Founding the Architectural Heritage Center
A lasting legacy of preserving Portland's architecture through education and advocacy for historic places and people
Jerry Bosco
was born in Portland in 1938 and was inspired by maternal grandparents who collected antiques starting in the 1920s. As a teen, Jerry had the good fortune of meeting preservationist Eric Ladd, who began teaching him about architectural antiques.
Ben Milligan
was born in Phillips, Texas in 1937. Ben was also a collector at an early age, focusing on arrowheads, agates, and comic books. Losing an eye by falling, ironically, into a shard of glass at age 6 did not deter him from his later career in stained glass.
Ben and Jerry (1985) by UnknownArchitectural Heritage Center
A Lifetime Partnership Begins
In the summer of 1964, Bosco and Milligan were introduced to each other by a mutual friend. They talked about picture frame restoration - which at the time both men were working on separately. Their collective future took off from there.
Photo of Ben and Jerry Renovating the Fisher House (1975) by Oregon JournelArchitectural Heritage Center
First Restoration
In 1965, they bought their first house – a Victorian-era duplex at 913-15 SE 33rd Avenue. Their 1890s house had a variety of restoration needs and provided the perfect setting to practice self-taught preservation craftsmanship.
Ben Milligan, 1988:
“The reason that Jerry and I really got together is that it takes two people to do anything in salvaging... With two people it was easier and more fun. You need that second person to balance out, and the other person to tell you how dumb it is"
Jerry with light fixture (1980)Architectural Heritage Center
Bosco and Milligan began to “collect” vintage houses like they collected salvaged building artifacts. All of their properties brought rental income, space for their growing storage needs, and more opportunities to practice and perfect their preservation craftsmanship.
Stained Glass
The 1960s-70s renaissance of sheet glass in the United States is believed to have started in Portland. Bosco and Milligan had plenty of old windows they repaired, but there was no local glass available. Sometimes they were forced to buy windows in poor condition, just to use the glass to restore a better window.
Jerry with unfinished window (1976) by UnknownArchitectural Heritage Center
Finally, they determined they would simply make stained glass themselves.
Genesis Glass AdvertismentArchitectural Heritage Center
Genesis Glass
Bosco and Milligan, with Hudspeth as investment partner, joined in a business venture to establish Genesis Glass, a full-on operation at NE 22nd and Sandy Boulevard, in the old Davidson Bakery Building.
Exterior of West's Block Building (1970) by UnknownArchitectural Heritage Center
Westblock Glass
In 1975, Bosco and Milligan were driving on SE Grand Avenue, and noted a “for sale” sign on the corner building at 701 SE Grand. Following their instincts, they bought West’s Block for $35,000.
Ben and Jerry spent months planning their new glass operation, continuing their active window restoration work while also re-doing the building’s front facade.
In 1979, they listed the building on the National Register of Historic Places. Located in the Alder Street corner of the building, Westblock Glass produced new windows until it closed in 1982.
Ben Milligan and Jerry Bosco (1970) by UnknownArchitectural Heritage Center
Their Vision for the Architectural Heritage Center
In April, 1986 Ben Milligan was diagnosed with AIDS and Jerry Bosco received the same diagnosis a year later. Bosco and Milligan began contemplating the disposition of their properties and their massive collections of building artifacts.
Their Vision for the Architectural Heritage Center
Bosco and Milligan then established the Bosco-Milligan Fund and directed that the Bosco-Milligan Foundation be established with its own separate IRS non-profit tax status.
Not long after, in October, 1987, Jerry Bosco passed away.
Ben Milligan lived almost another year, working to further define the vision for what would ultimately become the Architectural Heritage Center. Ben Milligan passed away in August, 1988.
New and continuing volunteers resolved to move forward, and a new board of directors with new bylaws was established to lead the Bosco-Milligan Foundation to the fulfillment of Ben and Jerry’s vision. A small office was secured in the upstairs of the Melody Ballroom, at 615 SE Alder, donated by Bill Wright. Following a two-phase capital campaign, and a full restoration of the West's Block building, the Architectural Heritage Center opened in February, 2005.
Ben among cast iron by UnknownArchitectural Heritage Center
During their lifetimes, Bosco and Milligan were too busy rescuing building artifacts to grasp the magnitude of what they were collecting. In 1995, the National Park Service recognized the Foundation’s Collections of architectural artifacts as among the five largest in the U.S.
Architectural Heritage Center Lobby (2007) by Lincoln BarbourArchitectural Heritage Center
It is Portland’s good fortune that Jerry Bosco and Ben Milligan had the foresight to grasp the significance of all that would have been lost forever. Their foresight, stewardship, and vision continue as their lasting legacy at the Architectural Heritage Center.
Developed from From the 2008 exhibition at the Architectural Heritage Center:
A Lasting Legacy: The Bosco-Milligan Foundation & the Architectural Heritage Center
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