Interstate: Historic, or just yesterday’s news?
Mildenberger, neighbors pursue Historic District status
By Derek Long
After the smoke cleared from the Interstate Avenue renaming debate, placed along the street by Nite Hawk Café manager Bill Mildenberger Jr. were a series of signs containing a message of appreciation to those in the business community who helped oppose changing the name of “Historic Interstate Avenue.”
Although the moniker isn’t an official one, that may change in the future. Mildenberger and a group of other area business owners are taking steps to seek official “historic district” designation for Interstate. Members of the group who united under the name “Historic Interstate Avenue Businesses” during the Chavez renaming controversy met with Portland Development Commission members last month to discuss the next steps in the process.
“We’re headed into uncharted territory as far as getting Interstate historic status,” said Mildenberger.
The group decided to seek the designation through the city of Portland instead of pursuing state or federal historic status. Local historic district status in Portland is regulated by the Bureau of Planning’s Historic Resources Division and can be approved by the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission through an Historic Designation Review process, or by City Council through a legislative procedure.
Any designated historic district must meet criteria proving the historic significance of the area, in addition to having the consent of all property owners in the district.
Supporters contend that the street name is part of the identity and revitalization of the street after so many years of decline. Mildenberger argues that the 80-year-old name of Interstate Avenue, along with the diverse history of the community, makes it a historically significant area.
While Mildenberger said his group has been promised by Mayor Tom Potter that Interstate is not an option for any renaming in view of the controversy last fall, pursuing historic status is a way to ensure that the name remains permanent. “It preserves Interstate Avenue,” said Mildenberger. “And it takes something off the table that is very divisive.”
Except for a meeting Feb. 2 at the PCC-Cascade campus on North Killingsworth, members of the Cesar E. Chavez Committee haven’t discussed their current objectives regarding the street. While as recently as last December, Chavez Committee co-chair Marta Guembes said the goal for the group would always be Interstate, she wouldn’t acknowledge if renaming the street is still a goal for the group. “It would not be fair to the communities, and it would not be fair to the committee,” Guembes said in discussing the matter.
It remains unknown whether a historic district would encompass more than just the name in terms of preservation. The campaign led by Mildenberger is a separate effort from the recent campaign led by the Atomic Age Alliance of Portland to save the Crown Motel’s neon sign and for a historic preservation of the remaining signage along the avenue. Group members said that while there might be some overlap in interested parties, they are dealing with separate issues.
Mildenberger’s connection and ties to the community along North Interstate run deep. His parents have owned and operated the Nite Hawk for the last 28 years. The 75-year-old business has been a mainstay on the strip since the time when Interstate served as the main route through Portland to Seattle, surviving a slump following the construction of Interstate 5, to enjoy the revitalization that followed the construction of the Interstate MAX light-rail line.
“It’s a place where my parents worked day and night for 28 years to build a place in the community,” said Mildenberger. “There wouldn’t have been a name change 15 years ago when the street was in decline.”