Seniors Enjoy Baker City

This senior was watching the weather channel and up came Baker City, Oregon.  I had never heard of this town before, so curious Jim just had to investigate. If it rated highly enough to be noted on a major TV channel, there must be something there worth seeing.

I soon learned that Baker City is the county seat of Baker County, Oregon. It was named after Edward D. Baker, the only U.S. Senator ever killed in military combat and the population runs right at 10,000 folks.

A major claim to fame is that it lies on the famed Oregon Trail with a history that goes back to 1874. Beginning in its earliest days, Baker City had a Chinatown that included several businesses, a Chinese temple and private dwellings.

The Miners’ Jubilee on the third weekend of July, celebrates the mining history of the area and the filming of the 1969 Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood musical comedy Paint Your Wagon.

 Historic District Draws Senior Visitors

And history…the Baker Historic District, on the National Register of Historic Places, is located on 40+  acres in downtown Baker City. Within its boundaries are more than 130 properties, about half of which include structures built between the late 1880s and about 1915.

Many of these as well as others built as early as 1870 are two-story masonry commercial buildings. By the early 1900s, Baker City was considered the largest city between Salt Lake City and Portland and served as a major destination for thousands of west-bound travelers in search of a better, richer life.

The city hall, county courthouse, the former post office, former library, former social clubs, a Roman Catholic cathedral, and an Episcopal Church are among notable buildings within the historic district.

Baker City can now boast that it has the second largest number of homes and buildings on the National Historic Register in Oregon.

A Gold Rush Town…

In the 1860s gold was discovered just outside of town spawning a gold rush that would last over fifty years. At the turn of the century Baker City was known as the Queen City of the Mines.

Discoveries from the gold rush are on permanent display at the U.S. Bank on Main Street, where a 5-pound gold nugget shines in a glass case.

Baker City is quiet, quaint, and nestled in a valley of snowcapped mountains in eastern Oregon, between Portland and Boise. The Art Deco Baker City Tower constructed in 1929 is one site senior travelers will not want to miss.

The Geiser Grand  Hotel is a Victorian jewel dating to 1889 with plate glass windows, electric lights, an elevator and a dining room that seated over 200 patrons.

Senior bikers, check out the Baker City Cycling Classic, a set of bicycle races held in Baker City and the surrounding region.

Seniors, when you are in eastern Oregon, spend some time in Baker City, a stop you won’t regret.  jeb