MISSION
The Lower Columbia Preservation Society seeks to preserve the history, sites and culture of communities bordering the Columbia River in Clatsop, Pacific and Wahkiakum counties.
VISION
The organization is recognized for its dedication to the preservation of diverse cultural assets. Delivering a broad range of historic preservation services, we strive to make preservation accessible to all by inspiring curiosity, advancing knowledge, creating a "sense of place" and delivering economic benefit to our communities.
VALUES
We value preservation, restoration and adaptive reuse by:
EQUITY
LCPS seeks equity, diversity and inclusion in our organization, activities and make up of community partners.
The Lower Columbia Preservation Society seeks to preserve the history, sites and culture of communities bordering the Columbia River in Clatsop, Pacific and Wahkiakum counties.
VISION
The organization is recognized for its dedication to the preservation of diverse cultural assets. Delivering a broad range of historic preservation services, we strive to make preservation accessible to all by inspiring curiosity, advancing knowledge, creating a "sense of place" and delivering economic benefit to our communities.
VALUES
We value preservation, restoration and adaptive reuse by:
- Developing and promoting preservation education;
- Providing useful resources to community members;
- Supporting the survey and designation of historic sites, structures and districts;
- Encouraging adherence to preservation codes and standards;
- Promoting responsible stewardship of historic assets; and,
- Revealing, documenting and sharing untold stories.
EQUITY
LCPS seeks equity, diversity and inclusion in our organization, activities and make up of community partners.
HISTORY
Lower Columbia Preservation Society (LCPS) was incorporated in 1999 with the mission to preserve, protect and promote the historic architecture of the Lower Columbia region. Over twenty years later, LCPS remains active in preservation education and community support. We provide financial assistance to Clatsop Community College's historic preservation program, maintain and improve the 1852 U.S. Customhouse Reconstruction in Uppertown Astoria and provide information and resources on preservation, restoration and architectural history from our downtown Astoria office. Our office is located at 389 12th Street, Astoria, on the corner of 12th and Duane streets, on the ground floor of the historic Hotel Elliott building.
LCPS strongly encourages local communities to find alternatives to the demolition of historic resources. Demolition should only be a last resort. When a home, building or historic site is destroyed, documentation and research of its history, prior to demolition, is of great importance. Our goal is to educate the public, including community decision-makers, by providing accurate historical information about sites and structures prior to property owners taking on major renovations, demolitions or relocations.
LCPS's financial support comes from memberships, donations and our endowment. The endowment was largely funded by pioneer LCPS member, Roberta Stramiello.
Members enjoy monthly educational programming, invitations to special events, receive our quarterly newsletter RESTORIA and have access to our lending library of over 300 resources.
LCPS helps preserve the historical integrity of the built environment on both sides of the Columbia River by:
Lower Columbia Preservation Society (LCPS) was incorporated in 1999 with the mission to preserve, protect and promote the historic architecture of the Lower Columbia region. Over twenty years later, LCPS remains active in preservation education and community support. We provide financial assistance to Clatsop Community College's historic preservation program, maintain and improve the 1852 U.S. Customhouse Reconstruction in Uppertown Astoria and provide information and resources on preservation, restoration and architectural history from our downtown Astoria office. Our office is located at 389 12th Street, Astoria, on the corner of 12th and Duane streets, on the ground floor of the historic Hotel Elliott building.
LCPS strongly encourages local communities to find alternatives to the demolition of historic resources. Demolition should only be a last resort. When a home, building or historic site is destroyed, documentation and research of its history, prior to demolition, is of great importance. Our goal is to educate the public, including community decision-makers, by providing accurate historical information about sites and structures prior to property owners taking on major renovations, demolitions or relocations.
LCPS's financial support comes from memberships, donations and our endowment. The endowment was largely funded by pioneer LCPS member, Roberta Stramiello.
Members enjoy monthly educational programming, invitations to special events, receive our quarterly newsletter RESTORIA and have access to our lending library of over 300 resources.
LCPS helps preserve the historical integrity of the built environment on both sides of the Columbia River by:
- Encouraging inventory of historic properties, designation of landmarks, and enforcement of development codes that protect historic resources.
- Developing proactive preservation programs and supporting other local organizations' preservation programs.
- Providing access to information on local architectural history and preservation resources.
- Hosting events that focus on local architectural history, current topics in preservation and that provide how-to guidance.
Lower Columbia Preservation Society Endowment
Tony and Roberta Stramiello worked for many years to purchase, maintain, and preserve historic properties in Astoria including several apartment buildings. When Tony died in 2005, the LCPS endowment fund was established to receive donations in his memory. Two years later, Roberta herself passed away and she bequeathed several of her historic properties to LCPS. The organization has since sold these properties which have been or are currently being restored by their new owners. Proceeds from the sale of these properties allowed Lower Columbia Preservation Society to build a healthy endowment that will continue to support our mission activities, well into the future.
