HISTORIC

IRVINGTON
¶NEWSLETTER
A P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E I R V I N G T O N C O M M U N I T Y A S S O C I AT I O N

spring 2019
¶ FREE

Time to Tour!
XXXXXXXXXXXX

37th Annual Irvington Home Tour offers

glimpse into our neighborhood’s history
I
n addition to being beautifully preserved examples of early 20th century
residential architecture, the homes feature unique stories of life in our
neighborhood.
On Sunday, May 19th, while you stroll the leafy streets of our early 20th cen-
tury “streetcar suburb” you’ll discover the true historic diversity of the Irvington
neighborhood. Many of the homes on this year’s tour were literally “brought back
to life” by Irvington homeowners who sought to restore these century-old homes to
their former grandeur.
This year’s homes are an excellent representation of the architectural patch-
work that makes our historic community so interesting. You’ll step inside a classic
Craftsman (which was thought to be a Colonial before the homeowners did their
research and renovation), one of the neighborhood’s iconic Georgian-style brick
homes, a Queen Anne-style home built in 1892, a gracious, long-hidden French
revival home, a compact, yet rambling California Craftsman, and one of the most
expensive homes created by iconic Irvington builder Frederick Bowman.
Tour-goers can also attend one of two historic Irvington lectures, featuring a
unique take on the neighborhood from a fourth-generation Irvingtonian, John
McCullough. Lectures, which are complimentary with a ticket to the tour, will be Giving Program, which give grants to more than 17 local nonprofits and schools.
held on tour day at 1729 NE Siskiyou St. — which is also on the tour. Learn more about the tour and see photos of past tour homes by following
Tickets for the tour are $30 and are available online at www.irvingtonhometour. the Irvington Home Tour on Facebook @irvingtonhometour and Instagram @
com and at Broadway Books, Caffe Destino, and the Architectural Heritage Center. irvingtonhometour.
Proceeds from the tour benefit the Irvington Community Associations’ Charitable

Charitable Giving Program awards additional $11,729

T
he ICA Charitable Giving Program is one of
the most important activities we do.
Soon after the Irvington Community
Association (ICA) began its Charitable Giving Program
in 1993, it developed Charitable Giving Guidelines
to help the ICA Board make fair and wise decisions
about gifting its money. These Guidelines also help the
potential recipients of funding to understand the ICA’s
objective in establishing and maintaining the program.
The guidelines are periodically reviewed for
relevance, and a recent review still has the program
focused on giving money through a competitive grant
program to organizations that nurture our children and
youth, promote a high quality of life for our elderly
citizens, improve life for the disadvantaged, enrich
community life through cultural, artistic, athletic
and educational experiences and foster an informed
and involved citizenry. That first year, $2,000 was
distributed and five organizations shared the funding.
The cash grant program has always been
competitive; but the criteria to apply is simple: the
applicant must either be a public school serving the
neighborhood or a 501 ©(3) organization and must
also be physically headquartered within or operate
within the boundaries of the Irvington Community
Association. An eligible organization needs to submit
a narrative proposal to apply for a grant, and each
recipient is required to submit a short follow-up
narrative within a year reporting on the impact of
receiving the money.
In 2018, we received an additional donation from an
Irvington family. This donation matched the proceeds
of the Home Tour and allowed us to increase the
program substantially.
At its November 2018 meeting, the Board of
Directors of the ICA awarded cash grants totaling
$11,729 to six programs at four public schools.
Coupled with $32,256 awarded in the Spring, the
program granted $43,985 this year. The Board allocates
funding for the Charitable Giving Program when it
approves the ICA annual budget.
Grants awarded this fall included:
Irvington School received a grant of $5,000 to
increase literacy for students through culturally relevant
book sets and materials. In their application, the
Principal noted that 20% of students were not reading
at grade level. In addition, children of color, making up
approximately 40% of the student body were especially
in need of support.
Three programs at Grant High School received
grants. The first was for the formation of an Artist In
Residence program. This program provided funding
for 3 artists to conduct 3-4 day workshops. The second
grant helped to fund a Robotics Team as they competed
in competitions. The robotics team is a student
centered, project based STEM learning environment.
The third grant helped to provide funds to purchase
software for a 3D scanner. This would allow students to
learn career-related skills related to animation, special
effects, and of course, virtual reality.
Beaumont Middle received funds to develop
and implement student affinity groups to support a
diverse student body, including LGBTQ and culturally
specific student groups. Areas of concentrated work
include: self-esteem, making good choices, appropriate
communication, self-advocacy and positive socio-
Continued on page 3
 From the
PRESIDENT
Bob Dobrich

H
appy Spring! I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful sun and warm temperatures. The ICA has
been busy during the past few months. Our new livability committee has completed a neighborhood
survey (report and actions in our next newsletter). One of the first actions was to address some of the
concerns at Dahlke Manor. As you will read in this issue, there has been a successful and collaborative relationship
started. Thanks to all of our neighbors who have been helping out. Also in this issue there is a handy resource list
for common issues and complaints. This committee is growing and will be working on new projects this summer.

