Historic Hood River
Butler Bank Building Timeline
Notes
The Butler Bank Building served as home to the Butler Bank for just nine years, from 1924 until 1932, when it fell victim to the Great Depression. It served as the County Courthouse until the new courthouse was opened in July 1954. We have plenty of photographs from its courthouse years, especially the war bond drives of the 1940s. But then we have a gap in our collection, with the next picture being this one from 1991. According to the 1999 Nomination Form for the National Registry of Historic Places, the building has a single owner for this period: the US Bank. In 1997 it reverted to governmental use as the Hood River City Administration Building. The city then sold it around 2010 when they renovated the 1920 city hall to house the city administration functions.
This brings us to the current use as an art gallery, the “301 Gallery“. That’s where you can go tomorrow at 5PM to see the “Jazz Collective” offering music and dance to celebrate the building’s centennial. There will also be an intermission with The History Museum presenting a mini Timewinder Tales interlude, featuring Tom Burns as Butler Bank owner Leslie Butler and David Dye as AE Doyle, the architect who designed the bank building.
Tags: 1990s, 3rd Street, Butler, Butler Bank Building, Oak Street, US Bank
Will
A reminder that the small circular shack seen in the upper left of the linked war bond photo resides today next to 2403 Belmont (although it is obscured by weed trees during the summer). I suspect it will succumb to development soon.
steffen lunding
Arthur, another super image of the Butler Bank Building, one that I did not have. This image is before my arrival in Hood River. When we renovated, the “bus shelter ATM was removed and a new window was made to match existing. Landscaping here is different than what The City had in 2010. In 2011 we re-landscaped with the rockwork you see today. In regards to the Timewinder Tales, Tom Burns has had an injury, Leslie Butler will now be played by Dick Withers.
Arlen L sheldrake
Will, that small circ;ular shack you note was used while we lived there, 1948-1960 as our irrigation pump house using water from the westside ditch. not sure how the previous owner, Grove, got it.
Steffen
Interesting, third Street was one way going from south to north
Arthur Babitz
I should have noted this 1991 image is from a collection of photos Sally Donovan took of downtown. There are a few more views of the exterior and interior of this building from 1991. Also, if you follow the 1999 Nomination Form link you can see a detailed timeline of renovations to the building prior to 1999.
Judy
The basement of the bank was used by HR County at one time to house the gestetner machine.
The office on the SW back corner housed Pioneer Title & Trust in the 70’s.
Will
I had to look it up: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestetner