Milligan scrambled to collect as many treasures as possible from condemned buildings all around the city. Most of the contents of the storerooms of finials, windows, and statues they must have accumulated have evolved into the Architectural Heritage Center, now housed on SE Grand in what might be one of the oldest commercial buildings in the neighborhood.
Also, they provide a great place to escape the rain for a while on a chilly Saturday morning. :)
They run occasional public tours and walks--maybe I'll find myself on one someday soon! Below is a link to their homepage:
http://www.visitahc.org/ (weirdly, I can't seem to get Blogger to hotlink it, so happy copying & pasting)
There's an entire room of doorknobs and related hardware...
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