Ashland - Southern Oregon

Ashland is the southern-most town in Oregon, a few miles north of the California border. Set in a scenic valley that leads to the summit over the Siskiyou Mountains, this town has developed a unique identity in southern Oregon as the home of the world-renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival. This 1.8-mile walk, with some healthy ups and downs, will take you through the central core, and includes a stretch through scenic Lithia Park.

The walk starts in front of the Ashland Public Library. The building was erected in 1913. Its $16,500 cost was 90% covered by a grant from the Carnegie Foundation, responsible for thousands of public libraries across the U.S.

In front of the Library, on a retaining wall along Main Street, is the Ashland Peace Wall. The Wall was designed and installed in 2010. It seems to exemplify one concept of Ashland, in Southern Oregon, as "Berkeley in a sea of red."

From the library head to the west down Main Street toward downtown Ashland. At the first intersection is this statuary, the Mickelson-Chapman fountain, constructed in 1929.

Continue on Main Street into downtown Ashland. This well-preserved district has a number of historic buildings dating from the late 19th century, with lots of shops to browse through, and eating and drinking establishments to enjoy.

After one long block turn left on Second Street, and head up a short, steep hill. On your right is the Winchester Inn, a well-regarded hotel located in several old converted houses. The main building is on the National Register of Historic Places, the Fordyce Roper House, built in 1886. The house was originally located down the hill on Main Street, but was moved up to this location in 1910. It also served as a sanitarium of the Oregon State Hospital for a time.

After one block turn right onto Hargadine Street. Proceed one block. At the corner of First and Hargadine is the Oregon Cabaret Theatre. However the building the theatre is located in has a much older and much different history, having been constructed in 1911 as the Ashland First Baptist Church.

From Hargadine Street you get a great view above downtown Ashland and to the hills beyond. In the foreground is the Ashland Springs Hotel, built in 1925, and still the tallest building in town. The hills beyond, on south-facing slopes, are noticeably dryer than the north-facing slopes upon which the city sits.

Continue along Hargadine Street to Pioneer Street. At the corner of Pioneer and Hargadine is Carpenter Hall, which houses the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Box Office. However the building began its life in 1923 as a Christian Science Church. The Festival acquired it in 1973, and in 1999 was thwarted in an attempt to move it to another site in the city and replace it with more theater space. So here it remains.

On the other side of Pioneer Street, down the hill, is the main site of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. From modest beginnings in 1935 the Festival has grown into a major repertory theater company, with year-round productions of Shakespeare's plays and many other stage works. Use of the site itself dates back to 1893, when it hosted Chautauqua events.

Turn left onto Pioneer Street. The first house on the left side of the street is this Craftsman-style classic, built in 1909.

After a few more houses the part of Pioneer Street accessible to motor vehicles ends, and you will continue past the gate onto an unpaved section of the roadway, which also serves as the uphill boundary of Lithia Park. The hill continues upward to the left, with some hillside houses towering above the roadway.

Eventually you will see this stairway going downhill into Lithia Park. This is a "back" entrance to the park. Lithia Park is a 100-acre site nestled along Ashland Creek, and is a centerpiece of the community. The trail consists of a series of paths and stairways heading down the steep slope.

At the bottom of the stairway system you will see this bridge over Ashland Creek. Cross the bridge and head into the developed section of the park.

Continue and cross Winburn Way. On the other side of the street is the Butler-Perozzi Fountain, a Lithia Park landmark. Built in 1915 with donations from its namesakes, the fountain was restored in the 1980's, but is now in need of some more repairs.

Turn to the right and wander through Lithia Park.
Among other sights you'll see this beautiful stone bridge to the right, crossing over Ashland Creek.

The park continues through the trees back toward downtown Ashland, following the creek. The Meyer Memorial Lake provides a nice bit of scenery. Lithia Springs Park has been named by the American Planning Association as one of 10 great places in the U.S. for 2014.

Continue through Lithia Park until you go through its north entrance. Uphill is the main Shakespeare theater. Continue onto the "Plaza." This drinking fountain dispenses Lithia water, although perhaps you shouldn't drink it. Plans to make Ashland a Lithia water resort in the early 20th century came a cropper, and one taste of this water would tell you why.

The Plaza has a lot of interesting buildings and shops, and seems like a great place to just "hang out." The most notable structure is the I.O.O.F. building, constructed in 1879 and on the National Register of Historic Places.

