Architecture – Walk Ashland

Alida Street: Flowers, Ghosts and Art

Dramatic trumpet vine at 66 Alida
Writer of Westerns at 81 Alida
The scissors that moved by themselves at 92 Alida
Beautiful mural at 107 Alida
“Lord of the Rings” connection at 180 Alida
Plus 40 photos
Ashland Neighborhood Art series

Surprising stories

I thought to myself, “It’s only two blocks long. This will be a quick, easy article to write.” Boy was I wrong. I was surprised by the stories I discovered and which I can now share with you.

Alida Street is situated between Siskiyou Boulevard and East Main Street in one of the older parts of Ashland, within the boundaries of the Siskiyou-Hargadine historic district. Residents of Alida Street have a neighborhood coffee shop, with the Rogue Valley Roasting Company around the corner on East Main Street.

Let’s begin our two-block stroll

Let’s begin our two-block stroll with a small 1933 cottage style house at 46 Alida Street, near East Main Street. According to the National Register of Historic Places, this house is “an example of the small rental volumes that typify much of the infill development in the district prior to World War II.” It looks beautifully renovated at some point in recent years.

Across the street is the Woodland Park Estates apartments. This large apartment complex provides much needed housing for single people and couples.

Southern Pacific Railroad engineer

60 Alida Street was built about 1902 for Judd V. Miller, an engineer with the Southern Pacific Railroad. The original architecture was an L-shaped farmhouse style, but large additions through the years have changed the historic character of this house as well. I do like the attractive new front entry, though it’s not quite large enough to be a comfortable front porch with two or three chairs.

Hipped-roof cottage

The 1908 Henry Boyd House at 63 Alida Street retains its simple, historic hipped-roof cottage architectural style. Henry Boyd was a local photographer. He and his wife Nettie lived here until 1923.

Trumpet vine

A dramatic trumpet vine caught my eye at 66 Alida Street. The house was built in 1941 in the Cape Cod, Colonial Revival style. As I walked and took photos in July 2020, the trumpet vine was in glorious full bloom, covered with large bright red flowers.

Trumpet vine, Alida Street — Trumpet vine flowers at 66 Alida Street (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

Trumpet vines (also called trumpet creeper) have high points and drawbacks. Among the high points, the large bright flowers continue to bloom all summer and they are a magnet for hummingbirds.

Trumpet vine trunks have their own harsh beauty. The trumpet vine at 66 Alida shows how beautiful the gnarled trunk of the vine gets as it ages. This one even provides a level spot for displaying Ganesha, the elephant-headed Hindu deity of beginnings, also known as the remover of obstacles.

Ganesha statue, Alida Street — Resting place for Ganesha on the trumpet vine trunk (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

As one website put it, trumpet vine is “A high-climbing, aggressively colonizing woody vine to 35 ft., climbing or scrambling over everything in its path by aerial rootlets.” Depending on its location, this can be a big drawback. Some varieties send out below-ground runners and self-seed nearby, so they can take a lot of care to keep in check. The beautiful, gnarled trunk can also be a drawback as the plant gets older and larger. Moral of the story: be careful where you plant a trumpet vine and keep it under control, so that you can enjoy it. This old trumpet vine is an example of one that has been pruned regularly and kept under control.

Trumpet vine trunk, Alida Street — This is what an old, gnarled trumpet vine trunk looks like (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

George Anderson houses

Warner Mercantile Company ad 1916 — Ad for Warner Mercantile Company, where George Anderson worked. This ad was in the Ashland Tidings of November 23, 1916.

George Anderson was a clerk with the Warner Mercantile Company. I found a Warner Mercantile ad in the 1916 Ashland Tidings, but it doesn’t give much insight into what the company sold or where it was located. Anderson had two houses built on Alida Street, both in 1910.

Anderson lived at 76 Alida in a simple hipped-roof cottage. The large rear addition and plate glass windows in front have changed the house considerably, but one can still see the basic character of the 1910 house in the small front section.

Anderson bought property across the street and had 75 Alida built as a rental house. The National Register document calls it “a fine single-story gabled bungalow with a projecting gable porch.” I keep an eye out for Little Free Libraries around town. You’ll find an attractive one in the planting strip at 75 Alida Street.

Little Free Library, Alida Street — Little Free Library at 75 Alida Street. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

Writer of Western stories and novels lived here

William Verne Athanas, who lived at 81 Alida Street, was known as a writer of cowboy fiction, but he came from a rich Greek heritage. He was the son of Panagiotis “Peter” Konstantinos Athanassopoulos, who had been born in Greece in 1890. The family moved to Ashland when Verne was a child. In 1936, he graduated from Ashland High School and married his childhood sweetheart Alice Spencer – a big year!

Marrying Alice Spencer made him the uncle of Julia Woosnam, who grew up across the street at 92 Alida Street and told me his story. Between high school and becoming a full-time writer ten years later, “he slopped hogs, dug postholes, drove trucks, was a railroad brakeman, a gandy dancer, a service station attendant, a stationery salesman and more.” [Archives West]

Verne Athanas had an article in the November 1951 issue of New Western Magazine under his pen-name Bill Colson. (photo from “The Western & Frontier Fiction Magazine Index”)

Once he began writing, he specialized in cowboy fiction, and he was prolific. Athanas has 28 short stories listed in the “Western and Frontier Fiction Magazine Index.” He also wrote for mainstream magazines like the Saturday Evening Post and Esquire. He published three novels, including The Proud Ones that was made into a movie released in 1956. He also wrote scripts for TV westerns in the 1950s and 1960s. Because he wrote under four pseudonyms in addition to his own name, I haven’t been able to track down exactly what and how much he wrote.

The oldest house on Alida Street

Built in 1890 or 1891, 84 Alida is the oldest house on the street. It is described as “a fine multiple gable volume set upon a high concrete foundation. The porch at the NW corner is notable for its early-appearing chinoiserie balustrade.”

Early Ashlanders, ghost tales and more

The 1920 single story bungalow at 92 Alida Street still has much of its original detailing. Julia Woosnam, who grew up in this house in the 1950s and 1960s, told me stories and shared photos with me. She comes from an old Ashland family. Her grandfather Don Spencer was Ashland’s first postal mail carrier, starting in about 1910. Before that, everyone had to pick up their mail at the post office on the Plaza.

Julia’s father Lawrence Powell and mother Altadena Spencer married in 1929. The couple raised a family and lived at 92 Alida Street for more than 40 years.

“Julia’s tree”

Two months before Julia was born in 1954, her father planted a maple tree for her in front of their house at 92 Alida Street. Here is the tiny stick that was to become a tree. (photo courtesy of Julia Woosnam)

Her father took this photo of Julia with “her tree” when she was almost two years old. The maple tree “stick” is a little taller. (photo courtesy of Julia Woosnam)

Here is “Julia’s tree” in front of 92 Alida Street in 2020. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

Ghostly personal experiences

“Growing up there, you would just have a sense of somebody else hanging out” in the house, Julia told me. The front bedroom, with a window overlooking the porch as seen in the photo below, was hers growing up.

“The front bedroom was my room, and things would slide around in that room. I had a couple of friends in high school, laughing and giggling in there with me when we were best buddies, and a pair of scissors slid across the bureau. One of those friends said, ‘I am not staying in your room again.'”

Intrigued because scissors seem rather large to move on their own, I asked Julia about them. She replied, “I have them upstairs. They were my mother’s really nice dress-making shears.” Of course I said, “May I take a photo of them?” So Julia went and got what she laughingly called “the now famous flying scissors,” and here they are. I held them, and I can tell you they are heavy.

Then there was the moving toilet paper. “The toilet paper roll would just spontaneously, slowly start to unroll, then it would go faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster until it pretty much emptied the roll. That was seen by several friends.”

“It got to be really mean,” Julia added, laughing. “Someone would go in the bathroom and we would all wait, just to see if it would happen. I had my best friend, who lived in the oldest house [on Alida Street] across the driveway from us, and she went into the bathroom — and I remember my mom and I tippy-toeing down the hallway, waiting — and pretty soon she screams, and she comes running out of the bathroom, just sobbing — and it was the toilet paper had started to unroll before she could even get near it to use it. These things just happened — for whatever reasons, they do happen.”

Another occurrence experienced by many people through the years was a loud thump, with no discernible cause, as if a large ball was being thrown against the wall. “My good friend Ann called it ‘the boulder.’ So we always referred to that sound as being ‘the boulder.’ It was definitely like someone had taken a soccer ball and thrown it hard against the outside of the house.”

100 Alida Street

The house next door at 100 Alida Street was built in 1939 with an English Cottage style architecture unusual in Ashland. “A one and one-half story period revival structure, the Ruger House is a gable volume with a projecting gable entry element.”

The creative gate combines wood, metal and vines for an attractive entry to the yard.

gate, Alida Street — Creative gate at 100 Alida Street. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

Art for the neighborhood to enjoy

The house at 107 Alida was built in 1925 for local banker Gerald Wenner and his wife Grace. The couple lived here for nearly 50 years, until they died in the early 1970s. A simple bungalow style, it still has many of the original 1925 features.

Before and After at 107 Alida Street

Wall at 107 Alida Street before mural was painted. (photo courtesy of Katherine Holden)

mural, Alida Street — Beautiful mural at 107 Alida Street, painted in June of 2020. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

The bright mural on the side of this house is quite new. Katherine emailed me that the mural at her house was painted by two friends, Amy and Glenn, who visited her from the San Francisco Bay Area in June. Her friend Amy added, “Visiting in a pandemic, we wanted a safe way to socialize and create something beautiful for our friend Katherine. We hope that more public art soothes the soul during these transformative times.” Seeing this mural certainly lifted my spirits, and I recommend that you see it when you are in the neighborhood.

The mural creation at 107 Alida Street

I wondered how this unusual group of flowers was designed. It turned out to be a simple but surprising reason. See the photo and caption below.

