As an old house researcher and Alameda resident, I’m interested in helping unlock the stories of your house through a History Study. In many cases, I have been able to put clients in touch with living former residents who have shared their own memories and photos with current residents.
Utilizing old city building permit documents, city directories, early neighborhood maps, county land records, newspapers, and interviews with past residents, I will prepare a study of your house that includes, at a minimum:
1. Information about the builder of your house, the date your house was built, and a discussion about the style and construction of your home. Included are the original construction and plumbing permits for your house.
2. A detailed chronological listing of the former owners of your home, complete with information from and about past residents and their families.
3. An early map of the neighborhood that shows your house and its pre-1933 address.
4. A narrative report that ties these pieces together into an interesting synopsis of how your house and the immediate surrounding neighborhood have evolved over the years.
5. A visit and walk-through to understand the unique historic characteristics of your home.
Home History Study prices vary depending on the property, with more complicated properties requiring more time. Typical cost of a full study is $500. The final product, usually about 25 pages, is bound in a fine leather binder and makes a special keepsake or gift. While I specialize in Alameda, I’ve worked in many Northeast Portland neighborhoods and take on old house history research wherever it may be.
For more information, please contact me at 503-901-5510 or by e-mail at doug@alamedahistory.org.
Other research services are available including assistance locating historic photos; biographical research about former residents, builders or architects; architectural identification and construction mystery solving; historic context statements.
Want to conduct your own oral history with an elder Alamedan? Click here for a suggested list of questions.
November 7, 2008 at 5:32 pm
Hello
just stumbled on you. Love it. I do genealogy research and would be glad to do free lookups on Ancestry. I also have a great interest in Alameda History. Also have a small collection of old Alameda Photos.
please pass along my email to those wanted lookups.
donna
April 23, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Hi, I’m looking for a photo of my house before the original windows were removed. Do you have any photos of NE 21st Ave near Ridgewood? Thanks Tony
April 23, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Hi Tony. Sorry to report there is no single collection of old house photos, nor has there been any systematic documentation of Portland’s old houses, that would make it easy to answer your question. I’ve been exactly where you are…trying to find original photos to guide restoration work. I am confident there are pictures of your house somewhere, most likely in private collections of people who have lived there over the years. That’s how I found photos of my house and have helped clients find photos of their own homes (in fact I’m working on a project like this right now). I’d point you to the Resources section of this site for some ideas about how and where to begin looking. I’d be glad to offer some coaching advice if you like, or I’d also be glad to take on a little research project if you like. Good luck!
January 7, 2009 at 5:00 am
Enjoyed reading your website about Alameda Old House History. would enjoy collaborating with you in the future on some projects.
June 14, 2009 at 7:38 pm
Have always been interested in the house at 3533 NE Klickitat. It is listed as the Frank Barnes house, but I seem to remember that was not the first owner. Is there any other information on the history of the owner of this house. Thanks, Heidi
June 14, 2009 at 8:10 pm
The Barnes Mansion, as it was known to a generation of kids growing up in Beaumont. Yes, an interesting house. Let me do a little digging on this and I’ll post something in the near future about this place. Thanks for asking the question…