As you may have heard PBOT has decided to not go forward with a bikeway on NE 7th Ave, instead moving
it to NE 9th. One of the major issues with this is that Irving Park sits in the middle of the route and there is no
current plan on how to address a bike path around or through the park. The ICA is supportive of the NE 7th Ave
plan, and will keep working with PBOT on a solution. We had presentations from No Freeways PDX and ODOT
in opposition and support of the I-5 Rose Quarter Project. The ICA Board voted to support No Freeways PDX in
opposition to the current plans for I-5.

Since 2008 many of us have enjoyed the summer Movie in the Park, presented by Portland Parks Bureau with
support of the ICA. In fact, it was so iconic, our Irving Park Movie was featured in Portlandia. This year the new
Summer Free for All received over 37 applications and only could accommodate 31 parks. Unfortunately, we were
not chosen. While I disagree with the decision, I am glad that some underserved parks will have a movie for the
first time. The ICA will work with the City to insure the movies continue next year.

This year’s Home Tour is coming up on May 19th. Now in its 37th year, the tour will feature six beautiful
homes. As always, proceeds from the tour benefit the ICA Charitable Giving Program which provides grants to
non-profits and public schools serving Irvington. We hope to see you on May 19th!

We will also be launching our new website and social media soon. This will be your “go-to” place for all things
Irvington. Please keep an eye out for the new site with stunning visuals.

The ICA is an all-volunteer organization. We have opportunities for everyone to help. Some of our critical
needs currently are volunteers to help with our website content and social media, as well as article writers for
this newsletter. All of our committees are looking for new talent, so if your passion is livability, land use, history,
organizing parties, we have a place of you. Finally, board elections will be at our June meeting. If you are interested
in being a board member, please send me a note (president@irvingtonpdx.com) and I will forward to our
nominating committee. Note: the location of the June meeting will be posted on the website later this month.

Hope you have a wonderful summer and I look forward to seeing you at the Home Tour!

Join us for an information session

and campus tour, all while meeting
our parents, teachers and students.
RSVP to info@strosepdx.org or
503.281.1912.

Grades PK-8 (Parents)

Thursday, January 31
6:00-8:00 pm

Grades 6-8 (Parents & Students)

Tuesday, February 5
6:00-8:00 pm

IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD 5309 NE Alameda St. | strosepdx.org

emerick-architects.com

PAGE 2 HISTORIC IRVINGTON NEWSLETTER SPring 2019

 ica board members • 2018
THE Are you looking for the minutes from our

IRVINGTON
President: Bob Dobrich recent board meetings?
Bobdobrich@gmail.com
Vice President: Steve Cole Minutes are posted in full on our Web site

COMMUNITY
stevencole86@gmail.com...............................................503-788-0618
Treasurer: Jeff Jones at www.irvingtonpdx.com.
jcjones@pacifier.com......................................................503-281-1023

ASSOCIATION
Secretary: Doug Cooke
dougISC@tinderlab.com
Communications: Tiffanie Shakespeare
tshakesp@gmail.com
DIRECTORS P.O. B O X 12102 , P ORT L A N D, ORE GO N 97212
Huck Bales
heybales@gmail.com
Jim Barta The ICA meets on the second Thursday of every month (except July and August),
jbarta@securesite.net......................................................503-544-2429
Barb Christopher 7 p.m. in the library at the Irvington Elementary School, 1320 NE Brazee St.
barbfc@comcast.net.......................................................503-740-5216
Doug Cooke
douglSC@tinderlab.com Local issues are discussed and all Irvington residents are welcome to attend.
Nathan Corser
nathan.corser@ch2m.com..............................................503-493-0671
Bob Dobrich

Charitable Giving
bobdobrich@gmail.com
Jon Eaton
jaeaton@gmail.com
Dean Gisvold
deang@mcewengisvold.com...........................................503-284-3885
Susan Hathaway-Marxer
Continued from front page recognize the importance and the impact of this
susan.marxer@comcast.net.............................................503-281-5629 program and will continue to see it grow. We extend
Jason Messer emotional interactions. sincere gratitude to our donors and to Irvington
j.messer@comcast.net.....................................................503-312-4175
Alex Michel Finally, da Vinci Arts Middle Schools received residents for the support of the Historic Home Tour and
Liz Morgan funding for Chromebooks. According to their grant the Charitable Giving Program, both of which make
liz@jhldesign.com this annual endeavor so rewarding.
Barbara Nagle
request, PPS no longer provides schools with a
nagleb2004@yahoo.com technology budget to pay for student Chromebooks. If you’d like to make a contribution to this critical
Peter O’Neil The amount of research, word processing and program and help make a difference to our public
peter@blackrabbit.com...................................................503-471-3402
Josh Plager
presentations results in a huge need. The Chromebooks schools and local non-profits serving Irvington, please
joshplager@gmail.com will replace slow and outdated personal computers send an email to charitableapplications@irvingtonpdx.
Tiffanie Shakespeare currently in use. com.
tshakesp@gmail.com......................................................503-680-2840
Sean Stone The ICA and the Irvington Community Association
Lizabeth Tyler