Alida Street mural — The design of the mural was inspired by this piece of fabric Amy and Glenn found in Katherine’s sewing box. (photo courtesy of Katherine Holden)

I will add that Amy Pete is a somatic bodyworker and Glenn Case is a muralist and sign maker, both living in the Bay Area.

Another SP worker, and unusual yard art

Southern Pacific Railroad worker Henry Mayberry and his wife Myrtle had 140 Alida Street built for them about 1924. The house retains much of its historic look. The artistic garden fence and yard art are both very modern. For example, having a Buddha-like statue and a gnome sharing the yard is very 21^st century.

Ashland High School 2020 graduate

Ashland High School’s class of 2020 was not able to have an in-person graduation ceremony due to the coronavirus. On May 26, I noticed a forest of signs placed along Siskiyou Boulevard in front of the high school. I was moved as I saw this creative way of recognizing each 2020 graduate individually.

Ashland High School class of 2020 — Ashland High School, posters for the class of 2020. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

Since then, I have seen “2020 GRAD” signs in front of several houses around Ashland. 145 Alida Street is one of them. This post-World War II era cottage, built in 1945, is “a fine example of its type.” The National Register describes it as “a series of connected hip roof volumes with wide board siding and numerous windows. A large brick chimney dominates the streetscape and a matching hipped-roof garage is located at the rear of the lot.”

Another, smaller apartment complex is at 160-162 Alida Street. Built in 1966, I think it is called the Collins Court apartments.

A “fine Queen Anne ell”

172 Alida Street was built as a rental house by Jacob Thompson around 1900. Architecturally, it is a “fine Queen Anne ell with canted corner on each of two projecting gables, framed below a pent roof line and a shingle-decorated gable end.”

Thompson owned much of the land in this part of Miner’s addition. An interesting aside is that in 1910, he transferred this property to a company co-owned by Thompson and his partner Gwin Butler. You may recognize the name Butler from the Butler-Perozzi Fountain or the Butler bandshell in Lithia Park. Gwin Butler’s contributions to Ashland deserve a full article.

Creative hobbit lovers

mailbox, Alida Street — Creative mailbox at 180 Alida Street, with yard sale going on that day. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

180 Alida Street is a 1926 single story bungalow style house. This house could get an award for creative use of a tree stump. What got me excited, however, was spotting the sign on their gate that says, “Say Friend and Enter” in both English and Elvish. If you have read Lord of the Rings or seen the movies several times, you might recognize that saying as the inscription that puzzled Gandalf at the gate of Moria.

I have been a fan of Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien since I was a teenager – which was many years ago! Early this year, I just finished reading the 1,086 page book (1,190 with appendices) for about the tenth time, and I loved it just as much as I did the first time.

The 1901 Frank Nelson house

188 Alida Street was built for Frank Nelson in 1901, and he lived there until 1919. The style is a simple one and one-half story hipped-roof cottage. Nelson was a partner in the longtime Ashland grocery business Loomis and Nelson, which served the Railroad District at the corner of 4^th Street and B Street.

We have now reached Siskiyou Boulevard, so this wraps up our walk along Alida Street.

Note that two people who built houses on Alida Street worked for Southern Pacific Railroad. See below for a link to my article about the impact of the railroad on Ashland.

Railroad Park and History of the Railroad in Ashland

References:

Unidentified quotes are from:
National Register of Historic Places, Siskiyou-Hargadine Historic District, September 14, 2002.

Anon. “W. Verne Athanas papers, 1946-1962,” Archives West.
http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv62493

Anon. “The Western & Frontier Fiction Magazine Index,” Verne Athanas and Bill Colson story listings.
http://www.philsp.com/homeville/WFI/s127.htm#A1584

Katherine Holden, personal communication, July 2020.

Pete, Amy. Personal communication, July 2020.

Woosnam, Julia. Personal communication, August 2020.

Ashland Springs Hotel: 95th Anniversary Stories

Read the sad history and amazing resurgence and renovation of this iconic Ashland hotel.

Beginning #1: The Lithia Springs Hotel in the 1920s

Site of current Ashland Springs Hotel in early 1924 — Look closely at the sign in the front yard of this house at 212 East Main Street. Within months, the house would be gone and the Lithia Springs Hotel would be rising at this corner.
(This image is part of the Stories of Southern Oregon Collection in the Southern Oregon University Hannon Library digital archives and made available by Southern Oregon University Hannon Library.)

Take a close look at this photo of a house at the corner of East Main Street and First Street. It was taken in early 1924. Can you read the sign in the front yard? It says: “Boost Ashland’s Big Tourist Hotel – to be erected on this site.” Next to the sign is a drawing of the soon-to-be-built Lithia Springs Hotel (now the Ashland Springs Hotel).

Ashland boosters had big dreams, and building a modern luxury hotel for Ashland visitors was one of them. The hopes and dreams were well summarized by hotel operator R.W. Price in this quote from the July 1, 1925 Ashland Daily Tidings:

“I have every reason to believe that Southern Oregon is sometime, within the very near future, to be the playground of the Pacific Coast. With all the natural beauties and advantages which it now possess (sic), and with the plans of a group of men for developing and advertising these advantages, I am sure that we of this section have good reason to believe this part of Oregon will develop more rapidly than any other district of the state.”
R.W. Price, hotel operator

Local businessman Henry Enders Jr. and his partners in the Lithian Hotel Company sold stock to Ashland residents to raise money for the hotel, and got a tremendous response.

Ashland Springs Hotel, stock certificate c1924 for Lithia Springs Hotel — This in an original stock certificate for the Lithia Springs Hotel, dated February 27, 1925.
(certificate on the Ashland Springs Hotel “History Wall,” July 2020)

As money was being raised, Enders recommended prominent Portland architects John Tourtellotte and Charles Hummel to design the hotel. They first presented a six-story design, as you can see on the architect’s drawing below.

Ashland Springs Hotel, original 6-story drawing c1924 for Lithia Springs Hotel — Here is the architects’ original 6-story drawing for the Lithia Springs Hotel, probably in early 1924.
*(drawing on the Ashland Springs Hotel “History Wall,” July 2020)*

After some discussion, it was revised to become a nine-story design, which resulted in Ashland being able to boast of having the tallest structure between San Francisco and Portland for many years.

For those who appreciate architecture, the Lithia Springs was built with an eclectic design, including Romanesque, English Tudor, Gothic, and Neo-Classical Revival elements. Unusual for reinforced concrete skyscrapers, a decorative material was not attached to the exterior concrete. The concrete itself was featured all the way from the foundation to the roofline, except on the ground level floor.

Lithia Springs Hotel 1925 Grand Opening party

According to the Ashland Tidings, more than 500 people crowded the new hotel for its grand opening on September 28, 1925. Beginning at 5:30 pm, it took four hours for all to eat their fill from the buffet set up in the dining room. The “eloquent” speeches planned to begin at 8:30 were delayed an hour, but fortunately it was a short program. Hundreds of Ashland locals who were stockholders in the Lithian Hotel Company were excited to explore the huge hotel that they had helped finance. In addition, dignitaries that day included prominent “hotel men” from all corners of Oregon and Northern California and representatives from Chambers of Commerce and many other groups.

When did Lithia Springs Hotel really open?

Does the photo below look like a hotel that would be open for business in less than eleven weeks?

Lithia Springs Hotel, Ashland Springs Hotel — *Lithia Springs Hotel construction on April 17, 1925*.
*(This image is part of the Stories of Southern Oregon Collection in the Southern Oregon University Hannon Library digital archives and made available by Southern Oregon University Hannon Library.)*

Construction of the nine-story hotel took months longer than planned. I have read that it opened on July 1, 1925. Looking at this hotel-under-construction photo dated April 17, 1925, that seems to me impossible. I have also read that hotel construction was completed on September 11, 1925 and opened at that time. Remember that the Grand Opening party was on September 28.

Which date is true?

The answer: Both dates are true!

On July 1 the hotel was still under construction, but proprietor R.W. Price was anxious to start renting rooms, so he did. For the first few months, hotel guests had to brave construction noise and dust as they stayed in the first rooms that had been completed.

By September 11, construction was officially complete (except that the contractor still had to completely repaint the hotel exterior to satisfy the architects!). That’s when planning began for the grand opening party described above.

Through the decades

Here is a brief review of the hotel’s history through the decades. Ashland and the hotel suffered two huge economic shocks within a few years after the hotel opened in 1925. Two years later, in 1927, Southern Pacific railroad routed most of its passenger trains away from Ashland and through the town of Klamath Falls. This reduced tourist arrivals in Ashland. Then the Great Depression slammed Ashland and the U.S.A. from 1929 to about 1939.

The expected influx of tourists for local spas, natural beauty and “a playground of the Pacific Coast,” didn’t happen. The hotel limped along decade after decade, no longer “luxurious,” always financially on the brink.

Ashland Springs Hotel, Mark Antony Hotel — Here is a view of the hotel in the 1960s after the name change to Mark Antony Motor Hotel.
(photo on the Ashland Springs Hotel “History Wall,” July 2020.

In 1960, after a contest to come up with a name that would build on the growing popularity of Oregon Shakespeare Festival, it was renamed the Mark Antony Motor Hotel. The new name didn’t boost its fortunes. The building was remodeled in 1951, 1959 and 1978. Nothing helped.

Beginning #2: Doug and Becky Neuman find Ashland in the 1980s

Doug and Becky Neuman were living in Santa Barbara in the mid-1980s. Doug’s parents wanted to move to the Eugene, Oregon area. Doug went with his father to check out Eugene. Doug didn’t like the wet and overcast weather there, so Oregon looked like a bust.

Before leaving Eugene, Doug played tennis at the club there. Doug was hitting with the tennis pro, who told him, “If I could live anywhere on the West Coast, I would live in Ashland, Oregon.” The next day, Doug and his father drove to Ashland with a video camera, and brought back their impressions of the town. When she saw the video, Becky knew right away she had to see Ashland for herself and that it was likely to be their long-term home. What she and Doug didn’t know at the time is that they would have a future in the hospitality business.

