In late August, associate Carin Carlson, AIA, and Tim Mitchell, AIA, of Hennebery Eddy’s Historic Resources Group participated in the Pacific Northwest Preservation Field School at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington. The summer field school is part of the University of Oregon’s Historic Preservation Program and is held annually at locations rotating around Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and California in conjunction with the National Park Service, state parks, and other regional stakeholders. Incoming students to the University’s Historic Preservation Program are required to attend, and the field school is open to professionals and individuals interested in experiencing hands-on preservation work. Carin and Tim are both graduates of the University of Oregon; Carin is a graduate of the Historic Preservation Program.
Tim and Carin each presented during Week 3 of the field school, which focused on seasonal workers’ cabins located in Longmire, the one-time headquarters of Mount Rainer National Park. These cabins were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) between 1936-1937 and feature large timber roof and sill beams, board-and-batten siding and wood windows. Drawing from his experience as project architect for the 2006-2008 rehabilitation of the National Historic Landmark Paradise Inn in the park, Tim led a tour of Paradise Inn, focusing on rehabilitation strategies including structural upgrades, MEP systems integration, log repair, and accessibility improvements.
Carin, who has been expanding Hennebery Eddy’s conservation capabilities, gave an evening lecture on paint color analysis. She provided students with an overview of how to take paint samples, analyze the samples under a microscope, and identify historic colors and finishes.
She also provided an overview of current work at the University of Oregon’s Gerlinger Hall Alumni Lounge, where she is working with the University’s project team to restore the unique decorative ceiling and wall finishes that were painted over.
It was inspiring to see students from varying backgrounds come together with field school staff and National Park Service specialists to work on these modest but significant historic resources. Week 3 accomplishments included replacing portions of severely rotted large timber beams, with students removing the deteriorated sections, measuring and cutting replacement sections and fitting these Dutchman repairs in place.
For more information on the Pacific Northwest Preservation Field School visit https://hp.uoregon.edu/pnwfs.