Continue north on the Plaza and cross Main Street. On the other side you will be on Water Street. Walk on the left side of the street and you will find a nice little pathway along Ashland Creek, between the buildings, to stop and rest in the shade if it is a hot day. Then continue on Water Street as it goes under Lithia Way.

Turn right onto B Street. By the time you get here, this empty lot on the left side of the street will probably have some new homes. Central Ashland, like many old downtowns, is seeing this kind of "infill" residential development, because people want to live in such places and are willing to pay a premium to do so.

After one block on B Street, at the corner of B and Oak, is the Ashland Armory building, dating from 1912, and now re-purposed as an arts center and office space.

Continue on B Street. The street is lined with older historic homes and other buildings such as an old church. The Pelton House is at the corner of B and 1st Streets. It was built in 1894 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was carefully restored after a fire damaged it in 1991.

Two blocks farther along on B Street, to the right, is the Kane House. This home, a combination of Italianate and Eastlake styles, was constructed in 1886, originally for the station master of the railroad. The rail line through Ashland connected Oregon with California for the first time by rail in 1887. However the "Siskiyou" line from Eugene to Redding via Ashland was relegated to branch line status when the more level (although that's a relative term in these parts) "Cascade" line through Klamath Falls was completed by the Southern Pacific Railway in 1926. A more complete accounting of the history of the two lines can be found here.

At 4th Street turn right and head back up the hill. 4th Street dead-ends into Main Street at the site of the Ashland Fire District building. Turn right on Main Street and then cross Lithia Way and Siskiyou Blvd. to your starting point at the Ashland Public Library.



Pendleton - Eastern Oregon

While Pendleton may no longer be the largest municipality in Eastern Oregon, this 17,000 population city is the cultural and historical heart of this portion of the state. In 1900 it was the fourth largest city in the state, and retains a historical character in its older sections (which comprise much of the city) that hasn't been prettified or torn down by later generations as much as in other parts of the state. This 3.5 mile walk will take you through the heart of Pendleton, with a view of its historic sites and the famous Pendleton Round-Up Rodeo site. Part of the walk follows the Umatilla River, which flows through town. The walk is mostly flat, with one moderate uphill in the middle of the journey.

The walk starts at the old Pendleton railway station, which served the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company after it finished its route from Oregon over the Blue Mountains to Idaho in 1884. Railroad Station Museum, With the end of Amtrak's Pioneer route in 1997, this station was repurposed as the Heritage Station Museum.

In front of the museum is the Wagons Ho Statue, appropriately located and a relevant topic since Pendleton is along the route of the famous Oregon Trail. The sculpture was crafted in 1992 by an Eastern Oregon Community College instructor and his students. Pendleton seems to be a city that loves its statues - you will see many along this walk!

Across the street from the railroad station is the Bowman Hotel, a brick building constructed in 1906 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Since 1980 the building has been used as commercial and office space. It is one of many fine old historic buildings you will see on this walk through Pendleton.

Frazier Avenue lies between the train station/museum and the Bowman Hotel building. Follow it to the right to Main Street, then turn left. After one block on Main Street, turn right onto Emigrant Avenue. On the corner of Main and Emigrant is St. George Plaza, now an apartment development, but constructed in several phases as a hotel between 1900 and 1937. The Italianate portion on Emigrant Avenue is clearly of an earlier time than the Art Deco portion facing Main Street.

Continue on Emigrant Avenue for two blocks to Second Street, then turn left. On the corner of this intersection is Pendleton's First United Methodist Church. This imposing building was consecrated in 1907. The congregation has been in Pendleton since 1874, but moved from its original location on 3rd Avenue when a brewery was built next door!

Continue north on 2nd Street. At mid-block, beyond the Methodist Church, is this law office, which is located in the historic Johnson-Ellis house. The house was originally built in 1899.








At the end of the block, at the intersection of 2nd and Dorion Avenue is the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer. It is the oldest existing church building in Pendleton, constructed in 1898.









Continue on 2nd for two more blocks to Byers Avenue. On the left is the Pendleton Pioneer Chapel. This is not a church, it is a funeral home. While there is no information on the age of the building, the business has been in Pendleton since 1893.

Turn right on Byers Avenue and proceed three blocks to Fifth Street. After a quick right-left jog on Fifth, continue on Byers for another two blocks to Seventh Street. Turn right and go one block to Court Street, then turn left and go one block to Eighth Street. You will be walking through a neighborhood full of old houses, some spruced up, some not. At the intersection of Eighth and Court is this statue, placed in 2013, of Esther Motanic, who in 1926 was the first Native American rodeo queen of the Pendleton Roundup.