The hotel and the Neumans join forces in the 1990s

In 1998, when the building was bankrupt and falling apart. Doug and Becky Neuman made the huge commitment to purchase the hotel and bring it back to life. As it says on the hotel website: “A complete ‘basement to parapet,’ two-year, ten million dollar restoration followed and the hotel reopened December 2000.”

What is original in the current Ashland Springs Hotel?

When guests enter, the two-story lobby features the original restored 1925 terrazzo floor, lobby chandelier, original stained glass in the front windows and the huge 1925 fireplace.

Ashland Springs Hotel lobby chandelier — This is the original 1925 lobby chandelier, seen from the mezzanine balcony.
(photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

The mezzanine balconies with their beautiful woodwork and ironwork are original, as are the lobby’s ornate decorated columns and ceiling.

The Crystal Room

The Crystal Room, off the lobby, was the original dining room that featured a dramatic (but not original from 1925) crystal chandelier.

Ashland Springs Hotel, Lithia Springs Hotel — The hotel dining room featured this elegant crystal chandelier in the 1950s. Note that the date marked on the photo is incorrect. (photo on Ashland Springs Hotel “History Wall,” July 2020)

During the two-year hotel renovation, the Neumans removed the chandelier. By that time, it was missing many of the small hanging crystals and needed too much repair, so they stored it in their barn. It sat there unnoticed for a few years, until Doug came to Becky with a novel idea. He said, “The top of the chandelier is still in excellent condition, so let’s use it by turning it upside down.” At first Becky couldn’t picture what he was describing. When the chandelier was flipped and placed in the room, the simple yet sophisticated new look won her over.

New — Historic photo gallery

This is part of the new “History Wall,” prepared with help from the Southern Oregon Historical Society, on the mezzanine level. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

If you would like to see many more photos than I can include in this article about the hotel, stop by the new “History Wall” of historic Ashland photos on the hotel’s mezzanine level. If you like Ashland history, I highly recommend it. This gallery was prepared with help from the Southern Oregon Historical Society.

The choice that changed Becky Neuman’s life

Hiring Candra Scott and Richard Anderson as interior designers for the hotel changed Becky Neuman’s life. Becky called the two years of working closely with Candra “a screaming learning curve.” It was a fabulous, joyful and intense apprenticeship for Becky, a two-year interior design education.

Becky told me that watching Candra go through her creative process “just lit a fire in me.” She learned from Candra how “you go into a space and you get the story of what this space wants to be.” “And I’ve done that since that time,” Becky added, “with each of the hotels I’ve done on my own.”

What was the inspiration for the interiors of the Ashland Springs Hotel?

“The inspiration,” said Becky, “came through Candra Scott and Richard Anderson and myself after we went to the Southern Oregon Historical Society and found out that people were traveling to Ashland at that time [early 1900s] for two things: the Chautauqua lecture series and the Lithia water.”

“She [Candra Scott] said we’re going to design this lobby as if it were the personal home of a lecturer for the Chautauqua series.” That lecturer would be a naturalist and would believe in the “great outdoors” idealism of the late 1800s and early 1900s. The vision was to give guests the experience of a simpler time in American life, with a focus on flora and fauna.

Candra went on to create that vision. The lobby has ornithology – beautiful bird collections – and “a fabulous cabinet of curiosities.” It was very popular 100 years ago to bring back unique objects from one’s worldly travels and display them in a cabinet of “rarities.”

Candra was designing an apartment in Paris at the time, and asked Becky if she’d like her to bring some things for the hotel back from Paris. Becky replied, “Yes, absolutely!” The ornithology collection and the “cabinet of curiosities” in the hotel lobby came from that trip to Paris. In addition, at a Paris flea market she found wonderful mounted pressed herbs, which give character to the guest rooms. Candra found the lobby’s bird illustrations closer to home, at David Ralston’s Jacksonville antique shop (now the Antiquarium in downtown Ashland).

Even the carpets, chosen by Candra and made in England by Axminster Carpets, carry on the theme of flora and fauna. This company has been making carpets in the small town of Axminster since 1755! “Today, Axminster Carpets™ is still weaving beautifully designed carpets in the Devon town of Axminster for the Royal Household, stately homes, luxury hotels and homes around the world,” per the company website.

Becky calls Candra “a creative force, known for renovating historic hotels in the United States.” For example, Scott and Anderson designed renovations for the 1902 Hotel Majestic in San Francisco and the Arctic Club Hotel in Seattle, originally built in 1916.

In addition to the lobby design, Candra designed furniture for all the rooms and arranged for its custom manufacture for the hotel.

Ashland Springs Hotel custom cabinet — Guest room cabinet designed by Candra Scott. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

Ashland Springs Hotel lamp — Guest room lamps and lamp shades designed by Candra Scott. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

The building process

The Neumans called their complete renovation a huge “basement to parapet” undertaking. They wanted it to be a full historic renovation, so everything was not only approved by the Ashland Historic Commission, but also met numerous federal historic preservation requirements.

Ashland Springs Hotel during renovation, year 2000 — Here’s what the lobby looked like during the 1999-2000 renovation.
(photo on the Ashland Springs Hotel “History Wall,” July 2020)

The entire hotel was upgraded with new plumbing, heating, cooling and electrical systems. Many of the original 100 guest rooms did not have a private bathroom. After the renovation, there are now 70 guest rooms, each with a private bathroom and charming custom touches.

The outdoor fire escape you see in earlier photos of the hotel was removed. New elevators were added. One of the upgrades I most appreciate was conversion of a second floor pool area into a lovely light-filled indoor Conservatory and attached outdoor English Garden, located next to the Grand Ballroom. I have attended many community events there, from Jefferson Public Radio wine tasting fund-raisers to food festivals to Christmas Eve inspirational talks.

Ashland Springs Hotel conservatory — The lovely Conservatory is between the Grand Ballroom (to the left) and the outdoor English Garden (to the right). (photo courtesy of Ashland Springs Hotel)

Ashland Springs Hotel patio and garden — Here is a cozy seating area in the English Garden patio. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

Managing the hotel and restaurant

Since Doug and Becky Neuman had never worked in the hospitality industry, they hired a management company from Portland when the renovated hotel opened in the year 2000. The company had experience with both hotels and restaurants, so it seemed like a good fit. The first restaurant was called the Bulls Eye Bistro, with a games theme and regular live music. I remember hearing and dancing to great local bands there. When walking downtown on warm summer evenings, I often paused as loud music spilled out the open doors to the street.

By the fifth year of the restaurant, Becky didn’t like the food enough to eat in her own restaurant! She also heard too many complaints from guests about difficulty sleeping when bands played at the Bistro until 2:00 am. She and Doug decided to take over management of the Ashland Springs Hotel themselves.

They were fortunate to find someone who could lead the operation on an upward trajectory. They hired Don Anway, who had experience as General Manager at Red Lion hotels. According to Becky, Don brought an unusual combination of skills to their hotel and their growing company. “Don has a lot of heart, but he’s also a numbers guy. In addition, he started hiring really wonderful people who had a passion for what they were doing.” This allowed the company to stabilize and grow. Becky summarized their success since 2005 this way: “It’s our team that creates our success. We [Doug and Becky] provide the vision.”

Becky took on the challenge of creating a new restaurant at the hotel to replace the Bulls Eye Bistro. She knew from talking with guests that they wanted regionally sourced food. She and her staff reached out to local farmers, making them early adopters of the now popular “farm to table” restaurant movement.

Choosing the head chef

In choosing a head chef, Becky stressed two themes: local food and comfort food. In addition to offering cutting edge food combinations to patrons, she also wanted the menu to include her favorite comfort foods – meatloaf and fried chicken. Not just any meatloaf and fried chicken, mind you, but really delicious meatloaf and fried chicken.

That became a key question as she interviewed prospective head chefs. She might find one who waxed poetic about local, organic foods. Then she would ask, “How’s your meatloaf?” If the person mumbled about meatloaf not really being his “thing,” that was the end of the interview. A number of otherwise good chefs were disqualified in this way.

One day she was having a good interview with another chef enthusiastic about locally grown foods and partnering with farmers. Then she asked the key question, “How’s your meatloaf?” He replied, “I use my grandmother’s meatloaf recipe and it’s great.” Becky laughed as she jokingly told me her next words were, “You’re hired!”

How Larks Restaurant got its name

Larks Restaurant, Ashland Springs Hotel — Interior of Larks Restaurant. (photo courtesy of Ashland Springs Hotel)

I love origin stories. How Larks got its name is a small origin story that means a lot to Becky. As you know by now, the natural world, and birds in particular, play a large role in the ambiance of Ashland Springs Hotel. When Becky was researching names, she learned that the state bird of Oregon is the western meadowlark.

According to the Oregon Encyclopedia, “In 1927, the Oregon Audubon Society sponsored a contest among schoolchildren to choose the state bird. The western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) won by a large margin (40,000 out of 75,000 votes), and Governor Isaac L. Patterson officially proclaimed it the state bird.”

Becky was thrilled to learn this, since she grew up in Kansas, another state that has the western meadowlark as its state bird. As in Oregon, the Audubon Society got schoolchildren in Kansas to also vote for a state bird during the 1920s. In 1925, 125,000 schoolchildren in Kansas voted for the western meadowlark, with the bobwhite and northern cardinal coming in second and third.

It was obvious the new restaurant at the hotel should be called Meadowlark, right? Her husband Doug derailed the plan. In his opinion, Meadowlark sounded more like a laid-back retirement home than a cutting-edge restaurant. He wanted something bolder and catchier.

Becky was willing to compromise, but only if the name had a connection with nature. Doug suggested “Larks Restaurant” and Becky said “I love it.” It has been Larks ever since 2005, with a second Larks Restaurant now at the Neuman’s Medford hotel called Inn at the Commons.

“Useful birds of America” on the walls

bird illustrations in Larks Restaurant — Bird illustrations by Mary Emily Eaton in Larks Restaurant. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

When you visit Larks for their delicious food, take a few minutes to notice the bird illustrations on the walls, which have a fascinating history. They are reproductions of illustrations by Mary Emily Eaton, best known as a botanical illustrator for the New York Botanical Garden from 1911 to 1932.

