July 7, 1997 Contact Pauline Austin (541) 346-3129 EUGENE--Within the valley of 10 spectacular waterfalls that are the centerpiece of Oregon's Silver Falls State Park near Salem lies one of Oregon's most remarkable architectural developments. Camp Silver Creek, designed by the National Park Service in the mid 1930s, stands as a visual and esthetic model of how planners in the early part of the 20th century believed forest camps should function. But the 60-year-old camp, one of the most historically intact structures of its kind in America today, is showing its age. The University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts Historic Preservation Program has joined with state and federal preservationists to restore a small part of Camp Silver Creek and help preserve its unique history. "Working as a team, the students and field school faculty will restore many of these structures, using their experience and insights to demonstrate appropriate restoration methodologies using in-kind materials and techniques," explains Donald Peting, associate dean, UO School of Architecture and Allied Arts. "This will establish the strategies for restoration of the remaining buildings, insuring that the construction history of these rustic-styled buildings will be accurately understood and that they will grace the park landscape for many more years," he adds. Students enrolled in the UO's 1997 Pacific Northwest Preservation Field School in late June began repairing a few of the 52 log buildings that make up the camp. A team of journeyman carpenters that include UO staff members and students, state parks personnel and representatives of the National Park Service, will oversee the restoration project. Students taking part in the 1997 project will conduct research, learn to assess historic buildings, look at issues of interpretation and study the National Register Nomination process. They also will study the role of the National Park Service in preservation. The UO School of Architecture and Allied Arts established the Preservation Field School in 1995 to give students practical experience in the restoration of historic buildings. The first field school, held in the Oregon high desert, focused on stabilizing and repairing the Peter French Round Barn, built in 1884 as an indoor corral for breaking horses. The barn is the only structure of its kind remaining in Oregon. -more- The Cape Blanco Lighthouse near Port Orford was one of three sites used for the 1996 field school. At that session, students and professionals got practical experience in historical archaeology, wood restoration, condition assessment and site interpretation. The historic Hughes House at Cape Blanco and a Coast Guard building in Port Orford were the other two sites. Camp Silver Creek was established in 1936 as the Silver Creek Recreational Demonstration Project. Later renamed, it was built by the federal Works Progress Administration, or WPA, which was part of the Roosevelt administration's effort to create jobs for skilled workers during the Great Depression. Researchers first thought the camp was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, another federal jobs agency of the period, but records show that was not the case. The Salem YMCA uses the site for a youth camp during the summer. At other times of the year, the State Parks and Recreation Department rents out Camp Silver Creek for meetings, weddings and other large social gatherings. UO students enrolled in UO professor Mary Gallagher's seminar on National Register nominations also are working to preserve the camp. Gallagher and four students are drafting a well-researched document needed to list the camp on the National Register of Historic Places. Gallagher, a UO adjunct professor of historic preservation, says the National Register listing is important, in part, because it would give the state some oversight to make sure that future repairs are more sensitive to the spirit of the original plans. "Some of the more recent work on the buildings has not been appropriate for the original design," says Gallagher, "but, given the amount of use the camp has seen, it's remarkable that there are so few changes." For more information or to enroll in the 1997 UO Field School, contact J.D. Foster at (541) 346-2077; FAX (541) 346-3626 or e-mail at <jdfoster@aaa.uoregon.edu>. -30- #P-6058/Local,OrDailies,PDX,PDX/Spcl,Architecture