Baker City Tower

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Baker City Tower
Baker Community Hotel
Baker Hotel
Baker City Tower
Baker Tower, 2009
Basic data
Place: Baker City , Oregon
Opening: August 24, 1929
Technical specifications
Height to the roof: 144 feet m
Floors : 9 + basement and roof dome
Building-costs: $ 32,000
address
Address: 1701 Main Street
Baker Hotel
National Register of Historic Places
Historic District Contributing Property


Baker City Tower (Oregon)
Paris plan pointer b jms.svg
location
Coordinates 44 ° 46 '29.1 "  N , 117 ° 49' 48.7"  W Coordinates: 44 ° 46 '29.1 "  N , 117 ° 49' 48.7"  W.
Built 1929
architect Tourtellotte & Bumblebee
Architectural style Art deco
NRHP number 78002277
The NRHP added December 14, 1978

The Baker City Tower or Baker Tower (originally Baker Community Hotel , then Baker Hotel ) is the tallest structure in Oregon east of the Cascade Range . It is located in Baker City . Erected in 1929 in the Art Deco style, it is nine stories high. It is part of the Baker Historic District and is on the National Register of Historic Places . The building was designed by the Portland branch of the architectural firm Tourtellotte & Hummel . The general contractor was John Almeter of Portland and the roof was constructed by Cook & Emele of Baker City.

Edification

The building in 1930

An earlier structure on the site also housed the first rental stable in Baker City, but was demolished to make way for the new hotel building. The structure is made of concrete. The main entrance is on Main Street and there is a side entrance on Auburn Avenue. On the roof sits an octagonal dome with a gable roof and a flagpole on top. The dome was designed as a viewing center, from where the view extends over the Powder River Basin and the Elkhorn Mountains . The windows were originally double-leaf sliding windows. Among the decorative elements such as garlands and flourishes made of concrete, pairs of 1.2 m wide terracotta eagles at the entrance and urns at the corners of the eighth floor.

The hotel was built to serve long-distance travelers by automobile, which became more and more common in the 1920s. These did not need to be near the train station. It was planned as a communal hotel, a communal property and an investment. The local population was thus “financially and emotionally involved in the success of the project”. The hotel was originally owned by 300 city residents who purchased shares; these shares were affordable for many of the residents and survived the global economic crisis without the owners suffering any financial losses. The hotel was on the verge of failing on its lease obligations and filed for settlement proceedings in 1936, but the shareholders rejected the plan. The debt was refinanced and reduced, in part through a loan from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation . Interest expenses were reduced by 50 percent so that the hotel remained solvent. The hotel held National Conventions and the hotel restaurant has been credited with being "the best place to eat in eastern Oregon." The original shareholders sold the building in 1946 after a more than 60 percent agreement, at which time the word "community" was removed from the name.

modification

The hotel originally had 82 rooms and was in operation from its opening on August 24, 1929 until the late 1960s. Then it was sold in a foreclosure auction. AC Lighthall, who had owned the hotel since 1961, sold it twice to entrepreneurs who continued to operate it, but fell behind with payment of the installments, so that it reverted to Lighthall. Lighthall closed the hotel on January 1, 1969. It was idle for almost two years, then it was sold to an investor who believed it was the "largest and best building in all of Baker [City]."} It was remodeled in 1972, to a restaurant on the first floor; the second, ninth and tenth floors have been used by dealers since then and apartments have been built on the other floors. Eleven rooms on the second floor remained accommodation for overnight stays. The remaining apartments have been converted into apartments with one or two bedrooms.

In 1992 the building was run down. It was converted into a retirement home for $ 1.2 million.

As part of a renovation, a new elevator was installed in 1999, equipped with air conditioning , a sprinkler system and new windows. Art Deco details were later restored and the building was fitted with fiber optic cables to make it usable as office space for high-tech companies. After the renovation in 2001, the building was reconfigured, with commercial and office space on the lower five floors and apartments on the upper floors.

various

The film crew and actors of the 1967 film Westwärts the Wind with Lee Marvin , Clint Eastwood and Jean Seberg stayed in the hotel during the outdoor filming, which took place not far from Baker City. The hotel was almost fully booked until shortly before it closed.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b Offer of $ 175,000 Made For Hotel at Baker (English) . In: The News-Review , June 7, 1946, p. 1. Retrieved April 14, 2018. 
  2. ↑ a b Baker Tower ( English ) Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  3. ↑ a b c d e National Register Information System . In: National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service . Retrieved January 23, 2007.
  4. ↑ a b The Baker Tower ( English ) Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  5. ^ The Architect and Engineer (English) , The Architect and Engineer, Inc .. August 1930, p. 111. Retrieved April 14, 2018. 
  6. ↑ Oregon State News of General Interest (English) . In: The Lebanon Express , September 5, 1928, p. 14. Retrieved April 14, 2018. 
  7. ^ A b Baker Community Hotel ( English ) Oregon Historical Society. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  8. ↑ Baker Hotel To Be Reorganized (English) . In: Le Grand Observer , September 1, 1936, p. 1. Retrieved April 14, 2018. 
  9. ↑ Baker Fails In Effort to Adopt Hotel Proposal (English) . In: Le Grand Observer , April 23, 1937, p. 4. Retrieved April 14, 2018. 
  10. ↑ Baker Mortgage On Hotel Burned (English) . In: Le Grand Observer , February 11, 1938, p. 1. Retrieved April 14, 2018. 
  11. ↑ a b c Remodeled Landmark At Baker Does Brisk Business As Hotel (English) . In: Corvallis Gazette-Times , December 21, 1970, p. 36. Retrieved April 14, 2018. 
  12. ↑ Baker Hotel Will Open On Aug. 24 (English) . In: Le Grand Observer , August 1, 1929, p. 1. Retrieved April 14, 2018. 
  13. ^ Baker Hotel Closed (English) . In: Statesman Journal , Jan. 7, 1969, p. 1. Retrieved April 14, 2018. 
  14. ↑ a b The Baker Tower History ( English ) Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  15. ^ Oregon's boom town of the 19th century is planning a rebirth (English) . In: Statesman Journal , October 26, 1992, p. 7. Retrieved April 14, 2018. 
  16. ↑ Baker City Tower history ( English ) Archived from the original on June 26, 2007. Accessed April 14, 2018th
  17. ↑ 62-year-old hotel gets a high-tech face lift (English) . In: The World , January 12, 2001, p. 15. Retrieved April 14, 2018. 
  18. ↑ Eastern Oregon's tallest building for sale (English) . In: Statesman Journal , April 13, 2007, p. 12. Retrieved April 14, 2018. 
  19. ^ Motion Picture Stars Become Hometown Folks . In: The Capitol Journal , November 14, 1968, p. 14. Retrieved December 16, 2018. 

Web links

Commons : Baker City Tower  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files