Eaton’s bird illustrations were funded by the makers of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, a company that traces its roots to 1846. Beginning in 1888, small 2” by 3” bird trading cards were placed inside Arm & Hammer Baking Soda boxes to set them apart from their cheaper competitors. I found this quote describing the bird trading cards from a book with the delightful title: Oology and Ralph’s Talking Eggs: Bird Conservation Comes Out of Its Shell.

“These colorful cards originally came in Arm and Hammer Baking Soda boxes, and later they could be ordered by mail. At a time when many wild birds were being killed for their meat and feathers, the Church and Dwight bird cards featured the theme of ‘Useful Birds of America’ and a simple message: For the Good of All, Do Not Destroy the Birds.”

When you look closely at the illustrations on the walls at Larks Restaurant, you will see the Arm & Hammer logo and the date 1922. Eaton’s drew her 1922 illustrations for the company’s “Third Series” of bird trading cards.

bird illustration in Larks Restaurant — Can you spot the Arm & Hammer logo? (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

A closing thought from Becky Neuman

I love the image Becky used to describe her early vision of the hotel to me: “I felt like the lady had been asleep a long time and she was ready to wake up and put her party dress on, to be a light for the town.”

Thanks to Becky, Doug and the entire team at the Ashland Springs Hotel, “she” is wide awake and shining on her 95^th anniversary!

At 95 years of age, “the lady” is “awake and shining”

Ashland Springs Hotel in 2020 — Left photo shows the *Lithia Springs Hotel in 1925.* (photo from *Southern Oregon University Hannon Library*)
*Right photo shows the Ashland Springs Hotel on “her” 95th anniversary in 2020. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)*

Ashland Springs Hotel 1924 architectural drawing — On the left is a 1924 architectural drawing of the hotel entrance. Notice the eagles, rounded windows and fancy glass above the front doors. (drawing on the Ashland Springs Hotel “History Wall,” July 2020)
On the right is the hotel entrance on “her” 95th anniversary in 2020. Notice the eagles, rounded windows, stained glass above the front doors and more. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

Ashland Springs Hotel entrance — On the left is a 1924 architectural drawing of the hotel entrance. Notice the eagles, rounded windows and fancy glass above the front doors. (drawing on the Ashland Springs Hotel “History Wall,” July 2020)
On the right is the hotel entrance on “her” 95th anniversary in 2020. Notice the eagles, rounded windows, stained glass above the front doors and more. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

References:

Aldous, Vickie. “It’s official: Ashland Springs Hotel opens its doors,” Ashland Daily Tidings, December 1, 2000.

Anon. “Contractors to pay $1,800 hotel damages,” Ashland Tidings, September 11, 1925. (accessed with help from Southern Oregon Historical Society archivist Kira Lesley)

Anon. “Opening of new hotel to attract many,” Ashland Tidings, September 22, 1925. (accessed with help from Southern Oregon Historical Society archivist Kira Lesley)

Anon. “Hundreds to attend formal hotel opening,” Ashland Tidings, September 26, 1925. (accessed with help from Southern Oregon Historical Society archivist Kira Lesley)

Anon. “500 attend formal opening of Lithia Springs Hotel here,” Ashland Tidings, September 29, 1925. (accessed with help from Southern Oregon Historical Society archivist Kira Lesley)

Anon. Axminster Carpets company website. (accessed 6/11/2020)

https://www.axminster-carpets.co.uk/33-the-story-so-far

Anon. “Western Meadowlark,” Kansas Historical Society. (accessed 6/11/2020)

https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/western-meadowlark/17241

Brandstetter, Scott (Assistant General Manager, Ashland Springs Hotel). Personal communication and hotel tour, June 26, 2020.

Darling, John. “Ashland Springs Hotel celebrates 90^th anniversary,” Ashland Tidings, June 24, 2015.

Dodge, Dani. “More than a face-lift,” Medford Mail Tribune, July 18, 1999.

Erickson, Laura. “Arm & Hammer Bird Trading Cards,” July 6, 2017, Laura Erickson’s For The Birds blog. (accessed 6/11/2020) Also, Carrol Henderson’s book, Oology and Ralph’s Talking Eggs: Bird Conservation Comes Out of Its Shell was quoted in the article.

https://blog.lauraerickson.com/2017/07/arm-hammer-bird-trading-cards.html

Hayden, Curtis. “Taming the ‘White Elephants,’” Sneak Preview, September 9, 1998.

Kershner, Jim. “Grande dame of Ashland sparkles again,” The Spokesman Review, September 2, 2001.

Lavagnino, Karolina (Director of Sales and Marketing, Neuman Hotel Group). Personal communication, June 2020.

Lemon, Sarah. “Still standing tall,” Medford Mail Tribune, April 26, 2020.

National Register of Historic Places, Ashland Downtown Historic District, May 5, 2000.

Neuman, Becky (Co-owner, Neuman Hotel Group). Interview, personal communication and hotel tour, June 10, 2020.

O’Harra, Marjorie. Ashland: the first 130 years, Northwest Passages Publishing Inc. 1986.

Rose, William. National Register of Historic Places, Nomination Form for Ashland Springs Hotel (originally Lithia Springs Hotel), December 1977, revised 2002.

[Ashland Daily Tidings July 1, 1925, quoted in National Register Nomination Form, Rose 1977]

Tucker, Kathy. “Oregon State Symbols,” Oregon Encyclopedia. (accessed 6/11/2020)

https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/oregon_state_symbols/#.XuLDQS05RUM

Scenic Drive: History Comes Alive!

* 23 Homes more than 100 years old!
* Oregon history comes alive at 531 Scenic Drive.
* 30 Photos.
* Garden of the Month, April 2020.
* Tree of the Year 2004.
* Modern architecture, and more.

I started my Scenic Drive walk here. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

I walked Scenic Drive wearing a mask in April of 2020, when the people of Ashland and the entire State of Oregon were being asked to “Stay Home, Save Lives” in order to slow the spread of the pandemic coronavirus. Going for walks was acceptable, as long as we didn’t gather in groups of people.

I began at the “beginning” of Scenic Drive, where it meets Strawberry Lane, and where the first house number is 5 Scenic Drive.

I was drawn to Scenic Drive this month for two reasons. My first motivation was the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for April, located at 467 Scenic Drive. In addition, I counted 23 homes on Scenic Drive more than 100 years old, built between 1880 and 1915. I know WalkAshland readers love the local history I learn and share here, so be prepared for plenty of history, gardens and architecture in this article.

Old Ashland maps show part of Scenic Drive was originally called Woolen Street, named for Mr. Woolen, who subdivided his farm acreage here to create land for houses.

Modern Architecture

5 Scenic Drive. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

Before we explore historic houses, let’s start with the modern houses at this end of Scenic Drive. The first house that caught my eye was also the first house number. I spoke with a neighbor, who told me two architects live in and designed this house.

39 Scenic Drive. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

I spoke with Greg at 39 Scenic Drive. He built much of this attractive 1988 house himself. What really makes the house stand out is the moose antlers mounted on an outside wall. How often do you see moose antlers on the outside of a house? As for me, never before this. Greg told me he purchased the antlers in Alaska from someone who makes spending money by finding places where moose shed their antlers in the winter. I learned something new that day.

Here they are, the moose antlers at 39 Scenic Drive. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

Log house at 35 Scenic Drive. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

I also met the owner of the log cabin at 35 Scenic Drive. I think I got lucky meeting Scenic Drive neighbors out in their front yards because the day I walked was the warmest, sunniest day of the week. You can see from the house photo that it is made of round logs. This is different log-house construction than one I saw – and learned about – on Westwood Drive. You can read about the Westwood Drive log house made with tongue-in-groove D-logs at https://walkashland.com/2019/07/19/westwood-street-log-house-and-eco-house/

45 Scenic Drive. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

This is a lovely, modern Swedish-chalet style house. A neighbor told me it was made using straw bale construction for the exterior walls.

Historic houses

Now let’s continue down Scenic Drive, looking mostly at a variety of historic houses. I won’t describe and show photos of every one of the 23 houses more than 100 years old along Scenic Drive. I will show houses that either caught my eye or have unusual stories to go with them, then I will list the other historic houses at the end of the article. I will also point out a few modern houses that struck me.

79 Scenic Drive. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

The Craftsman style house set above the street at 79 Scenic Drive was built in 1910 by R.L. Coombe. Born in the Australian island state of Tasmania in 1874, somehow he found his way to Ashland in 1910. That same year, he and his wife Florence built this new home.

Coombe was one of the leading plasterers in the Rogue Valley, specializing in interior plaster and exterior stucco work. Among the local buildings he worked on were the 1910 Emil and Alice Applegate Peil House and the 1912 Ashland Carnegie Library. You can see in the photo that 79 Scenic Drive has a stucco exterior.

The National Register description of the house says, “As might be expected the exterior of the house was clad in delicately colored stucco with highly detailed quoins and other details, a veritable tour de force of a master craftsman. Sadly, upon leaving Coombe family ownership this original material was painted, forever hiding the original design intent.”

95 Scenic Drive — Do you miss the orange aluminum siding? (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

95 Scenic Drive was built about 1915. I talked with current owner, who was working in her beautiful large garden. She told me the house was originally one story with a basement. In the 1970s, downstairs was made into a separate entry apartment. Orange aluminum siding was added to the exterior! Orange? Aluminum? To a historic house?

In 1997, the current owners did a renovation to remove the orange aluminum siding (yay!) and restore the upper story gable. Let me say now that there was one benefit of the aluminum siding. When it was removed, the original Victorian-style fish scale decorative shingles were in good condition on the gable. These shingles indicate that this 1915 house was a transitional architectural style between Victorian style and the new Craftsman style.

