The Bull Run Powerhouse "Re-Generation" Project
The 100 year-old Bull Run Powerhouse was decommissioned in 2008, and slated to be demolished. A group of three passionate but un-financed preservationists intervened. December 30, 2011, 1556 days from the first meeting with the utility, the property was sold to Powerhouse Re Gen. This heraldic edifice was so remote that a 40-mile railroad was built to construct and maintain it. The railroad was unable to be saved; the Powerhouse, barely. Bull Run was built to power Portland’s first streetcars. Decommissioning resulted in the first dam removals in the west, restoring two rivers for fish-return. The Powerhouse is the one best site to tell the story of this early industrialization of western rivers, alongside the story of post-industrial environmental restoration. An oral history project began two years ago. These rare rural structures are challenging to preserve and re-purpose. To do so, we’ll need to change state law, seek zoning exceptions, and continue to work with our many new community partners who are relieved their local history will not be lost. And we’ll be throwing a really good 100th birthday party September 2012, when its belt-and-pulley machine shop will again run, as it and the Powerhouse did ceaselessly for 96 years.
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