PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A historic building in Portland’s Old Town is set to be demolished on Monday.
The Yamaguchi Hotel, currently owned by Blanchet House, was a pre-World War II Japanese American owned hotel located in what was Portland’s New Chinatown/Japantown district.
Owned and operated by the Yamaguchi family from 1921-1941 and is one of only a few buildings left in the area that was owned and operated by Japanese Americans.
Advocates for the preservation of the historic building shared that they are saddened by the building’s demolition.
“Demolition by neglect is irresponsible. Historic buildings tell stories and hold our histories. These buildings are more than ‘just bricks.’ Our past is our present,” said Chisao Hata, Creative Director of Living Arts at the Japanese American Museum of Oregon.
Nicole Possert, executive director at Restore Oregon, shared that although she is mourning the loss of the building, there are still some silver linings that came from the advocacy for the building.
“We still do not believe the Yamaguchi Hotel should be demolished and we mourn its upcoming demise,” said Possert. “But one silver lining of this advocacy effort was securing a timely and significant change in the City’s demolition code used by this project. That code change, led by Commissioner Rubio, will prevent untold numbers of future demolition losses of historic properties everywhere in Portland.”
New criteria for demolition were added to the Historic Resources Code Project in 2022 that adds more protection to individual landmarks.
The building was purchased by Blanchet House in 1958 and up until 2012 it was used to serve meals and for residential services.
According to a spokesperson from Blanchet House, the building was classified as dangerous due to unreinforced masonry and falling bricks which has led to the space being vacant for the past 11 years.
Blanchet House plans to use the space to relocate the Harrington Health Clinic to the site so it can grow.