This house detail at 95 Scenic Drive shows the Victorian-style fish scale decorative shingles on the gable. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

Here is one example why the street name was changed from Woolen Street to Scenic Drive. This photo was taken on Scenic Drive at the top of Church Street. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

240 Scenic Drive was built in 1977, so it’s not a historic house; but in a sense it is historic. It is noteworthy because it was long the home of Lenn and Dixie Hannon. Lenn was a long-time Oregon State Senator, and Southern Oregon University’s Hannon Library is named after him.

345 Scenic Drive. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

One of the oldest houses on Scenic Drive, the simple Vernacular style house at 345 Scenic Drive was built about 1886 by Lysander Sackett. The most notable owner of the house after that was H.C. Mecham. According to the Ashland Tidings of March 21, 1910, Mr. Mecham “recently invested in a home on Woolen Street” (the original name of Scenic) and also recently “purchased the planing mill from Carson-Fowler Lumber Company.” A planing mill took lumber that had been initially cut to size in a sawmill and finished it to meet the needs of different types of construction or furniture building.

The simple, attractive house at 365 Scenic Drive was built in 1885 and has a prime spot at the corner of Wimer Street. I’m not sure if the porch detail is original, but if not I expect it has been there a long time.

View from 365 Scenic Drive, down Wimer Street. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

407 Scenic Drive. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

This beautifully renovated 1889 house at 407 Scenic Drive is independently listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is one of the best examples in Ashland of the Queen Anne/Eastlake architectural style. It was built in 1889 by S. Pedigrift, a mason and plasterer who seems to have lived in Ashland only three or four years.

Notice especially the matching Queen Anne style bay windows. George Kramer wrote in the National Register nomination form that the bay windows are so typical of “Eastlake fancy work” style that Pedigrift may have purchased them from a catalog and incorporated them into the house design.

Through the mid-20^th century, the owners of the house also cultivated orchards up the hillside behind the house. Robert Dooms, who owned the house and lived there from the mid-1950s to 1988, told George Kramer that when he was a child in Ashland, the previous owner Robert Johnson “paid him $1 a pound for picking cherries, apricots, and peaches behind the house.”

Ashland Tree of the Year 2004, a Monterey Cypress at 407 Scenic Drive. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

The architecture is not the only impressive sight at this address. The 2004 Ashland Tree of the Year lives here. It is a massive Monterey Cypress, possibly planted in 1889 when the house was built.

Ashland Garden of the Month for April 2020

Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for April 2020, at 467 Scenic Drive. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

467 Scenic Drive was chosen as the Garden of the Month by the Ashland Garden Club. Ruth Sloan of the Garden Club wrote: “The lovely garden at 467 Scenic Drive is the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for April. It is a work-in-progress by homeowners Elaine Yates and Michael Costello who have had this property for 3.5 years. Although the yard had good bones, with handsome hardscape and fruit trees, the garden had been greatly neglected in recent years.”

467 Scenic Drive. (photo by Larry Rosengren)

Describing the garden, Sloan wrote: “Heathers, grape hyacinths, forsythia, azaleas (in the deer-proof back yard), and rosemary are the stars right now but soon the rhododendrons will burst forth so Elaine encourages readers to delay until late in the month or early next month visiting to admire the garden from the street.”

I have learned a lot and enjoyed being a member of the Ashland Garden Club. You can learn more about the club at https://ashlandorgardenclub.org/about/

467 Scenic Drive, house built in 1903. (photo by Larry Rosengren)

Before we move on along to the highlight of my Scenic Drive walk, I must mention that 467 Scenic Drive was built about 1903 in the Vernacular style of the early 1900s.

531 Scenic Drive, the oldest house on the street

531 Scenic Drive as it looks today. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

When I got to this house, the oldest one on Scenic Drive, I felt like I stepped into a time machine. Come with me, and let’s journey together.

John L. Carter was a sign painter. When he moved to Ashland, he expanded his business to house painting as well. He and his wife Fannie were married in 1845, probably in the northeast where they were both born. I don’t know what year they arrived in Ashland, but the couple built this house around 1880. It was the first house on Woolen Street (now Scenic Drive), very near Orlando Coolidge’s nursery.

531 Scenic Drive, photo taken in 1993 when Casey Bright was repairing the foundation. You can see just a little of the original vertical 1 1/4 inch thick barnboard walls below the gray asphalt shingles that had been applied over the barnboards at a later date. (photo provided by Casey Bright)

It was a simple house, built in the vernacular architectural style. The original 1880 house was a small two-story rectangular box — the gray building in the photo above — with 1 ¼” thick barnboard walls and layers of newspaper glued to the walls for insulation. Sadly, John Carter died only two years after they moved in, but his widow Fannie continued to live in the house until her death in 1905.

In this 1995 photo, Casey and Jennifer Bright are on their newly constructed front porch with their daughters Jesse and Lily. (photo provided by Casey Bright)

Casey Bright was working in the front yard when I walked up and started to take photos of the house. He told me that when he and his wife Jennifer decided to move to Ashland in 1992 with their two young girls, this was one of the properties they looked at. The house and yard were a wreck. The house had been abandoned and was falling apart. There were rusty old appliances scattered around the yard. The healthiest part of the scene was a thriving patch of blackberry vines, about 20’ wide and 50’ long and 10’ high. That’s not normally the kind of thriving one looks for in a property!

Casey laughed as he told me his wife was the visionary in the family. Back in 1992, as the two of them were standing looking at the wreck-of-a-yard, his wife turned to him and said, “This would be a great place for the girls to play.” Casey decided to trust his wife’s vision. He also was and is a contractor, so he agreed that the two of them would buy the house and take it on as a project.

One reason Casey trusts his wife’s vision when it comes to houses is because she is an interior designer. I found out that Jennifer’s business, Twist Design Studio, can be found online at http://www.twistdesignstudio.com.

This photo was taken mid-renovation in 1995. (photo provided by Casey Bright)

The Bright’s could not find any early photos of the house, so they looked at other vernacular architectural-style houses built in the same period and incorporated those elements as they renovated their house. They were honored by the Ashland Historic Commission for their attention to detail with a Historic Preservation Award in 1997.

When the Brights *renovated the house*, they found original newspaper insulation glued to the barnboard walls. They left it in place, and built this “picture frame” in the new wall to showcase a small part of the newspaper insulation. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

Once we started talking about the history of the house, Casey invited me in (keeping physical distance) and showed me a wall where newspaper had been used for insulation. To memorialize that history, Casey and Jennifer created a frame for a small section of one wall to show the newspaper, as you can see in the photo.

Original newspaper insulation at 531 Scenic Drive. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

When I looked closely (see photo above), I saw page 1 of a newspaper called The New Northwest from Portland, Oregon, an issue dated September 29, 1871. After I got home, I looked up the name of the newspaper and began another journey.

Abigail Scott Duniway

The New Northwest is important in Oregon history. The newspaper was founded by pioneer Abigail Scott Duniway on May 5, 1871 to press for women’s right to vote (women’s suffrage). Northwest historian G. Thomas Edwards considered the founding of Duniway’s newspaper to be a key event launching the women’s rights movement in Oregon.

Duniway was also a rare voice standing up for the rights of all people in Oregon, including Native Americans and Chinese immigrants. She published the newspaper until 1887.

Women’s right to vote

Oregon voters (all male) defeated women’s right to vote measures in 1884, 1900, 1906, 1908 and 1910. When a women’s suffrage referendum finally passed in 1912, Oregon Governor Oswald West asked an elderly Abigail Duniway (seated in the photo) to sign the official Oregon Proclamation of Women’s Suffrage. She was also honored for her decades-long struggle by being the first woman registered to vote in Multnomah County.

Abilgail Scott Duniway (seated) is signing Oregon’s Equal Suffrage Proclamation with Governor Oswald West. (photo from the Library of Congress, accessed at the Oregon Encyclopedia)

For more of my time machine journey meeting women who led the women’s rights and women’s right to vote movement of the late 1800s (including the female 1884 Presidential candidate my grandmother was named after), see my in-depth article: History Converges at a House on Scenic Drive.

531 Scenic Drive, original fir wood floor is still in the house. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

Now back to the house. In addition to some original walls and newspaper insulation, the fir wood floor in the living room is also from the 1880 house. Reviewing his long journey with this house, Casey told me with a smile, “28 years later, I’m still working on the house, now with the help of my teenage son.”

Unofficial Little Free Library on Scenic Drive, near Maple Street. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

As I reached the end of Scenic Drive, I saw a family outside in their front yard at 546 Scenic working on their garden and building a new fence. I was happily surprised to see an unofficial Little Free Library artistically built in to the fence. You’ll notice that they have a section for children’s books on the lower level.

I will close with a quote from Abigail Scott Duniway that is as important today as it was more than 100 years ago.

“The young women of today, free to study, to speak, to write, to choose their occupation, should remember that every inch of this freedom was bought for them at a great price. It is for them to show their gratitude by helping onward the reforms of their own times by spreading the light of freedom and truth still wider. The debt that each generation owes to the past it must pay to the future.”
Abigail Scott Duniway

I would like to recognize the Scenic Drive houses more than 100 years old that I did not describe in the article:

* 67 Scenic Drive, built 1909, Craftsman style
* 71 Scenic Drive, built c1910, Bungalow style
* 101 Scenic Drive, built 1910, Bungalow style, 1990s remodel changed it so much that it’s no longer considered historic
* 160 Scenic Drive, built 1910, Bungalow style, 1990s remodel changed it so much that it’s no longer considered historic
* 125 Scenic Drive, built 1905, Craftsman style architecture, enlarged and modified in 1990s, but still has most of its historic characteristics
* 275 Scenic Drive, built 1888, Vernacular style
* 283 Scenic Drive, built 1884, added to in 1888, Rural vernacular style
* 299 Scenic Drive, built c1886, Rural vernacular style, 1990s remodel changed it so much that it’s no longer considered historic
* 309 Scenic Drive, built 1910, Bungalow style, according to the National Register, a 1890 house here was razed, then this house was built in 1910.
* 319 Scenic Drive, built c1900, Craftsman style
* 337 Scenic Drive, built c1905, Vernacular style, on a heavily landscaped lot
* 338 Scenic Drive, built 1888, Vernacular style, this is one of the few 19^th century houses on the downhill side of Scenic Drive. It has been beautifully restored, but the 1990s remodel changed it so much that it’s no longer considered historic.
* 355 Scenic Drive, built 1911, Craftsman style
* 361 Scenic Drive, built 1905, Craftsman style, the projecting bay windows are not compatible with the historic architecture
* 447 Scenic Drive, built c1915, Bungalow style, but much altered and extended through the decades
* 487 Scenic Drive, built c1910, Craftsman style, by Henry Leavitt who had orchards in the area.
* 532 Scenic Drive, built c1890, Vernacular style

References:

Bright, Casey, author interview, April 11, 2020.

