HOPS: Historic Photographs of the Oregon Hopscape

Learn about the importance of hops in Oregon’s agricultural landscape.

The craft brewing renaissance has brought a renewed interest in hops. These vigorous vines play an important role in beer making, and in the Oregon agricultural landscape. The state was once the leading hop producer in the country. This talk uses historic photos of the Oregon “hopscape” to tell the fascinating story of this distinctive landscape and culture. The story is about both the plant from planting to harvest and the people, especially hop pickers, a group that included families, children, immigrants, nuns and college students.

Kenneth I. Helphand is the Philp H. Knight Professor Emeritus of Landscape Architecture at the University of Oregon. He is the author of Colorado: Visions of an American Landscape, Yard Street Park: The Design of Suburban Open Space, Dreaming Gardens: Landscape Architecture & the Making of Modern Israel, Defiant Gardens: Making Gardens in Wartime, Lawrence Halprin, and HOPS: Historic Photographs of the Oregon Hopscape. He is the former Chair of the Senior Fellows in Garden and Landscape Studies at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington DC.