If you are interested in making a contribution to the LCPS Endowment Fund, please contact Rachel via email at [email protected] or call (503) 468-0139.
If you are interested in making a contribution to the LCPS Endowment Fund, please contact Rachel via email at [email protected] or call (503) 468-0139.
STAFF
Jaime Britton
Jaime began as an intern with LCPS as part of the ClatsopWORKS program during the summer of 2021. As an intern, she used her creativity and writing skills to design new walking tours and historic-home ownership guides. She has since been hired as our administrative assistant and continued to create and promote our educational programming, as well as performing other administrative duties. She became Acting Director in August of 2024 and Co-Director in January 2025.
Rachel Jensen
Rachel is a fourth-generation Astorian with strong ties to the local community. She holds a B.A. in American studies and visual arts from Marlboro College and a M.A. in historic preservation from Savannah College of Art and Design. Her interest in preservation began with the study of fine art conservation but quickly evolved into an interest in the preservation of architecture, cultural resource law, and historic preservation theory. Her thesis work included a survey of Astoria’s historic neighborhood grocery stores with a focus on residential conversions of commercial storefronts. Other local projects include assisting in the inventory of over 400 properties within the Uppertown-Adair inventory area and the remodel/restoration of an Astoria home built in 1895. In addition to preservation consultation, she has also been a local real estate broker, worked in property management and was membership coordinator for the Fort Clatsop Historical Association. She joined the LCPS board of directors in 2015 and become the organization's first executive director in March of 2018. She currently acts as Co-Director.
Jaime began as an intern with LCPS as part of the ClatsopWORKS program during the summer of 2021. As an intern, she used her creativity and writing skills to design new walking tours and historic-home ownership guides. She has since been hired as our administrative assistant and continued to create and promote our educational programming, as well as performing other administrative duties. She became Acting Director in August of 2024 and Co-Director in January 2025.
Rachel Jensen
Rachel is a fourth-generation Astorian with strong ties to the local community. She holds a B.A. in American studies and visual arts from Marlboro College and a M.A. in historic preservation from Savannah College of Art and Design. Her interest in preservation began with the study of fine art conservation but quickly evolved into an interest in the preservation of architecture, cultural resource law, and historic preservation theory. Her thesis work included a survey of Astoria’s historic neighborhood grocery stores with a focus on residential conversions of commercial storefronts. Other local projects include assisting in the inventory of over 400 properties within the Uppertown-Adair inventory area and the remodel/restoration of an Astoria home built in 1895. In addition to preservation consultation, she has also been a local real estate broker, worked in property management and was membership coordinator for the Fort Clatsop Historical Association. She joined the LCPS board of directors in 2015 and become the organization's first executive director in March of 2018. She currently acts as Co-Director.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Astronemis Ray - President/Chair of the BoardVice-President/Vice Chair of the Board
Astonomis grew up in Astoria and is a graduate of Clatsop Community College. She is involved in many student and community organizations and joined our board in the fall of 2020. Previously, she had been an LCPS summer intern and co-produced and hosted The Restoria Podcast, Season One. She currently produces and host The Preservanists on KMUN community radio,
Lauri Kramer Serafin - Vice-President/Vice Chair of the Board
Lauri is a native of the Pacific Northwest and spent her professional career in Public Health in Seattle, Washington. She has had an abnormal interest in antiques and old houses from a very young age. A one story Colonial Revival influenced Seattle bungalow was her first experience in old house restoration. The house was largely original and was a victim of deferred maintenance. The house was featured in a neighborhood home tour in 1993 as an intact historic home. In 1997, Lauri and her husband added a historically sensitive half story adding to the house to accommodate a growing family. The current project is the elegant "The Forsstrom House," the historic residence of Dr. Toivo Forsstrom (1867-1945) in Astoria between 1909 and 1945. Her primary retirement project is to preserve the home and legacy of the Forsstroms. Lauri has a passion for historic preservation, historic interior design, antique collecting, a good research project, genealogy and shopping the salvage yards for house parts.
Marcus Lucero - Secretary
Marcus is passionate about preservation and is currently pursuing a degree in Historic Preservation and Restoration from Clatsop Community College. His academic journey encompasses a comprehensive understanding of preservation methodologies, historical conservation techniques, sustainable preservation strategies, and architectural history.
Sean Molloy - Treasurer
A Graduate of Reed College (BA) and Caltech (PhD), Sean grew up and lived/worked in Portland for most of his life. Always fascinated by architecture, history and art despite not working professionally in these fields, he grew up with an appreciation of antiques and the history and stories they convey about our collective past. Sean spent time in the old neighborhoods of Portland and Pasadena where he was surrounded by lovely and sometimes grand examples of domestic architecture from the late 1800s through the early 1940s. Seeing some of the more prominent Greene and Greene bungalows while living in SoCal was particularly inspiring. The presence of many lovely old homes from these periods and the intriguing history of the area is what led him to relocate to his turn-of-the-century vernacular Victorian in Astoria's Uniontown.