Chambers, Jennifer. Abigail Scott Duniway and Susan B. Anthony in Oregon: Hesitate No Longer, The History Press, 2018.

Duniway, Abigail Scott. Speech given at National Woman Suffrage Association Convention, Washington, D.C. March 4, 1884 [Abigail Scott Duniway Papers*]

Duniway, Abigail Scott. “Ballots and Bullets,” speech given at National Woman Suffrage Association Convention, Washington, D.C., circa January 21-23, 1889 [Sunday Oregonian 9 Sept. 1906]

Edwards, G. Thomas. Sowing Good Seeds: The Northwest Suffrage Campaigns of Susan B. Anthony. Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society Press, 1990; pg. 16, as noted in Wikipedia, April 14, 2020.

Kramer, George. National Register Nomination Form for 407 Scenic Drive.

Kramer, George and Atwood, Kay. National Register of Historic Places, Skidmore Academy Historic District, August 14, 2001.

Sloan, Ruth. “467 Scenic Drive, Garden of the Month, April 2020,” Ashland Garden Club.

Stone, Jason. Portland New Northwest 1871-1887, at Historic Oregon Newspapers, University of Oregon, accessed April 14, 2020. https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/history/newnw/

Ward, Jean M. “Abigail Scott Duniway (1834-1915),” Oregon Encyclopedia, accessed April 15, 2020.

Liberty Street Update 2020

The house that moved one block.
How can Liberty Street start and end at Siskiyou?
Two Little Free Libraries…and ending with humor.

This is a greatly expanded version of my April 2018 Liberty Street article. Liberty Street has an Ashland Tree of the Year, architecture from historic to modern, not just one but two “Little Free Libraries,” and access to Ashland’s extensive trail system.

Here’s how Liberty Street can start and end at Siskiyou — it goes from Siskiyou Boulevard to the Siskiyou Mountain Range.

You’ll find tiny Triangle Park where Liberty meets Siskiyou Blvd.

Triangle Park

You might have wondered why this tiny, triangular park is here. Marjorie O’Harra in her book gave credit to Ashland’s newly formed Woman’s Civic Improvement Club. Formed in April 1908, this large group was described by the Ashland Tidings at the time as promoting “civic improvement agitation.” That agitation led to the creation of Lithia Park, among other accomplishments. But that is another story.

According to O’Harra, here is the Triangle Park story: “When the Temple of Truth Society announced plans to build a structure on Siskiyou Boulevard — on a triangle lot between Beach and Liberty Streets — the ladies believed such a building would ruin the view from the homes on Iowa Street, so they bought the land for $550 and developed it into a park.”

The Temple of Truth Society ended up building its church in 1909 or 1910 on Siskiyou Boulevard, where the expanded Fire Station #1 is now located.

This historic photo shows the Temple of Truth church about 1910, at 457 Siskiyou Boulevard. This interesting structure was torn down in the 1960s. (“This image is part of the Stories of Southern Oregon Collection in the Southern Oregon University Hannon Library digital archives and made available by Southern Oregon University Hannon Library.”)

Triangle Park tends to be quiet. You might see high school students eating lunch in the charming gazebo during the school year, or young people walking slack lines attached to the posts in the park. The one day Triangle Park comes alive with a “boom” and a “bang” is the 4^thof July. When Ashland’s huge Independence Day celebration rolls around, parade headquarters is at Triangle Park. It becomes a beehive of organizers, marching band members and honored guests ranging from locals, to Oregon’s U.S. Senators, to our Sister-City Queen and city council members from Guanajuato, Mexico.

Triangle Park before the 4th of July parade, when it is packed with people. This photo, taken in 2011, shows Ashland City Band members warming up their instruments. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2011)

2-story camellia and healing massage

At the corner of Alaska Street, Joseph and Janie enlisted some of their friends to turn a large lot into a beautiful cooperative vegetable and fruit garden. Let’s see how many of the fruits in their garden I can remember: cherries, blueberries, raspberries, mulberries and gooseberries. Yes, they like berries. Sorry, they are not for public consumption!

Joseph and Janie are both massage therapists with the business name Advanced Myotherapy. Janie also teaches Eden Energy Medicine all over the world, but I have benefited from her healing skills in both massage and energy medicine, without going any farther than Liberty Street.

They have the most amazing camellia bush I have seen in my life, and I have seen many. Is it still a “bush” when it’s two stories tall? The dramatic two-story camellia is hard to see from the street, so I am including photos of it here, taken in April 2018.

2-story tall Camellia bush. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2018)

Camellia bush close-up. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2018)

Houses historic and modern

285 Liberty Street, built in 1924, a historic “Bungalow style” architecture. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

According to the National Register description of historic properties in Ashland, “the Whitaker house [at 285 Liberty Street] is a fine example of the bungalow style, with the shallow pitched roof, broad eaves, large porch, massive posts and brackets and other elements of the style.”

Bright colors at 289 Liberty Street. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2018)

Anyone who walks or drives on Liberty Street will remember this colorful house. Some people love it and some think it sticks out like a sore thumb. I’m in the “love it” camp. Traditional neighborhoods where all homes are built in the same style or similar colors can be aesthetically pleasing. But there is freshness that comes with variety, and Liberty Street has variety.

I would like to point out the beautiful, colorful tulip garden in the front yard of this colorful house, at its peak in early April. Notice the deer fence, without which the tulip garden would not exist.

Tulips at 289 Liberty Street in April 2018. (Photo by Peter Finkle)

Short Ashland deer rant

I may go on a rant about the Ashland deer from time to time as I write my Walk Ashland articles. The number of plants that Ashland deer do not eat seems to be shrinking from year to year. For example, during the first 15 years I lived in Ashland, the deer did not touch the Hypericum or Star jasmine in my front yard. Now they eat both, and I have even seen them nibble on ivy! At least rosemary, lavender, daffodils and iris seem to be safe for the present.

Little Free Library

A few steps up the street, I came to the first of two “Little Free Library” stands on Liberty Street. This book sharing movement began in 2009 when Todd Bol of Hudson, Wisconsin placed the first Little Free Library in his front yard. There are now over 65,000 registered Little Free Libraries in over 80 countries around the world! (And many more not registered with the official group.)

The City of Ashland has a map of Little Free Libraries in town. It shows the locations of 14. I think there are many more than that. Just in April 2020, I have seen two new Little Free Libraries as I walk around town.

324 Liberty Street, built about 1910. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

Though this house is not set far back from the street, the dense vegetation gives it a secluded feel. I especially like the entry arbor and vines.

This house moved one block

391 Liberty Street. Note the front porch with columns. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

John and Artemisia Easterling moved from Kentucky to Ashland in 1903. During the next few years, he bought and sold properties and businesses around town, especially in the Railroad District. In 1909, the family bought an orchard with a home on Beach Street. They lived there until 1925, when they sold the property to the school district for construction of Lincoln Elementary School. This was to be a training school for teachers educated at nearby Southern Oregon Normal School (now Southern Oregon University), which reopened in 1926.

The Easterlings then purchased a lot one block over on Liberty Street and decided to move their Beach Street house to the new location. Easterling was known as a wheeler-and-dealer. He decided to upgrade his house when it was moved. He found a college building that was being demolished and purchased the columned porch of the building. You can still see it at the front of this Liberty Street home.

390 Liberty Street, built in 1921. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

I met homeowner Bill Quassia as I was taking a photo of his historic 1921 house at 390 Liberty Street. It was in bad shape when he got the house, so he had to do major work on parts of the ceilings and floors. In the older part of the house, he was able to keep the original wood floors and original horsehair-infused plaster interior walls. Yes…horsehair. One hundred years ago, hair from the mane and tail of horses was used in making plaster for walls. These long, strong horsehair fibers provided strength and stability to the plaster.

Louise Antz, previous owner of 390 Liberty Street in yellow blouse, with Grace Pratt-Butler in this 1972 photo. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020; this 1972 photo was in a box that Bill Quassia found after he purchased the house)

A previous owner of the house, Louise Antz, moved to Ashland from New York. She had been the Chair of the Department of Education at New York University. According to Bill, she realized her dream of “living out West” when she retired from teaching. She is the one who enclosed the old porch. Doing so created a hothouse room for growing orchids and other tropical flowers.

Look closely at the 1972 photo above that I am holding in my hand. Do you see the variegated-color window shades behind the two ladies? Now look at the blinds on the current porch, just above the 1972 photo. If they look similar, that’s because they are the same blinds! As with the photo, Bill found them in the old barn/garage behind the house as he went through boxes of possessions Louise Antz had left behind.

Can you see the tree?

Notice the one foot tall tree in the park row in front of 390 Liberty Street, just behind the man with his shirt off. (*this 1970 photo was in a box that Bill Quassia found after he purchased the house)*

This made my jaw drop, so I want to share it with you. As we were standing out in the front yard, Bill pulled the photo above from the box of old photos Louise Antz had left in the house. He had me look at the tiny tree just behind the man with his shirt off. I thought to myself, “okay, that doesn’t look like much.”

Then Bill said, “Look at that,” as he pointed to a nearby tree. “What!,” I exclaimed as I put two and two together and realized the connection. Take a look at the photo below and see if you make the connection.

390 Liberty Street. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

I expect you figured it out by now. That is the same tree! It is now 50 years old, very tall and very healthy.