Turn left on Eighth Street. After one block, at the corner of Eighth and Byers, each corner lot has an interesting old house from the early 20th century. This one is a classic farmhouse.

Continue one more block on Eighth to the Umatilla River. Turn left to follow the riverfront bank trail. The Umatilla drains almost 2,500 square miles, with its source in the Blue Mountains to the east and its mouth at the Columbia River to the northwest.

Continue along the trail as it parallels the river. The trail is built on a levee, with the houses on the left appearing to be at a lower elevation than the river.

Prior to intersecting Main Street the trail leaves the riverfront to the left and goes into Brownfield Park, which is a small paved area with a bit of an amphitheater. The park includes a mural that is entitled "Celebrating Wheat."

Turn right on Main Street and cross the Umatilla River. On the other side of the river, to the right is the Pendleton Center for the Arts. It was originally built as a Carnegie Library in 1916, in the Italian Renaissance style. In 1996, after the library moved, the building was completely renovated for its current use.

Across the street from the Center for the Arts is the Pendleton First Christian Church, built in 1910. The church belongs to the Disciples of Christ denomination. Among the national church's more famous members was President Ronald Reagan, who was raised as a Disciple of Christ and attended Eureka College, founded and run by the Church.

Continue on Main Street as it heads up the hill. At the corner of Main and Despain, on the right, is the Cole House, one of several grand old homes in this area of town, built in 1907. A plaque next to the home tells its story.

Continuing up Main Street, to the left is the Rogers House, built in 1917 in a Mediterranean "Palazzo" style. It has apparently been this color for decades, based upon the tastes of its original owner. Its story is also told on a plaque along the street.

Continuing up Main Street, at the corner of Main and Ellis, on the left is the Lot Livermore house, originally built in 1889, but remodeled since. The story of this grand home is also told on a plaque at the corner.

Turn left on Ellis and proceed west. There are more grand houses on this street, although not with plaques telling their stories.   After two blocks turn left on 4th Street and head back down the hill. After one block 4th Street is the boundary of Pioneer Park; when the street ends continue down the hill through the park. The park has been graced with some elaborate western-themed play structures.

Continue straight down the hill through Pioneer Park - eventually you will be walking across the grass - until you reach Bailey Avenue. To the left are the Parkview Apartments, an interesting old building.

At Bailey Avenue turn right and walk six blocks through a residential area to 10th Avenue. Turn left on 10th and you will again come to the Umatilla River, flowing westward toward its mouth at the Columbia.

After crossing the Umatilla River take the trail that goes to the right. The trail empties onto a frontage road that leads into the Pendleton Round-up rodeo grounds. This rodeo, held in mid-September,  is considered one of the most important in the nation. Follow the frontage road as it circles a park and you will end up in front of the grandstand, where the Let 'er Buck statue stands. The statue was dedicated in 2010 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Pendleton Round-up.

After looking at the statue turn left (east) along Court Avenue to 10th Street. Head left on 10th after crossing the street. Follow the entrance to the Umatilla river trail when it leaves 10th to the right. As you walk along the trail you will come across this sculpture of courting herons, dedicated in 2011, and representing the fact that the Umatilla River area is a prime nesting ground for these birds.

Continue along the riverfront trail all the way back to Main Street. At Main Street, turn right. On your right is this building, which was Pendleton's Christian Science church, constructed in a "Spanish Eclectic" style. Apparently it has some interesting features inside as well.

Proceed down Pendleton's Main Street. The city, property owners, and merchants have done a lot to make this street shine, and it shows.

One of the most notable features along this street are the statues of three different Pendleton luminaries. The first you will come across (all are along the right side of the street) is Jackson Sundown, a legendary Native-American rodeo performer in the early 20th century, at the Pendleton Round-Up and other rodeos around the west.

Continuing down Main Street, the next statue commemorates Kathleen McClintock, the 1929 rodeo queen. It was placed here in 2015.

And the third statue, another block down the street, pictures Stella Darby, described as a "beloved brothel madam," in operation from 1928 to 1967. While the town was apparently glad to see her finally go, it now reveres her as a local icon!

Taka a right onto Emigrant Avenue. The building at the corner of Emigrant and Main is the site of Ms. Darby's bordello and other less than savory aspects of Pendleton's past. These are all commemorated by the Pendleton Underground Tours, which hosts visits to the building.




Turn left on First Street and proceed one block to the old train station and the beginning spot of this walk.