Breaking News - Listing Achieved

Breaking News

The Laurelhurst Historic District was officially listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

This is the result of an almost 30-year effort, started a generation ago in 1991, kept alive by dedicated residents, finally completed through the efforts of many hundreds of Laurelhurst neighbors with overwhelming community support.

In the winter of 2016/17, residents started a petition for historic listing. Hundreds of volunteers canvassed every Laurelhurst address door-to-door. In May 2017 the Laurelhurst Neighborhood Association held a general vote for all residents. Over 83% of the over 1,800 votes cast supported the Historic District. The neighborhood then raised money during 2017/18 and worked on the nomination and survey under the leadership of Kristen Minor of Peter Meijer Architect. During this time, House Speaker Tina Kotek tried to pass HB2007 to block new National Register Historic District listings in Oregon; Laurelhurst households participated in defeating that bill.

The Laurelhurst Historic District comprises 1,751 properties constructed between 1910 and 1987, most (88%) were built between 1910 and 1932. Laurelhurst Park, a key part of the Laurelhurst neighborhood, was listed in the Register in 2001. Laurelhurst was listed in the National Register as a local example of community planning and development and for its notable architecture. The district exemplifies City Beautiful-era planning principles and domestic architecture between the 1910s and the 1930s. The National Park Service’s comments on the listing note that Laurelhurst was largely built out between 1910 and 1930 and that “the neighborhood’s picturesque layout with curvilinear streets, abundant natural landscaping and tree coverage, and varied building styles represents a unique streetcar suburb built in Portland’s Eastside during a period of rapid residential expansion.”