More dramatic trees

Liberty St is home to two other trees that caught my eye. The first, at 391 Liberty Street (the house moved from Beach Street), was Ashland’s 2001 Tree of the Year. Each year residents nominate favorite trees around town, the Tree Commission narrows the selection to a few, and then residents vote for their top choice. The 2001 choice was a majestic Blue Atlas Cedar. My photo through the electric wires doesn’t do it justice. I hope you will see it for yourself.

Sign for Tree of the Year 2001, a Blue Atlas Cedar. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2018)

Blue Atlas Cedar, Ashland Tree of the Year 2001. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2018)

The other tree, toward the top of Liberty, is a very unusual Ponderosa pine. Most Ponderosa pines I see are straight as an arrow, reaching for the sky. Not this one. It forks, and then forks again. With tall trees, I have read that a lightning strike can destroy the crown of the tree and lead to a forked top as the tree strives to continue growing. This tree looks like it just decided to be different.

Ponderosa pine near top of Liberty Street. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2018)

More contrasting architecture

Ascending Liberty Street, I took photos of houses with contrasting architectural styles, showing the variety of houses on Liberty.

Historic house at 575 Liberty Street. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2018)

If you like traditional, here is one of the original farm houses on Liberty Street, built in 1886.

Modern architecture is just up the block on Liberty Street. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2018)

If you prefer modern, you might like to view this one on the 600 block.

642 Liberty Street has a vibrant, unusual and enjoyable color combination. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

Here is a close-up of the porch, wisteria vine and door at 642 Liberty Street. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

This front yard at 600 Liberty Street is filled with newly planted trees. I hope I am here in 20 years to see how large they grow, and to take another photo. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

I like the creative house numbers at…what’s the address?…oh, yes…676 Liberty Street. (photo and juvenile humor by Peter Finkle, 2020)

Here is the second Little Free Library on Liberty Street, at 684 Liberty. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2018)

I expect you have heard of “raised bed gardening.” This garden on Liberty Street takes the concept to a whole new level. This is the most creative “raised BED garden” I have ever seen, headboard and all. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2020)

“The Road Goes Ever On and On”

Finally, arriving at the top of Liberty Street, you have the option to leave the city streets for the world of trails. From here, you can connect with a variety of trails and forest service roads that will take you almost anywhere.

End of Liberty Street, Ashland – start of mountain trails. (photo by Peter Finkle, 2018)

As Bilbo said to Frodo in Lord of the Rings: “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

From the top of Liberty Street, as well as from many other streets in Ashland, you can follow trails to the top of Mt. Ashland. If you are really swept off your feet, you could end up walking all the way to Canada or Mexico on the Pacific Crest Trail.

Thank you for reading all the way to the end. If you are not already a subscriber and would like to be notified each time I publish a new article, please write your email address where it says “Subscribe to our Newsletter.” That will be at the top right if you are reading this on a computer screen, or below the article if you are reading this on a mobile phone.

Now follow this trail to a ghost story

There is a connection between 391 Liberty Street and another article I wrote. John Easterling, who moved his house from Beach Street to 391 Liberty Street, also owned the Peerless Rooms on 4th Street from 1904 to 1908. I wrote an article about the ghost of the Peerless: “Mystery of the Peerless Hotel Marbles.” I think you will enjoy it.

Mystery of the Peerless Hotel Marbles

References:

Enders, John. Lithia Park Centennial 1916 – 2019: The Heart and Soul of Ashland, Ashland Parks Foundation, 2016.
National Register of Historic Places, Siskiyou-Hargadine Historic District, September 14, 2002.
O’Harra, Marjorie. Ashland: the first 130 years, Northwest Passages Publishing Inc. 1986.

Takelma Way Photo Essay: Flowers and Yard Art

Tulips so bright, I could hardly believe my eyes!
Walkable neighborhood, with trees, flowers and paths
“New urbanism” is the model

Takelma Way winds its way between Tolman Creek Road and Clay Street. It is a quiet neighborhood, with the houses built in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I walked Takelma Way once in February, when deciduous trees were bare and front yards were low key. I walked the street again in April and found the neighborhood ablaze with bright colors, both the street trees and the yards. I captured a bit of that colorfulness for you in my photo essay of Takelma Way.

Takelma Way meets Clay Creek Way. There is a neighborhood pocket park here.

Here is the attractive pocket park at the corner of Takelma Way and Clay Creek Way.

Several Takelma Way houses have wisteria vines. This one with a south-facing front yard was filled with blooms in mid-April, while wisteria on north-facing house-fronts lagged behind.

It takes a close look to see how amazing wisteria flowers can be.

There are 61 houses in the Clay Creek Gardens HOA (homeowners association), which encompasses Takelma Way, Clay Creek Way and Mickelson Way. The neighborhood was built following the principles of “new urbanism.” The HOA website describes new urbanism as “a concept that encourages walkable communities, compact design with a focus on smaller lots, extensive shared community spaces and homes that encourage neighbors to interact with each other.” Practically speaking, the houses have covered front porches that face the sidewalk to encourage communication with neighbors who are out for a walk. There are narrow streets with wide sidewalks, so it doesn’t feel like cars dominate the space. The architecture of the houses is not “cookie-cutter,” but encompasses a variety of styles. There is even a neighborhood community garden where people can have a plot for growing vegetables.

A variety of house styles

This one-story house has a large front porch near the sidewalk.

Here’s a two-story house with a full front porch and garage around the back.

The narrow streets, parkrows and sidewalks make it a pedestrian friendly neighborhood.

This simple front porch still encourages conversations with the neighbors.

A fancy looking, large two-story house is part of the same planned neighborhood.

Takelma Way paths

Two ways to encourage community are with walking paths and with Little Free Libraries. This is an unofficial Little Free Library on one of the walking paths that connects with Clay Street.

Here is another walking path to Clay Street, lined with colorful flowering trees in April. What a pleasure to walk this path!

Siskiyou School is across Clay Street at the end of one path (left photo). The pathway bridge over Clay Creek is shown in the right photo.

Here is a 30-second video I took as I walked a path from Clay Street back to Takelma Way.

Let’s look at unique yard art

Someone loves seashells and peace on earth.

I can’t figure out if this yard art is a celebration of camping, of snow and winter sports, or both. Whatever it is, it’s cute.

Sometimes you have to look closely to find hidden gems.

Tulip time (and other bright colors)

Maybe I arrived at this front yard at just the right day (April 20) at just the right time (5:24 p.m.). It doesn’t require a full field of flowers to take my breath away. Something about the brilliance of the colors of these four tulips, and the variety of the colors side by side, stopped me in my tracks in wonder. Wonder and appreciation for Mother Nature, for the Creator of Life, and for the Gardener of this humble front yard.

Here is my second-favorite photo I took of the four tulips. (I won’t bore you with all the others I took and reluctantly let go.)

Different colors, beautiful composition of the tulips, azalea and camellia flowers.

Here is a dramatic white flowering fruit tree.

*I love the contours of this gate, framed by greenery and backed by a bounteous pink flowering fruit tree.*

“Enchantment Grows Here”

A small but enchanting corner of one yard.

This small, beautiful, carefully planned space was created by Kim Knoll. I love the way she has combined a variety of shapes and sizes of plants with rocks, yard art, colorful pots, and that stone bench to anchor it all. Though her house address is on Michelson Way, this section of her side yard is on Takelma Way, so I am including it in this article.

Here is an overview of her “enchanting” space.

Here is another detail from Kim’s unique garden.

Clay Creek flows along the side of the neighborhood, and is accessed by several paths between Takelma Way and Clay Street.

If you enjoyed this article, you might enjoy seeing and reading about the colorful garden on Ohio Street. https://walkashland.com/2019/06/22/ohio-street-garden-of-month-june-2019/

Beach Street update April 2020

Meet the “Beach Street bear”
Walk Ashland’s 2-year Anniversary!
Update of my first article

Let’s begin with a sight that I believe is unique to Beach Street.

Writing about Beach Street was my first “Walk Ashland” blog post, published April 12, 2018. So this is our 2-year anniversary!

Beach Street starts at Siskiyou Blvd and ends uphill at the foothills of the Siskiyou Mountains. You’ll find a mix of modest homes, large homes, apartments and condos as you walk Beach Street. The street has open space at Lincoln School, plus many large Ponderosa pines, firs and oaks.

The “Beach Street bear”

Without further ado, let’s get right into stories about the “Beach Street bear,” which even had its photo in the Ashland Daily Tidings in 2006. I have two personal “Beach Street bear” stories and one told to me by a neighbor.

My sad bear story is encapsulated in the photo below. The bear was doing what bears love to do…go fishing, in this case in my backyard pond.

“Beach Street bear” with a koi (photo taken by my neighbor Jake)

A bear goes fishing

My wife and I have enjoyed a small pond, with plants and colorful koi fish, for the past 15 years. The first ten years were uneventful. We had seen a cinnamon-colored bear eating plums from a tree in a neighbor’s yard a couple times, but no sign of bears in our yard. Then in 2015 a bear discovered the eight healthy (and mostly fat) koi in our backyard pond.

The first koi to become bear food was our 10-year-old black and white koi named Larry. Within a week, the bear had returned and fished out two big beautiful bright orange koi named Big Guy and Dreamsicle. We couldn’t handle seeing them all picked off one by one, so I got in the pond with a fish net and captured the survivors so we could take them back to the shop where we bought them.

Here is the happy (so far) ending to this story. The youngest of our eight koi, a three-inch long almost-baby named Prospero, eluded my attempts to catch him. He disappeared, probably hiding among the pond’s thick plants. Then, as if by magic, he reappeared two months later. After he survived one year all alone in the pond, we got Prospero a “buddy” the following year. We know we could lose them at any time, but as of spring 2020 (“knock on wood”) we have two koi to watch as we sit by the pond.

A warm summer evening bear encounter

My other bear story was dramatic in a different way. On a warm summer evening in 2006 shortly after the Daily Tidings article, I was stretched out in a lounge chair in my back yard reading the newspaper. Our cuddly, chunky female cat GG was stretched out half-asleep next to me. Ah, a nice relaxing Ashland summer evening.