Irvington Walking Tours Share History and Lore

lizabethmtyler@gmail.com
Anna Withington

COMMITTEE CHAIRS By Jim Heuer a single decade. It tells how the remarkable developer

P
Beautification
Jason Messer • j.messer@comcast.net opularity of the Historic Irvington Walking Elizabeth Irving’s vision for a “modern” suburb shaped
Capital Projects Tour has remained strong over the last 4 everything from block layouts, to front yard setbacks.
Nathan Corser • nathan.corser@ch2m.com
Charitable Giving years... Last year tour leaders Robert Mercer The history of Irvington is replete with lore of the
Susan Hathaway-Marxer • susan.marxer@comcast.net and Jim Heuer introduced the Victorian Legacy tour, builders, early residents, and architects that helped shape
Bob Dobrich • bobdobrich@gmail.com
Community Connections
focused on the west half of the neighborhood, in our neighborhood landscape, and this tour will take you
Bob Dobrich • bobdobrich@gmail.com addition to the popular Classic Irvington tour. Both back to those exciting years.
Disaster Preparedness tours will be offered again 2019. The tours make for a great introduction for
Huck Bales • heybales@gmail.com
The economic and social forces that swept through newcomers to Irvington. Even long-time residents
Historic Preservation
the 125 years of Irvington’s history are vividly on display will learn a bit of the lore and history that help make
Home Tour in the western half of Irvington, and especially the blocks Irvington such a special place that it qualified for the
Brian Schaeperkoetter • brianschaeperkoetter@gmail.com
Land Use
between Schuyler and Tillamook. When streetcars National Register of Historic Places.
Dean Gisvold • deang@mcewengisvold.com first arrived at 15th and Tillamook Street in 1891, Each walking tour will begin at 10am and last
NECN Representatives enthusiastic buyers flocked to build gingerbread-adorned roughly 90 minutes on the following Saturdays in 2019:
Newsletter homes in the newly opened Irvington tract. Then June 15 – Victorian Legacy
Steven Cole • stevencole86@gmail.com disaster struck in the form of the “Panic” of 1893, which June 22 – Classic Irvington
Newsletter Advertising
Jeff Jones • jcjones@pacifier.com saw fortunes destroyed, millions thrown out of work, July 13 – Classic Irvington
Parks and new construction virtually stopped throughout the July 27 – Victorian Legacy
Jason Messer • j.messer@comcast.net
Jeff Jones • jcjones@pacifier.com
country. When building resumed in the last years of August 10 – Classic Irvington
Safety Committee the decade, the homes reflected the new economically August 17 – Victorian Legacy
Trees
humbled reality. The boom years of the 1910s gave way September 7 – Classic Irvington
Kyna Rubin • Krubin317@gmail.com by the 1940s to disinvestment and the corrosive effects There isn’t a specific charge for taking the Tour,
Website of red-lining under which banks refused to lend for but attendees will be encouraged to make a suggested
Tiffanie Shakespeare • tshakesp@gmail.com
purchase or remodeling of homes west of 15th Avenue. donation of $10 each to the ICA which will earmark the
NEIGHBORHOOD RESOURCES
Abandoned Vehicles (24-hour hotline)..............................503-823-7309 Despite its turbulent history, Victorian Irvington funds for its Charitable Giving Campaign. Reservations
Abandoned Vehicles (daytime)..........................................503-823-6814 survives in 2018, remarkably intact and with a delightful for each tour are required. For reservations or
Animal Control.................................................................503-988-3066
Bicycle Program................................................................503-823-2925
array of house styles ranging from jewel-box Victorian questions send an email to Robert Mercer at Robert@
Garbage Service Info/Problems.........................................503-823-7202 cottages to recently constructed ADUs and compatibly househistorypdx.com, being sure to indicate which date
Graffiti Cleanup (Info/assistance)......................................503-823-5860
Graffiti Hotline (Police)....................................................503-823-4824
designed modern infill. All of this is on display on the you’d like to take the tour. The number of attendees for
Landlord/Tenant Mediation..............................................503-282-1964 Victorian Legacy walking tour. each tour will be limited to the first 20 people to request
NE Coalition of Neighborhoods ......................................503-823-4575 Of course, historians Mercer and Heuer will continue reservations. Information on starting points and other
NE Crime Prevention.......................................................503-823-4763
NE Precinct (Police)..........................................................503-823-2122 to offer their “Classic Irvington” walking tour. This logistic details will be supplied after you register. Also, if
Neighborhood Mediation..................................................503-823-3152 tour is focused on the creation of Irvington as an your family or group of 5 or more would like a specially
Noise Reporting & Control..............................................503-823-7350
Office of Neighborhood Involvement ..............................503-823-4519 up-scale streetcar suburb and its evolution into an scheduled tour, be sure to let Robert know… it’s a great
Parking Enforcement.........................................................503-823-5195 elite district in the booming years of the 1910s when event option for family reunions or century celebrations
Rider Advocates................................................................503-823-4223
Street Light Outages & Tree Trims....................................503-823-5216
Portland’s population and wealth more than doubled in for your historic home.
Tree Planting Information.................................................503-823-4489
Zoning/Code Enforcement...............................................503-823-7526