While not formally trained in the preservation field, Sean acquired practical knowledge regarding the challenges of old homes through ownership of several properties over the last 30 years - all for which he's done repairs and renovations. His professional life as a scientist and administrator also gives him an appreciation for research, grant writing, and many aspects of institutional organization such as finance, facilities and HR. As a member of the LCPS board and an active participant in the programing, Sean hopes to leverage his personal experiences and interests to help support the mission of LCPS however possible.
Eric Wheeler
Eric Wheeler has more than 25 years experience as an architectural historian and walking tour guide. He has written numerous National Register nominations, taught graduate-level classes in architectural history and led hundreds of walking tours of historic commercial and residential neighborhoods in Wisconsin and Oregon. Wheeler moved to the Pacific Northwest twelve years ago and continues to explore and interpret the captivating environment of the Lower Columbia region. Eric lives in the historic Shively-McClure district in Astoria and writes a monthly column for Hipfish magazine titled "The Architect Hound".
Astonomis grew up in Astoria and is a graduate of Clatsop Community College. She is involved in many student and community organizations and joined our board in the fall of 2020. Previously, she had been an LCPS summer intern and co-produced and hosted The Restoria Podcast, Season One. She currently produces and host The Preservanists on KMUN community radio,
Lauri Kramer Serafin - Vice-President/Vice Chair of the Board
Lauri is a native of the Pacific Northwest and spent her professional career in Public Health in Seattle, Washington. She has had an abnormal interest in antiques and old houses from a very young age. A one story Colonial Revival influenced Seattle bungalow was her first experience in old house restoration. The house was largely original and was a victim of deferred maintenance. The house was featured in a neighborhood home tour in 1993 as an intact historic home. In 1997, Lauri and her husband added a historically sensitive half story adding to the house to accommodate a growing family. The current project is the elegant "The Forsstrom House," the historic residence of Dr. Toivo Forsstrom (1867-1945) in Astoria between 1909 and 1945. Her primary retirement project is to preserve the home and legacy of the Forsstroms. Lauri has a passion for historic preservation, historic interior design, antique collecting, a good research project, genealogy and shopping the salvage yards for house parts.
Marcus Lucero - Secretary
Marcus is passionate about preservation and is currently pursuing a degree in Historic Preservation and Restoration from Clatsop Community College. His academic journey encompasses a comprehensive understanding of preservation methodologies, historical conservation techniques, sustainable preservation strategies, and architectural history.
Sean Molloy - Treasurer
A Graduate of Reed College (BA) and Caltech (PhD), Sean grew up and lived/worked in Portland for most of his life. Always fascinated by architecture, history and art despite not working professionally in these fields, he grew up with an appreciation of antiques and the history and stories they convey about our collective past. Sean spent time in the old neighborhoods of Portland and Pasadena where he was surrounded by lovely and sometimes grand examples of domestic architecture from the late 1800s through the early 1940s. Seeing some of the more prominent Greene and Greene bungalows while living in SoCal was particularly inspiring. The presence of many lovely old homes from these periods and the intriguing history of the area is what led him to relocate to his turn-of-the-century vernacular Victorian in Astoria's Uniontown.
While not formally trained in the preservation field, Sean acquired practical knowledge regarding the challenges of old homes through ownership of several properties over the last 30 years - all for which he's done repairs and renovations. His professional life as a scientist and administrator also gives him an appreciation for research, grant writing, and many aspects of institutional organization such as finance, facilities and HR. As a member of the LCPS board and an active participant in the programing, Sean hopes to leverage his personal experiences and interests to help support the mission of LCPS however possible.
Eric Wheeler
Eric Wheeler has more than 25 years experience as an architectural historian and walking tour guide. He has written numerous National Register nominations, taught graduate-level classes in architectural history and led hundreds of walking tours of historic commercial and residential neighborhoods in Wisconsin and Oregon. Wheeler moved to the Pacific Northwest twelve years ago and continues to explore and interpret the captivating environment of the Lower Columbia region. Eric lives in the historic Shively-McClure district in Astoria and writes a monthly column for Hipfish magazine titled "The Architect Hound".
We are currently looking for additional members for our board of directors.
Please contact us if you are interested in volunteering.
Please contact us if you are interested in volunteering.
Lower Columbia Preservation Society
389 12th Street
P.O. Box 1334
Astoria, OR 97103
389 12th Street
P.O. Box 1334
Astoria, OR 97103
503-468-0139
[email protected]
[email protected]
Lower Columbia Preservation Society is an Oregon 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation