O'Kane Building facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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O’Kane Building
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Oregon Avenue frontage
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 O'Kane Building
Location in Bend OR
O'Kane Building
Location in Oregon
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| Location | Bend, Oregon, USA |
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| Built | 1916 |
| Architect | Louis Beezer and Michael J. Beezer |
| Architectural style | Mercantile Style |
| NRHP reference No. | 86002965 |
| Added to NRHP | November 6, 1986 |
The O’Kane Building is an old and important building in Bend, Oregon, United States. It was built in 1916 by Hugh O’Kane, a local businessman. This two-story building first had shops and a theater on the ground floor. Upstairs, there were twenty offices and an apartment. The building is in downtown Bend, at the corner of Oregon Avenue and Bond Street. It has been used as a business building ever since it opened. Today, the O’Kane Building is still the biggest business building in downtown Bend. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places because it is so important to Bend's history.
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Hugh O'Kane's Amazing Life
Hugh O'Kane was born in County Antrim, Ireland, in 1857. When he was a young boy, he traveled to the United States by hiding on a ship going to New York City. By age 12, he was selling newspapers and shining shoes in New York City. He later learned to be a tailor, but he always wanted adventure. Before he settled in Bend, O’Kane worked many different jobs. He was a tailor, a sailor, a miner, a stagecoach driver, and a horse trainer. He also packed supplies using mules.
In the 1870s, he helped the United States Army by packing supplies in North Dakota and Montana. This was during the army's campaigns in the West. He was working with General Alfred Terry when Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Cavalry Regiment were also nearby. Later, O'Kane mined for gold in the Black Hills. He found a lot of gold, but he faced financial setbacks and lost it all. After that, he moved west again. He packed supplies for pioneers and miners in Montana and Colorado.
In 1881, Hugh O'Kane became the manager for Tom Cannon. Cannon was a world champion Greco-Roman wrestler. O’Kane took Cannon's wrestling team on a fourteen-month trip around Europe. Later, he managed Ed Skinner and Marley Kettleman, who were both world champion sprinters. He took them on a tour of Australia. When he came back from that trip, O’Kane married Helen A. Wright from Helena, Montana. In 1895, O’Kane opened a big hotel in Grangeville, Idaho. He left his wife to manage the hotel while he traveled around the United States. He became very successful by racing horses.
In 1903, O’Kane and his wife moved to Bend, Oregon. There, they built the Bend Hotel. Their hotel quickly became a famous place in central Oregon. It was a popular spot for local business people and leaders to meet. It was also a welcome stop for travelers. On August 30, 1915, a fire destroyed the hotel. Even though he lost his hotel, O’Kane decided to build a new business building on his empty land downtown. He hired the famous Beezer Brothers architectural firm. They designed a fireproof building with space for shops and offices. His new building, the O’Kane Building, was finished in 1916. By the time it opened, O’Kane weighed a lot, so he often sat in a chair outside his building. From there, he would tell interesting stories to visitors or just nap. Later in his life, O’Kane moved to Portland. He passed away there on February 16, 1930, at age 73.
History of the O'Kane Building
The O’Kane Building was designed by Louis Beezer and Michael J. Beezer. They were part of Beezer Brothers, an architectural firm from Seattle. Fred Frodeson, a builder from the Bend area, constructed the building in 1916. The building first had six shops, twenty offices, and a theater. There was also an apartment on the second floor for O’Kane and his wife. When it was built, the O’Kane Building was the biggest business building in Bend.
Soon after it opened, the O’Kane Building became the first home for the Deschutes County court. When Deschutes County became a separate county from Crook County, Bend was chosen as the county seat. However, there was no courthouse yet. So, the county government rented two offices in the O’Kane Building to use as the county court.
The O’Kane Building shows how Bend grew in the early 1900s. It was the first building in Bend to be made mostly from reinforced concrete. It also housed the first county court. Because it is so important to Bend's history and architecture, the O’Kane Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 6, 1986. The O’Kane Building has been used for businesses continuously since it opened in 1916. Today, it is still the largest business building in downtown Bend.
Building Design and Features
The O’Kane Building is located at the corner of Oregon Avenue and Bond Street in downtown Bend. It is a two-story building built in the mercantile style. It covers an area of about 100 feet (30 m) by 140 feet (43 m). The foundation is made of concrete and brick. Stone firewalls divide the basement area. The building was constructed using reinforced concrete as its main material. It has about 26,000 square feet (2,400 m2) of space for businesses.
The building's two main sides face Oregon Avenue and Bond Street. These sides are made of reinforced concrete. The building is painted a beige color, like potter's clay, with white trim. It has a flat roof. There are large display windows along the street sides and big office windows above them. Above the display windows are stained glass windows with green tile borders. Each stained glass section has a "Bend" emblem in the middle. This emblem is a circle with the word "Bend" inside it. The offices on the second floor have large sets of three windows. Each set has a big picture window in the middle, with smaller windows on either side. Above the office windows are green tile designs shaped like rectangles with open diamond patterns.
The building's main entrance leads to the second-floor offices. This entrance is the most decorated part of the building. The wooden doorframes are carved by hand. Above the entrance, there is a stained glass window with a "Bend Bee" design. The Bend Bee design is blue with a white border. On the outside, above the entrance, there is a plaster decoration. It looks like a cornucopia (a horn of plenty) filled with flowers, fruits, and wheat.
The original O’Kane theater was later changed into a billiards parlor and café. To make space for these new businesses, the theater part of the building was changed a lot. There are no known old photos of the original theater. So, when that part of the building was updated in 1985, it was designed to look like the rest of the O’Kane building. Today, the old theater area is an exercise studio.
Inside the Building
Inside the main entrance, there is a high ceiling and simple plaster walls. A set of stairs with a landing in the middle leads to the second-floor hallway. The second floor has an "L" shaped hallway. Offices line this hallway along the Oregon Avenue and Bond Street sides of the building. Today, there are 19 offices along the hallway. Originally, there were 20. At the far end of the hallway, overlooking Bond Street, is an apartment suite. This was originally built for the owner and his wife.
The hallway has plaster walls with dark wood trim. The plaster below the wainscot molding (a type of wall paneling) has a texture. The plaster above it is smooth. The office entrances have dark wooden doors with large "pebbled glass" windows. Most of the original brass and nickel door handles and other hardware are still in place throughout the building. The first-floor retail shops are open, rectangular spaces inside. They do not have much decoration, as they were designed to be simple.
