Ron Herndon stands in front of what will be the McKinley Burt Center, which will house Albina Head Start, on NE 17th and NE Alberta Street. (Jonathan House / Portland Tribune)

Clocking in at a respectable fifth decade of operation, Albina Head Start soon will have a new building on Northeast Alberta Street. It’s out (respectfully) with the old and in with the new.

Ron Herndon, longtime director of Albina Head Start, said his organization had recently bought the building, which sat at 4941 N.E. 17th St., with hopes of remodeling it. But the old, unreinforced masonry building, which Herndon said likely was more than 100 years old, was too unstable to save.

It was torn down in May.

The building had been owned by an array of service organizations including the Black Education Center and LifeWorks Northwest.

Before the demolition work, Head Start staff meticulously photographed two historic murals on the building, believed to be some of the oldest murals in Portland.

One featured Malcolm X, but had been vandalized in recent years. The other honored Harriet Tubman and includes other pivotal figures and historical landmarks like the Cotton Club and the Alberta Streetcar.

Photos of both will decorate the new building, which will contain classrooms, a playground, offices, a bookstore, space for community events and meeting facilities, Herndon said.

The old building sat next to an A-frame that serves as the Head Start school, where students, mostly 4- and 5-year-olds, take classes.

“I’ve been around long enough,” Herndon said on the day before the demolition was slated to begin. “I’ve seen young people who were in head start as little kids end up working for us. We’ve seen two, three generations go here.”

Herndon, originally from Kansas, arrived in Portland in 1968 to attend Reed College. He opened the Black Education Center, which offered educational opportunities for Black children in Portland. That led to him becoming co-chair of the Portland chapter of the National Black United Front, which he co-founded in 1978.

His connection to Albina Head Start dates back to 1974. He said he met several Head Start parents that year. “I quickly saw how valuable this is; teaching 4- and 5-year-olds how to read.”

He ticked off an array of benefits for youths who can read early, including in employment, health and graduation rates.

“We’ve been doing this a long time,” he said. “We have longitudinal data. We know this works.”

The new building will be named the McKinley Burt Center, in honor of McKinley Burt, author of “Black Inventors of America,” a classic of Black History. Burt once lived in an apartment in the building.

Albina Head Start has educated generations of children from low-income families in Portland and currently serves the largest population of Black infants, toddlers and children among all early childhood programs in Oregon.

“The new center will be a vital hub for mothers, teen parents and families with children from birth to age 5, offering nurturing care, early learning resources and a cultural responsiveness that reflects our diverse communities,” according to a release from Albina Head Start. “This building isn’t just about bricks and mortar — it’s about preserving community identity while providing a safe, secure space for children to learn, grow and thrive.”

An estimated 900 Head Start students currently receive services across 27 locations in Portland. Services include social, health, nutrition and cognitive development programs.