LEGISLATORS
State Representatives
Tawana Sanchez Rep.
TawanaSanchez@oregonlegislature.gov ..........................503-986-1443 SERVING FAMILIES, FRIENDS, AND NEIGHBORS IN
Barbara Smith Warner
NORTHEAST PORTLAND
Rep.BarbaraSmithWarner@state.or.us ...........................503-986-1445
State Senators
Michael Dembrow STEPHEN BACKER
Sen.MichaelDembrow@state.or.us.................................503-986-1723 BROKER — PIENOVI PROPERTIES
Lew Frederick, District 22 sbacker@pienoviproperties.com
Sen.LewFrederick@oregonlegislature.com......................503-986-1722
(503) 459-2319

Spring 2019 HISTORIC IRVINGTON NEWSLETTER PAGE 3

Speak Out NOW: These Bills Could
Impact Portland for Years to Come!
By Jim Heuer, Member ICA Land Use Committee
B
ig corporate money and false promises
of affordability are driving a flurry of
legislation in Salem this session that
could dramatically affect Portland’s inner city
neighborhoods, and not for the better. At the
same time Oregon is revisiting all of its Historic
Preservation rules. Your ICA Land Use Committee,
the ICA Board, the Portland Coalition for Historic
Resources, and United Neighborhoods for reform (a
broad coalition of anti-demolition campaigners) have
been following this legislation. The key bills (both
very bad and very good) in Salem are listed below
along with email addresses for our Representatives
and Senators.
The sheer number of these bills can be
intimidating! But don’t let it put you off… Your
voice needs to be heard on ALL of these bills NOW:
They are being debated while you are reading this!
The ICA’s recommended position on each is shown as
well.
HB 2001 – Abolishes single family
neighborhood zoning throughout the state –
without the minimal restraints built into the City
of Portland’s infamous Residential Infill Project
(RIP) which has drawn so much fire. Allowing
duplexes, triplexes and 4-plexes everywhere would
result in accelerated demolitions, displacement of
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lower income families and none of the promised
improvements in affordability. Promises to make
Portland’s affordability problem worse! The City’s
Planning and Sustainability Commission was split 5
to 4 on RIP due to the profound threats to moderate
income residents and people of color. HB 2001 is
worse and covers the entire state! NO is strongly
recommended.
SB 10 – Allows mid-to-large size apartment
blocks everywhere within a half-mile of bus routes
with 15-minute rush hour service. Portland
already reportedly has thousands of empty high-
end apartment units and abundant zoning for large
multi-family housing, but this bill’s coverage would
include most single family and small plex zones
within 5 miles of downtown, including nearly ALL of
Irvington. A terrible piece of legislation opposed by
the League of Oregon Cities, including Portland, and
most planning organizations. Threatens to disrupt
communities throughout Portland. NO is strongly
recommended.
HB 2003 – Imposes major unfunded mandate
on cities to measure and monitor new housing
production and report to the State. Requires
cities of all sizes to create a “Housing Production
Strategy”. Some ideas are OK although burdensome
and expensive for cash-strapped cities, but one of
the worst parts of the bill would award attorney fees
to prevailing intervening developers of affordable
housing in Land Use Board of Appeals decisions
regardless of who filed the appeal or what its merits
might have been – upending decades of legal practice.
We recommend NO.
SB 534 – Opens up ‘lot splitting’ to create
25’ wide lots for “skinny houses” when there is
an underlying historic lot. Portland tried doing
this a dozen years ago, which triggered a flurry of
demolitions and “skinny houses” that towered over
their neighbors. After a couple of years of that
City Council restricted the practice severely. Most
standard R5 (5000 square foot) lots with two small
25’ wide historic lots tend to be in places with limited
infrastructure and public transportation, and Portland
already has plenty of land zoned R2.5 which allows
narrow houses. This is a gift to developers who can
confirm historic small lots more cheaply than splitting
existing lots where zoning allows it… The result will
be another flood of demolitions and expensive new
single family houses in areas not geared for greater
density. NO is strongly recommended.
SB 48 – Extends the Historic Rehabilitation
Special Assessment for another 3 years. Finally,
something we applaud. While the Special Assessment
is not a perfect incentive for Historic Preservation
investments, scores of Irvington owners have taken
advantage of it to limit their property tax bills that
would otherwise have gone up due to rehab or
expansion of their property. Expanded incentives
are being debated, but for now we need the Special
Assessment to continue after its scheduled sunset date
next year. Strongly Support YES!
SB 929 – Provides for historic rehabilitation
tax credits against Oregon income taxes. Would
apply only to commercial property (Irvington plex
and apartment building owners please note) but
could make the difference for rehabbing deteriorated
historic buildings to create affordable housing. Favors
rehab for seismic upgrades and to create new or
improved multi-family housing. Needs your strong
support to gain needed funding. Strongly Support
YES and ask for meaningful funding!
SB 927 – Repeals “owner consent” and
decouples National Register of Historic Places
listing from automatic historic resource
protections. This is a “big deal” piece of legislation
that would completely revise how Oregon designates
and protects its historic resources. After over 20
years of civic paralysis in preservation due to the state
owner consent law, this would give local communities
control over how they inventory, designate and
protect their historic resources. Restore Oregon
and the Architectural Heritage Center have worked
with Senator Dembrow (who represents a portion
of Irvington) to craft this legislation. It is opposed
by Oregonians in Action, who engineered “owner
consent” in the first place. The “-3” amendment
version is the one we should support (an Amendment
2 is a “poison pill” that should kill the bill!). Strongly
Support YES on 927-3!
For more details on these bills and the big money
funding the lobbying behind them, especially SB 10
and HB 2001 see http://pdxisnot4sale.org. For info
on SB 927 and SB 929, check out https://tinyurl.
com/yxv694eh where you’ll find Restore Oregon’s
press release.
You are urged to make your voices heard about
