The Architectural Foundation of Oregon was founded almost 45 years ago to educate, engage and inspire everyone, from schoolchildren to design enthusiasts of all ages, about the benefits of well-planned, inviting spaces.
Past fundraising events for the nonprofit organization have included Dine & Design dinners in architecturally significant homes in the Portland area.
This year, the foundation introduced a two-day experience called The Design Trail, for people to tour revitalized historic buildings across the state.
The first Design Trail takes place Nov. 14-15 at the Columbia River Gorge, where participants will see welcoming renovated hotels and meet design leaders such as Portland-based architects Jeff Kovel of Skylab and Ben Waechter of Waechter Architecture.
Erica Rife, foundation executive director, said the architectural organization aims to make this an annual, statewide program.
The event benefits the foundation’s Architects in Schools program, which encourages more than 5,000 Oregon elementary students a year to think about structures, old and new, and the environments they create.
Although the first event is sold out, the destinations on the itinerary can be visited anytime by people in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.
The sites, selected by the architecture organization because of the structures’ design integrity, are on both the Oregon and Washington side of the Columbia River.
The Society Hotel Bingen, a nearly 3-acre property at 210 N. Cedar St. in Bingen, Washington, recently renovated the 1937 Bingen schoolhouse to create private suites, hostel-style bunks, a cafe and lounge.
The school and separate gymnasium, now used as meeting spaces, were built during the Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The property also includes new cabins arranged in a circle around the day spa.
Hood River historic buildings participating in the Architectural Foundation of Oregon‘s program include:
- The 1924 Butler Bank Building at 301 Oak St., which was designed in an Egyptian Revival style with a winged cornice by A.E. Doyle, one of the Pacific Northwest’s most celebrated early 20th century architects.
- The Union Building Lofts at 310 Columbia St. is an early 1900s rail shipment facility for the fruit industry that was unused for more than a half century. In 2018, six residential lofts were constructed and sold in a portion of the building. In 2024, the Union Building Lofts opened with office spaces and short-term studio rentals.
- Lightwell Hotel & Spa at 201 Cascade Ave. has 69 modern guest rooms and a rooftop bar in the long-abandoned 1904 Waucoma Hotel. The newly opened hotel was remade for travelers and residents by locals who are world-traveling outdoor sportsmen.
“Lightwell Hotel is our preferred accommodations and where we will start the program with a private tour and lunch,” said Rife.
Updating a historic hotel
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1904 Waucoma Hotel
The Lightwell Hotel & Spa takes its name from an improvement made more than a century ago.
The Waucoma Hotel was designed by architect C.J. Crandall and built in 1904 along the waterfront.
By 1909, new owners renamed the brick building the Hotel Oregon and added a wing to the building. A central light well was created between the two sides to bring fresh air and natural light into the building.
The historic light well is now a central feature of the four-story Lightwell Hotel & Spa, which is managed by VIP Hospitality Group.
The building had been vacant since 1973.
“Restoring this historic building wasn’t just about saving bricks and beams; it was about giving the community back a cornerstone of our downtown,” said Lach Litwer of Columbia Gorge Capital in a news release. He is one of Lightwell’s founders with Cal Blake.
The hotel’s design and three years of restoration and construction were led by GB Pacific Construction’s Ceb Barrs and Gabe Genauer.
The building was reinforced with structural and seismic upgrades, and key original architectural details were restored and refinished.
“Lightwell Hotel & Spa brings new life to one of Hood River’s oldest landmarks reimagined for modern travelers,” Genauer told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
The property offers plenty of ways to unwind, said Genauer, president of Groundswell Development and a developer of the Society Hotels in Old Town Portland and Bingen.
The lobby has a large fireplace and a baby grand piano formerly owned by Hood River’s first female hotelier, Ola Bell, according to the History Museum of Hood River County.
Original oak wood floors were repurposed as decorative wall panels in Viento, the hotel’s Pacific Northwest-style Mediterranean restaurant.
The rooftop bar, with a wooden trellis modeled after the original one, features year-round fireside seating and views of the Columbia River Gorge.
“From the rooftop bar to the subterranean spa and locally inspired dining, every corner reflects the spirit of the gorge: adventurous, creative and connected to community,” said Genauer.
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