UPDATE: The Dalles City Council Votes to Preserve Waldron Brothers Drugstore
On October 10, 2022, The Dalles City Council made a momentous decision about the future of the Waldron Brothers Drugstore, also known as the Gitchell Building – the oldest intact commercial building in The Dalles, and an Oregon Most Endangered Place since 2019.
The City Council voted unanimously to pursue the preservation of the Waldron Brothers Drugstore in place!
Constructed of local stone during the Civil War, the Waldron has served many purposes in its 159 years: a Post Office and drugstore, town newspaper office and Masonic Lodge, ticket office, apartments, offices, and even a haunted house! Repair work was done in 2009 to address areas of deterioration, but the building has been threatened with demolition for years. A group of concerned citizens – Friends of the Waldron Brothers Drugstore – formed a nonprofit to work with The Dalles Main Street program, city officials, and residents to develop a plan for the building’s rehabilitation and long-term reuse. They completed a feasibility study funded by Restore Oregon’s Most Endangered Places program seed grant, and, along with Restore Oregon staff, appealed to City Council to place a stay on demolition in 2019. This stay provided much-needed time to explore preservation options, assess resources, and estimate the cost of rehabilitating this critically endangered landmark.
Several months ago the Council commissioned another study with KPFF Consulting Engineers focused on four possible options for the future of the building:
- Option 1: preservation in place
- Option 2: a full restoration and reuse in place
- Option 3: moving the building and restoring it an another location
- Option 4: demolition.
Council selected Option 1 and directed staff to work with the Friends to develop a preservation plan along with a timeline and costs. Initial focus will be on exterior renovations and appearance improvements, followed by addressing access and structural deficiencies. The Friends will work with the City to identify projects, such as repointing and the repair of the structural crack at the NW corner, develop options and a budget, and identify funding and grant opportunities. You can read more about the Council’s decision here.
Congratulations to the Friends of the Waldron Brothers Drugstore on this accomplishment. Their dedication, persistence, and hard work has created a path to the long term preservation and reuse of one Oregon’s oldest buildings.
Supporting preservation throughout Oregon is easy—and necessary.
Restore Oregon is Oregon’s only statewide historic preservation nonprofit organization, but it may surprise you to know that we receive no dedicated state funding. That means support from our community of donors and grant funders is key to the success of our preservation work.