The following description comes from the event organizer.

In this exhibit the AHC comes full circle, presenting the story of the preservation movement in Portland from which the organization was born.The exhibit begins with the story of AHC co-founders Jerry Bosco and Ben Milligan, and their involvement in early grassroots movements in Portland engaging in historic preservation and salvage during a time of sweeping demolitions and new construction. Bosco and Milligan’s salvage and preservation work transformed into the establishment of the Bosco – Milligan Foundation and the Architectural Heritage Center, ensuring access to their collections and providing a home for education and continued advocacy centered on Portland’s built history.

The exhibit, traversing both floors of the Architectural Heritage Center’s Historic West’s Block, journeys through time and space, examining the local movement and people involved in preserving Portland’s built history. We explore the range of preservation efforts spanning initiatives to save large famous buildings, historic homes, and community neighborhoods, and the network of national and state influences on these local preservation efforts. 

Through the nuanced presentation of many voices and stories that impacted the movement, Preserving Portland through Local Action: Historic Preservation in the Rose City prompts the questions: “what is preserved, and why?” and, looking forward, “what should we do now to preserve Portland for the future?”

The collection was donated to the Architectural Heritage Center by Ken Hawkins in 2022.