Historic Hood River
Keir Medical Building
5-12-2025
Notes
The 1905 Keir Medical Building doesn’t get nearly enough respect. It was constructed circa 1905 for the Keir Drug Store, then remodeled in an Art Deco style in 1927. It has some attractive ornament, including the “Medical Building” label above the staircase entrance, a pair of cast concrete owls over the two pediments, and contrasting brick in the facade. I bet you never noticed the owls!
Sally Donovan took this image in 1993 for the downtown historical survey/ inventory. All the tenants have changed, but the building is still in good condition. The pink and purple tile of the 1990s has been replaced with more muted tones.
Category: Downtown Hood River
Tags: 1990s, Donovan, Donovan collection, Keir, Keir Drug Store, Medical Building, Oak Street
Tags: 1990s, Donovan, Donovan collection, Keir, Keir Drug Store, Medical Building, Oak Street
Thorn
The owls, brickwork, and central stair certainly evoke Egyptomania, at its height in 1927–including the subtle motifs and geometry above the left shop entrance (more of which must hide above the right shop entrance). How audacious it was to cover or alter it. Wonder what year the pink-purple-blue tile went up. Maybe ArtiFacts’ “Bad Art” was involved, lol. Surprisingly, those same colorful tiles now appear so faded as to almost match the building’s brown tones.
I’d like to see the original facades return.
Arthur Babitz
I’m pretty sure they replaced the tiles in the intervening decades. I’ll have to take a close look next time I walk by this building.
Peter
Photos from 1915 & 1916 show it must have only been one story when it was built.
https://www.hoodriverhistorymuseum.org/oak-street-circa-1915/
https://www.hoodriverhistorymuseum.org/blizzard-of-1916/
Arthur Babitz
Good catch, Peter. The 1927 renovation must have included adding a new floor. The single story version included the Laraway Jewelers which we saw here: https://www.hoodriverhistorymuseum.org/laraway-jewelers-2/
Jeffrey Bryant
Hood River Glacier articles from 1926 and 1927 mention the addition of a basement and fountain, but do not indicate an upper floor was included.
Ellen Shapley
I gave this building and Ethel Keir, who probably had a hand in its design and ornamentation, quite a bit of respect when I presented my original research about it during my talk on Art Deco in the Gorge for the HR History Museum 7 or 8 years ago. There’s a whole lot more to this building’s story.