The old post office in downtown Bend is getting an upgrade. The interior of the 1930s building is being stripped away in preparation for conversion into a boutique hotel.

Maddie Bell, a spokesperson for the project, said details of how the hotel will look, or its name, are not yet available.

“The new space will preserve the building’s rich history and celebrate the spirit of Bend,” she said, without additional information.

Building permits from the city of Bend and reviewed by The Bulletin, show multiple site and structure permits issued over the past three years, including infrastructure, drainage and site improvements permits.

Bend senior planner Beth LeFleur said building and engineering permits have been issued and “work is underway.”

The 91-year-old building is part of an aging group of structures in Central Oregon that face a choice — tear them down to build something new or go through expensive remodels to preserve their history and the unique architecture of bygone eras. Several buildings in recent years have been leveled, including the iconic Crane Shed. Others, like the Box Factory and the lumber mill powerhouse that now houses REI, have been given a chance for a second act.

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R&H Construction, which has offices in Bend and Portland, is the general contractor on the old post office project. Portland-based Emerick Architects are architects for the redesign.

The current owner of the old post office, the real estate development company Deschutes Opportunity Commercial Redevelopment, purchased the building in 2020 for $4.3 million. The previous owner, Helena Family LLC., owned the building since 1998.

Federal support

The idea to build a new post office in Bend dates back to the 1920s when the city was growing rapidly thanks to its booming timber industry. Federal officials supported funding a new post office building for Bend, but this support waned in 1929 with the stock market crash and subsequent Great Depression.

Congressional funding in the early 1930s to create jobs got the project back on track. The post office construction was fast-tracked because Bend’s economy remained robust as its sawmills continued to churn out lumber.

In June 1930, the House of Representatives approved $155,000 for Bend to build the post office, according to historical records reviewed by The Bulletin. The corner of Wall Street and Franklin Avenue was chosen due to its location between Bend’s residential and commercial areas, as well as its proximity to schools and a future library location.

At the time, another building, the J.M. Lawrence Building, was already at the location. According to the old post office’s nomination letter for the National Register of Historic Places, the Lawrence Building “once housed the Bend Bulletin and … later became a house of ill repute.” But by 1930 it was empty due to a fire a few years earlier.

Work on the building started in the spring of 1932 with 55 men working in two shifts, according to the Deschutes County Historical Society. The cornerstone, laid in July 1933, was inscribed for Ogden L. Mills, Herbert Hoover’s Secretary of the Treasury, and the architect James Wetmore.

Its construction required 175,000 bricks, marble from Utah and locally sourced timber. Knobs, handles and hinges were made from cast polished brass. It was said to resemble other post offices built during the era, including one in Corvallis.

Move to Fourth Street

The old post office in Bend was notable as the city’s earliest example of reinforced concrete construction. But the building proved too small for a growing city, and by the 1970s plans were made to relocate. In 1978 the main post office was moved to a new building on NE Fourth Street.

The old post office was too big to be used as a branch location so a new branch was set up on Oregon Avenue downtown. The old building served as a post office for 53 years before it was purchased by the county to be used as office space. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

In its nomination form, the building was described as being architecturally distinctive in Central Oregon.

“The high quality, durable architectural finishes used throughout the building were unusual for the Bend area and considered luxurious by the location population,” the nomination form read.