these bills, even if you don’t agree with your Land Use
Committee’s recommendations. Legislators do pay
attention to emails and phone calls, and these bills
will be hitting key committees and the chamber floors
in May. Don’t wait! Do it now!
Send separate emails on each piece of legislation,
putting the bill’s ID in the subject line (like SB 927),
to make sure your opinion is counted. Key legislators
representing Irvington are (consider sending to all 4,
regardless of your address):
Sen. Michael Dembrow - Sen.
MichaelDembrow@oregonlegislature.gov, phone:
503-986-1723 (Irvington east of 25th Avenue)
Sen. Lew Frederick - Sen.LewFrederick@
oregonlegislature.gov, phone: 503-986-1722
(Irvington west of 25th Avenue)
Rep. Barbara Smith Warner - rep.
barbarasmithwarner@oregonlegislature.gov, Phone:
503-986-1445 (Irvington east of 24th Avenue)
Rep. Tawna Sanchez - Rep.TawnaSanchez@
oregonlegislature.gov, Phone: 503-986-1443
(Irvington west of 24th Avenue)
A major backer of HB 2001, HB 2003, SB 10
and SB 534 (the infamous 4 we oppose) is House
Speaker Tina Kotek. We urge you to cc: her on any
objection emails about these 4 bills: Rep.TinaKotek@
oregonlegislature.gov, or call 503-986-1200 to express
your opinion.
Working Around the Walls
The following was submitted by an Irvington resident
who wishes to remain anonymous.
T
his is a brief follow-up to the article that
appeared in our last issue, titled “Hidden
Behind the Walls.” That article addressed
conditions at Dahlke Manor, a Home Forward
building for seniors and people with disabilities,
located in the Southwest corner of Irvington at
NE Schuyler and NE 10th Ave. Some of the
issues discussed in the article were infestations of
cockroaches, non-residents sleeping, injecting drugs,
and defecating in the hallways, pools of bloody fluid
in the elevator, door knobs of apartments being rattled
at night, tenants being threatened by other residents
and intruders, hopelessness, individuals who have
been restricted from the building entering and exiting
at will, obvious drug dealing in the parking lot and
surrounding area, fights in the streets, and more. The
previous article also listed some specific barriers faced
by Home Forward as they confront the housing crisis
in this neighborhood and the region.
Many actions have occurred since the article
was written and efforts continue. Management at
Home Forward shares our concerns and has been
responsive. Due to the current crises of houselessness,
mental health problems and addiction in our
community, Home Forward is under pressure to
accept tenants who have more barriers even as federal
funds have decreased.
The tenants, the neighbors, Home Forward
and the ICA Livability Committee are all working
together. We appreciate your realization that to be
a healthy neighborhood, we need affordable, safe,
sanitary housing for people who have been left behind
by our current economic realities.
Here are some results that have been seen,
continuing problems, and actions that have been
taken.
1. Results - Improvements
a. Cleanliness in the garbage area has
improved.
b. Camping in the hallways and filth in
the hallways has begun to improve.
c. Hopefulness is gaining a toehold
in the community. One tenant
expressed that there are a lot of good
people there and that there are many
strengths in the Dahlke Community.
d. Obvious drug deals in the
neighborhood have decreased.
2. Continuing problems
a. Some residents are certain there
is still drug dealing activity in the
building. Some rooms have people
coming and going all hours, even 2
or 3 in the morning. Those people
often exhibit erratic or threatening
behavior.
b. There are still people who are
restricted from Dahlke who are
entering the building when the
security guard is doing rounds. At
times it has been observed that they
walk by the guard who does not seem
to realize they are restricted. People
yell up to the windows and keys are
Great Gifts For Gardeners!
Spring 2019 HISTORIC IRVINGTON NEWSLETTER PAGE 5
thrown down to visitors, often who tenants
are not allowed in Dahlke. If the b. Several readers contacted Home
guard sees the person has a key, they Forward to see how they could help
think it is a person who lives there. c. You may contact dahlkereports@
c. There are some hallways that have an gmail.com if you would like to
intense, strong smell of human urine. be further involved or if you have
3. Tenant actions- questions.
a. Tenants presented their concerns d. Check the ICA website for more
eloquently to the Home Forward information on how you can be
Board of Directors involved or for activities related to
b. 5 tenants went on a tour of facilities Dahlke Manor.
in Portland of different income We have made progress, but we have a long
levels to assess and discuss security way to go before our low-income neighbors who are
measures. They presented their seniors and people with disabilities can live with the
findings to tenants at a resident basic safety, cleanliness, and dignity they deserve.
safety meeting
c. 15 tenants attended a meeting to
form a Residents’ Association. They
are continuing to meet.
4. Home Forward Management actions -
a. Management hired a security
company to provide coverage 8 hrs/
day M-F, and 24 hr/day on weekends
b. They are working with the Portland
Police Bureau and advocating for
a more robust response to trespass
incidents.
c. They obtained a Crime Prevention
Through Environmental Design
Report from the Office of
Community and Civic Life.
Trade Roots
d. They are meeting with residents
regarding safety on a regular basis
e. They are exploring options and
discussing with residents a sign-in
system for visitors
f. They are exploring additional
funding sources to help with security
systems in the building
5. Other city agency actions
We are not certain, but it seems
to some of the neighbors that Providing Support for Our Community-
PBOT and the Portland Police and around the World
have been a bit more present in the Shop Local-Think Global
neighborhood. Clothing, jewelry, accessories and gifts
6. Neighborhood actions
a. Neighbors have been providing
material support to support tenant
~1831 NE Broadway~
organizing such as printing and www.traderootsinc.com
transportation.
b. Neighbors have been assisting with
some facilitation and note-taking
tasks of tenant organizing
7. You (the reader) actions-
a. Some of you who read the previous
article went to the Home Forward
Board meeting in support of the
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Holladay Park Plaza is a Pacific
Retirement Services Community