Suddenly I saw a 5′ tall, 200 pound or so black bear climb over the low side-yard fence 35 feet away from me – way too close – and it was no longer a relaxing summer evening. I stood up, holding the newspaper. Then the bear saw me. It stood up. GG-cat took off running back to the house cat door faster than she had ever run in her entire life. My wife happened to be at the screen door nearest the bear when it appeared, so she started yelling at the bear. Meanwhile, I backed away slowly, newspaper in hand.

Fortunately, the bear was as afraid of us as we were of it, so it shot up the nearest tree. After looking around from its perch ten feet up, it decided not to stay up a tree in our yard. It came down the tree, climbed over the fence, and then lumbered off through two neighbors’ yards to Liberty Street and hopefully uphill to the forest.

My neighbor Brad’s bear story

Speaking of bears, during 2018 I met my neighbor Brad as he was “playing with rocks,” – as he put it – building a no-mortar rock retaining wall. We were discussing how all of upper Beach Street a century ago was likely a farm and orchard. He told me about his old cherry and apple trees, and then declared his frustration that every summer a bear crushes his chain-link fence in order to get in and enjoy ripe cherries.

Little Free Library

Nina’s angels

Changing the subject from bears to angels, I met Nina as I was admiring her front yard full of angel sculptures.

Nina told me a “small world” story. Decades ago, she worked as an intern for six months at Presidio Hill School in San Francisco. When her new neighbor moved in, they found something in common. The new neighbor had followed Nina as an intern at Presidio Hill School, but then stayed on the staff for 40 years…before retiring to Ashland, right next door to Nina!

Historic bungalow style houses

This 1910 bungalow built by Nathan Bates of the successful Bates Brothers Barber Shop.
(photo by Peter Finkle, 2018)

Lincoln Elementary School building

The elementary school was originally used for the teacher training program at Southern Oregon State Normal School (now SOU) one block away. Due to declining elementary school enrollment, Lincoln was closed in 2005, but is still owned by the school district.

Lincoln Elementary School has an interesting history. In July 1925, Ashland’s only elementary school was overcrowded and voters passed a bond to finance the construction of a second school. By 1926, Lincoln School opened, with a dual mission to educate elementary students and to train new teachers who attended the nearby Southern Oregon State Normal School (now SOU).

The Lincoln School building was designed by the same well-known Portland architectural firm that in 1924 designed Ashland’s Lithia Springs Hotel (now Ashland Springs Hotel). The core of Lincoln School, with its formal Corinthian-inspired columns, remains as it was in 1926.

The building was expanded and remodeled several times through the years. In the mid-1940s, elementary schools were again getting overcrowded and there was discussion of expanding Lincoln School. A 1946 fire that destroyed much of the school led to remodeling and soon after that, the addition of three classrooms and a multipurpose room. As Ashland continued to grow, two more classrooms were added to the school in 1955.

Then population trends changed, and by the 1990s Ashland elementary school enrollment was dropping fast. There were five elementary school buildings to keep up and not enough students to fill them. It was an agonizing decision, but the Ashland School Board first closed Briscoe Elementary School in 2003 and then Lincoln Elementary School in 2005.

Now…something different

Do you recognize the “Fortmiller” name?

Walking Beach Street one day, I met someone with a name that Ashland “old-timer” readers will recognize: Fortmiller. I met Lisa Beach (formerly Lisa Fortmiller), whose parents owned Fortmillers Department Store at 142 East Main Street in downtown Ashland for many years. She remembers being able to pick her favorite clothes off the racks as a child.

Some things change…like historic houses being altered beyond recognition (sad face) or being renovated to restore their historical look (happy face).

Some things don’t change…like Lisa (Fortmiller) Beach still having the same reserved seats at Ashland High School football games that have been in her family for 50 years.

Historic farmhouse at 496 Beach Street. (photo by Peter Finkle)

Garden highlight

Here is a garden highlight of the 2018 walk — beautiful daffodils, which the deer have left alone for us to enjoy.

I hope you have enjoyed this story. Please sign up to receive an email each time I post a new story as I walk every street in Ashland.

References:

National Register of Historic Places, Siskiyou-Hargadine Historic District, September 14, 2002.
Squire, Jennifer. “So long, Lincoln,” Ashland Daily Tidings, May 27, 2005.

Gates of Ashland: Part 1

Beautiful, Unusual, Artistic, Floral, Fun!
Metal, wood, old, new…a variety of Ashland gates.

I will add Parts 2, 3 and more as I walk more Ashland streets.

I stopped to smell the fragrant honeysuckle as I walked past this gate last summer. (Harrison Street)

Creativity makes our lives more interesting and enjoyable. Creativity can be expressed in many ways. Here I recognize people who have expressed their creativity through the normally little noticed entry gate.

Wood and metal complement each other in this gate. (Auburn Street)

This alley gate looks like it has been here for many years. (alley between A Street and B Street)

Let’s hear it for the metal artists in our community. (Morton Street)

“When I open the gate in my protective personal wall,
my little world becomes more spacious.”
Peter Finkle

Did a bicycle rider build this gate? (Beach Street)

A creative metal artist either lives here or is appreciated here. (Morton Street)

This gate is on Forest Street near the corner with Morton Street.

The gate above has a good story. I noticed this unusual gate and stopped to take a photo. A woman (Anna Beauchamp) was in the garden and I asked her about the gate. She told me her husband Stephen Bacon made the gate. He carved the two side posts from cedar logs and the top post from a Russian olive tree. The center spirals are made from their garden grape vine trimmings. Stephen has decades of experience working with wood, but not normally these types of wood. He has built and repaired violins and other string instruments since he was 17 years old. His shop in Ashland, Bellwood Violin, serves professional musicians, schools and more. And I learned all of that by stopping to look at a gate!

Dramatic trumpet vine at 66 AlidaWriter of Westerns at 81 AlidaThe scissors that moved by themselves at 92 AlidaBeautiful mural at 107 Alida“Lord of the Rings” connection at 180 AlidaPlus 40 photosAshland Neighborhood Art series

Surprising stories

Let’s begin our two-block stroll

Southern Pacific Railroad engineer

Hipped-roof cottage

Trumpet vine

George Anderson houses

Writer of Western stories and novels lived here

The oldest house on Alida Street

Early Ashlanders, ghost tales and more

“Julia’s tree”

Ghostly personal experiences

100 Alida Street

Art for the neighborhood to enjoy

Before and After at 107 Alida Street

The mural creation at 107 Alida Street

Another SP worker, and unusual yard art

Ashland High School 2020 graduate

A “fine Queen Anne ell”

Creative hobbit lovers

The 1901 Frank Nelson house

Beginning #1: The Lithia Springs Hotel in the 1920s

Lithia Springs Hotel 1925 Grand Opening party

When did Lithia Springs Hotel really open?

Through the decades

Beginning #2: Doug and Becky Neuman find Ashland in the 1980s

The hotel and the Neumans join forces in the 1990s

What is original in the current Ashland Springs Hotel?

The Crystal Room

New — Historic photo gallery

The choice that changed Becky Neuman’s life

What was the inspiration for the interiors of the Ashland Springs Hotel?

The building process

Managing the hotel and restaurant

Choosing the head chef

How Larks Restaurant got its name

“Useful birds of America” on the walls

A closing thought from Becky Neuman

At 95 years of age, “the lady” is “awake and shining”

References:

* 23 Homes more than 100 years old!* Oregon history comes alive at 531 Scenic Drive.* 30 Photos.* Garden of the Month, April 2020.* Tree of the Year 2004.* Modern architecture, and more.

Modern Architecture

Historic houses

Ashland Garden of the Month for April 2020

531 Scenic Drive, the oldest house on the street

Abigail Scott Duniway

Women’s right to vote

The house that moved one block.How can Liberty Street start and end at Siskiyou?Two Little Free Libraries…and ending with humor.

Here’s how Liberty Street can start and end at Siskiyou — it goes from Siskiyou Boulevard to the Siskiyou Mountain Range.

Triangle Park

2-story camellia and healing massage

Houses historic and modern

Short Ashland deer rant

Little Free Library

This house moved one block

Can you see the tree?

More dramatic trees

More contrasting architecture

“The Road Goes Ever On and On”

Now follow this trail to a ghost story

Tulips so bright, I could hardly believe my eyes!Walkable neighborhood, with trees, flowers and paths“New urbanism” is the model

A variety of house styles

Takelma Way paths

Let’s look at unique yard art

Tulip time (and other bright colors)

“Enchantment Grows Here”

Meet the “Beach Street bear”Walk Ashland’s 2-year Anniversary!Update of my first article

The “Beach Street bear”

A bear goes fishing

A warm summer evening bear encounter

My neighbor Brad’s bear story

Little Free Library

Nina’s angels

Historic bungalow style houses

Lincoln Elementary School building

Now…something different

Do you recognize the “Fortmiller” name?

Garden highlight

References:

Beautiful, Unusual, Artistic, Floral, Fun! Metal, wood, old, new…a variety of Ashland gates.

Dramatic trumpet vine at 66 Alida
Writer of Westerns at 81 Alida
The scissors that moved by themselves at 92 Alida
Beautiful mural at 107 Alida
“Lord of the Rings” connection at 180 Alida
Plus 40 photos
Ashland Neighborhood Art series

* 23 Homes more than 100 years old!
* Oregon history comes alive at 531 Scenic Drive.
* 30 Photos.
* Garden of the Month, April 2020.
* Tree of the Year 2004.
* Modern architecture, and more.

The house that moved one block.
How can Liberty Street start and end at Siskiyou?
Two Little Free Libraries…and ending with humor.

Tulips so bright, I could hardly believe my eyes!
Walkable neighborhood, with trees, flowers and paths
“New urbanism” is the model

Meet the “Beach Street bear”
Walk Ashland’s 2-year Anniversary!
Update of my first article

Beautiful, Unusual, Artistic, Floral, Fun!
Metal, wood, old, new…a variety of Ashland gates.