[Heritage] Oregon Heritage News 2012-04-05

[Heritage Info]

In this Issue:
1. Three Enterprise properties listed in National Register 
2. Women’s History Consortium Seeks Project Coordinator
 
 
THREE ENTERPRISE PROPERTIES LISTED IN NATIONAL REGISTER
 
Three Enterprise properties are the latest to achieve listing in the
National Register of Historic Places: the OK Theatre, the Enterprise
Mercantile and Milling Company Building, and the Enterprise IOOF Hall.
 
Completed in 1918, the OK Theatre served as a social center and focal
point for community entertainment, bringing live and screen productions
to generations of Enterprise residents. During the 1920s, Great
Depression, World War II, and Post-War periods, audiences kept up with
current events through newsreels shown before the evening film. The
movies brought a new popular culture and mass media to Enterprise,
connecting the small town with the rest of the world.  The theater also
served as a community hall where local productions, meetings,
fundraisers, service and award programs, civil defense sessions, and
other events took place. 
 
The EM&M, erected from 1916 to 1922 in downtown Enterprise, Oregon is
one of the first businesses in Enterprise instrumental in developing the
downtown. After the closure of the store in 1925, Wallowa County
acquired the building for back taxes in the early 1930s, and invested in
its rehabilitation to supply needed housing for residents displaced by
the Great Depression. The use of the building for apartments and retail
space brought more people downtown that frequented the downtown
businesses, in turn helping the local economy.  Designed by the
well-known architectural firm of Tourtellotte and Hummel, the
three-story edifice is the largest and most impressive commercial
building in downtown, covering a quarter block. 
 
Completed after World War I in 1920, the Enterprise International Order
of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Hall played an important role as a social center
for community meetings, meals, plays, dances, parties, fundraisers, and
other activities. The IOOF’s motto, “Visit the Sick, Relieve the
Distressed, Bury the Dead, and Educate the Orphan,” captures the
organization’s mission.  The Enterprise IOOF Hall symbolizes the
importance lodges in the welfare of the community before the
availability of social service aid. 
 
The City of Enterprise listed the properties using a Multiple Property
Document titled “Historic Resources of Downtown Enterprise 1888-1956,”
which describes the history of Enterprise. The Multiple Property
Document allows owners of commercial properties an easy way to list
their properties in the National Register. 
 
The National Park Service maintains the National Register under the
authority of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. More
information about the National Register and recent Oregon listings is
online at www.oregonheritage.org ( http://www.oregonheritage.org/ )
click on “National Register” at left of page). 
 
  
WOMEN’S HISTORY CONSORTIUM SEEKS PROJECT COORDINATOR
 
The Oregon Women's History Consortium, which operates the Century of
Action project, seeks a part-time, temporary Project Coordinator to work
on a contract basis. The application deadline is April 9. Visit
http://centuryofaction.org ( http://centuryofaction.org/ ) for
application details. 



-----------------
Visit www.oregon.gov/OPRD/HCD/OHC/Conference.shtml to learn more about
the joint Oregon Heritage Conference / Northwest Archivists Annual
Meeting April 26-28. 

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Oregon Heritage News is a service of the Oregon Heritage Commission.
Contact us by emailing heritage.info at state.or.us .
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