Peter O’Neil
Historic Irvington Expert
Realtor®
Seniors Real Estate Specialist®
Earth Advantage® Broker
Licensed in the State of Oregon
poneil@windermere.com
503.863.7877
“Peter is reliable, thoughtful, hard-working, and
a terrific problem solver.” - Zoe A., Home Seller
I live in the neighborhood.
I work in the neighborhood.
I walk Archie in the neighborhood.
No one knows Irvington better!
1220 NW Lovejoy St Ste 130
Portland OR 97209
www.stumptownbroker.com
• Listing
• Buying 237 NE BROADWAY#100
PORTLAND, OR 97232
• ADU Specialist office: (503) 287-8989
mobile: (503) 998-6578
Broker - Licensed in Oregon
Livability Committee
The ICA Livability Committee is one of our newest committees. It is the result of many
concerned residents of Irvington coming together to discuss ways to help our community. Earlier
this year many neighbors completed our first livability survey. Results and action items will be
published in a subsequent newsletter. One item of importance, to almost all who responded, was
knowing who to contact for issues.
We are working to help neighbors and improve access to public services by providing the
following resource list. This list will be updated as necessary and also published on our website.
Whether you are looking to report an abandoned vehicle, illegal camping, or a missing animal, we
hope the following phone numbers and websites are helpful. Please cut it out, post it somewhere
easy to access, and use it as a handy reference tool.
ICA Livability Resource List (Spring 2019)
Police non-emergency number:  Sight obstruction in the right of way
503-823-3333 (plant overgrowth, etc.):
503-823-5211
One Point of Contact (phone app to
report campsites, graffiti, abandoned Garbage on city property (illegal
vehicles, potholes, and more): dumping):
pdxreporter.org (uses same log in as 503-234-3000 ext. 6
portlandoregon.gov website)
Graffiti Hotline:
Campsite reporting (online): portlandoregon.gov/civic/graffitireport
www.portlandoregon.gov/campsites or
www.portlandoregon.gov/toolkit (main Animal Services:
landing page with weekly updates on 503-988-7387
reported sites and status)
Parking enforcement (for blocked
Campsite reporting & access to other driveways, etc.):
city/county services referral line 503-823-5195 ext. 3
(phone):
503-823-4000 Pocket Phone Directory (for the
above and other commonly requested
Portland Bureau of Transportation services): https://www.portlandoregon.
(abandoned vehicles): gov/civic/article/52554

Jeff Beard 503-823-7309 or www.portlandoregon.

gov/transportation/71693
Mortgage Loan Originator
(Be prepared to provide contact info,
Call Jeff For a Purchase or Refinance Review and specific vehicle location, other types of
receive a $100 Gift Certificate to Beard’s Frame Shop
vehicle data such as make, type, main
No Cash Value * Limited Quantities Available * No Purchase Required
color, and plate number if possible.)
(360) 449-9496 Jeffrey.Beard1@usbank.com
JeffreyBeard.com

16th Ave Famers Market

Equal Housing Lender
NMLS #113149

to re-open in June
Every tree
T
he 16th Avenue Farmers Market, (previously years! The market will be open every Sunday starting
known as The Irvington Farmers Market) June 2 to October 27th. The market is small and

needs will be held again this year on NE 16th Ave

between Broadway and Weidler as is has for the past 11
romantic, hosting just a few vendors like the famous
Schedeen Berry and fruit stand, Mary’s Flowers and

a champion. Briarpatch Botanicals veggie stand. You will also be able

to find locally grown frozen meats from Boring.
Briarpatch Botanicals has a CSA (Community
SENIORS Supported Agriculture) this year and the 16th Ave
Farmers Market is a drop off location. CSA’s are a way
PRUNING
do you… for you to create a relationship with local farms. You can
CABLING & BRACING
have places to go? sign up and each week receive a box of pre-packaged
INSECT & DISEASE just harvested vegetables!
people to see?
MANAGEMENT things to do? The Market is located between Sullivan’s Gulch
FERTILIZATION and Irvington. New this year will be a community
We are a network of engaged seniors, volunteers of all ages, table with local and neighborhood art and crafts. A
SOIL CARE resource partners, and professional service providers.
children’s tent will occupy kids as their parents shop.
Call us at 503-722-7267 3 Transportation Assistance The Farmers Market managers are looking for members
bartlett.com/Clackamas-OR 3 Social Events & Activities of the community to help run the kids table, artists for
3 Home Chore Assistance the community table and volunteers for set up or take
down.
Northeast Village PDX This is the only farmers market immediately
adjacent to Irvington. Let’s help grow the Market! Music
Neighbors Helping Neighbors Age at Home
and entertainment is planned for most Sundays but the
To learn more, call 503-895-2750 Market is open to neighborhood talent. Please contact
or visit: nevillagepdx.org Ian Brinker at 16thavefarmersmarket@gmail.com to
become a vendor, play music or volunteer in any way!
PAGE 6 HISTORIC IRVINGTON NEWSLETTER SPring 2019
NEVPDX_ad_7-27-17_comps.indd 1 7/27/17 8:40 PM
 Tales of Irvington
We all love the historic nature
of Irvington and we celebrate the
historic homes and deep history
of our neighborhood. Part of
this history are the thousands of
stories of our fellow Irvingtonians
throughout the years. Our
newsletter is starting a column
called “Tales of Irvington”. We
encourage anyone with a story to
share it. For more information or
to share your stories please contact
“newsletter@irvingtonpdx.com”
The Story of
the Morel
A Mushrooming
Tale of Fungal
Invasion
By Tony Greiner
W
e have lived in our house west of NE
15th in Irvington for about 25 years,
and long ago dedicated a hidden corner
of the yard to a compost bin. Aside from one year where
there was a volunteer winter squash, nothing much of
interest happened back there until last month, when
my wife went back to dump some slop in the bin and
found mushrooms. Morels, to be exact, regarded by
many fungophiles as one of the tastiest of the ‘shrooms.
(Etymological Distinction: A fungophile is someone
who likes mushrooms. A “fungo phile” is someone who
likes to catch fly balls.)
Tree Pruning Workshop
Full of Practical Tips
By Kyna Rubin
L
ike watering in our increasingly parched
summers, pruning your tree is key to its health
and longevity. You can do it yourself when it’s
small, or hire an arborist when it’s bigger.
On March 9 the Irvington Tree Team sponsored
a pruning workshop led by Friends of Trees’ Andrew
Land. These kinds of workshops can sometimes go
over the heads of participants by providing too much
detail that is more appropriate for experts than novices.
But Andrew did a superb job of illustrating to the 10
attendees how basic pruning is both a science and an art.
For those who did not attend, useful resources for how,
why, and when to prune can be found at https://www.
portlandoregon.gov/trees/article/514071 and at https://
friendsoftrees.org/blog/five-winter-pruning-mistakes-to-
avoid-now-for-gorgeous-healthy-trees/.
Some of the take-aways from the March workshop:
--Pruning a tree with a diameter-at-breast-height (4.5
feet from the ground) of 6 inches or more requires a city
permit, which is free. No permit is required for branches
less than half an inch in diameter at attachment to the
stem: https://www.portlandoregon.gov/trees/65396.
--Remove no more than 25 percent of a tree’s
branches in one year.
--Two-thirds of the tree should always have side
branches.
--Pre-empt irreparable damage by trimming street
tree branches that are starting to stray into the street or
Spring 2019 HISTORIC IRVINGTON NEWSLETTER PAGE 7
in that corner might have had some spores on his boots,
but then they started growing out of a small bucket of
dirt that no one would have stepped in, as well as one
that came out the side of the compost bin.
David Arora, whose Mushrooms Demystified is
the bible of mushroom identification says this about
morels: “Morels grow in forests, hardwoods and
conifers, and open ground, in abandoned orchards,
gardens, landscaped areas, under hedges, on roadcuts
and driveways, near melting snow, in gravel, around
wood piles or tree trunks, and in sandy soil along
streams. In other words, morels grow wherever they
please!” Add compost piles to that list, David.
Our guess is that some other lucky resident of
Irvington had a batch last year, and that batch threw
its spores out over the neighborhood, and we were
lucky enough to get some. So I am curious….if you
had some growing in your yard, drop me a line at
tony_greiner@hotmail.com. Maybe the mystery can be
solved.
She found not just a few morels, but about a dozen.
Until last week, when the last was picked and dried,
about 30 of them were collected, some as long as 8
inches. Morels are distinct, nothing else looks like
them. Basically, they look like a brain on a white stalk.
They are also hollow. This hollowness makes them
favorite haunts of slugs, so if you pick some, decide if
you want to cut them in half and clean them, or go
French and cook them up with a seasoning of escargot.
Why, after a quarter century, were we blessed this
year? We don’t know why they appeared. At first we
thought the arborist who trimmed the lilac that grows
sidewalk. Otherwise cars or pedestrians could tear the
branch off later.
--Cutting a branch at its collar, where it meets the
trunk, allows the tree to compartmentalize, that is, heal
from the cut, but only if you don’t disturb the hormones
inside the bulging area of the collar. It’s better to leave a
bit above the collar than to cut down into the collar.
--Make the cut parallel to the branch.
--Cut a branch back to another branch that is at
least one-third the diameter of the one you’re cutting.
Otherwise, you’ll get what Andrew calls “witch’s broom,”
which is what happens when a tree’s been topped.
(Please, please do NOT top your tree. For why, see the
online links above.) 
Kyna Rubin runs the Irvington Tree Team and is the 
Friends of Trees Irvington Neighborhood Coordinator. 
Lloyd Tower
825 NE Multnomah Street Suite 120
Portland OR 97232
 Spring 2019
Opening doors to our
p a s t , p r e s e nt & f u t u r e
37th annual

AN IRVINGTON COMMUNITY
A SS O C I AT I O N F U N D - R A I S E R

Sunday May 19th

11am to 5pm / $30 per ticket

t h a n k yo u to o u r g e n e ro u s s p o n s o rs :
P l a t i n u m BILLY GRIPPO Broker, Windermere Real Estate

Gold ARCIFORM Design Restore Remodel,

EARTHQUAKE TECH Seismic Retrofitting & Rehabilitation

Silver PRATT & LARSON Tile & Stone

DANA AUSTIN Broker, Windermere Real Estate

Go online or visit these businesses for tickets & information visit:

hether dunn design

w w w. I r v i n g t o n H o m e To u r. c o m / A r c h i t e c t u r a l H e r i t a g e C e n t e r 7 0 1 S E G r a n d A v e /
B ro a d w a y B o o k s 1 7 1 4 N E B ro a d w a y / C a f f é D e st i n o 1 3 3 9 N E Fre m o n t

GRESHAM, OR Portland, OR 97212

PERMIT NO. 88
PAID P.O. Box 12102
U.S. POSTAGE Irvington Community Association
PRSRT STD

IRVINGTON HISTORIc