Balch Hotel

The Balch Hotel is a historic hotel in Dufur in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was built in 1907 by the local landowner and businessman Charles Balch. Since then it has changed hands several times, but have been continuously in operation. Because of the importance of the building for the local history, the building was entered in the National Register of Historic Places.

Location

The Balch Hotel is located on the South Richmond Street home in the south of Dufur. The hotel is located 24 km south of The Dalles and 158 kilometers east of Portland. In the area a number of recreational opportunities are available, such as golfing, biking, hiking, fishing, rafting, or visiting wine cellars; in the winter season driving with snowmobiles is popular. There are also around several small museums.

Description

The Balch Hotel is a three-story brick building in the Italianate style. The stones used in the construction were made ​​in a brick factory on the ranch of Charles Balch near the construction site. The brick walls are 18 inches ( 45 cm) thick, which keeps it cool during the hot summer months, the hotel interior. The hotel rooms have been refurbished and modernized, 1988-2007, the hotel facilities is therefore modern, although the atmosphere remained a hotel at the beginning of the 20th century. There are no phones in the rooms or televisions, but Wi -Fi access is available. The historical character of the building has been preserved in many small details; for example, are located in the corridors, the original fire hoses and an old electric meter attached to his rightful place on the first floor.

The hotel has 19 guest rooms and a suite on the second floor, which is granted a view of Mount Hood and equipped with a hot tub. Each room is individually decorated, the furniture and decorations reflect the time period of the construction of the hotel. On the south side of the hotel the rooms have their own bathroom; on the north side, the rooms share common bathrooms, where the claw-foot bathtubs are still on.

History

The first settlers to the homestead law settled in the area around Dufur in 1852. The first records of the village testify that church events in 1862 have begun. The city was named after the family Dufur, 1872 settled in the valley and became successful ranch owners. The post office was established in 1878 Dufurs, 1893, the village was registered as a town.

With the growth of the city, the demand for hotel rooms has been greater. The local ranchers and pharmacist Charles P. Balch commissioned FM Andrews trying to plan a hotel. It was built in 1907 and opened on 17 January 1908. Back then handed the room rate from 0.50 to 1.25 U.S. dollars per night. The hotel boasted that all rooms were equipped with hot water, electric light and steam heating. At that time there were only two facilities in the Dufur Valley who possessed electricity, the hotel and the sawmill. The two facilities shared the limited supply. The sawmill was powered during the day for twelve hours in the rest of the day, the hotel received the existing electrical energy. In the early years increased primarily commercial travelers, who arrived with the Great Southern Railroad, from the Balch Hotel. They praised their goods there, so the lobby was also a community meeting place.

Balch sold the hotel in 1914 to Frank and Ethel Ingels, whose family managed the hotel until the 1940s. After these sold it, it was converted into an apartment building with commercial accommodation. Later it was converted into a private residence and eventually acquired in 1988 by Howard and Patricia Green. The greens renovated and modernized the building and opened it again as a hotel. The current owners Jeff and Samantha Irwin bought it in 2006. Nowadays, the Balch Hotel is a small but well-equipped tourist hotel.

Because the Balch Hotel has played an important role in the economic development Dufurs and its centrally located in Wasco County region, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 8, 1987. The site covers 10 acres ( about 4 hectares), on which stand the hotel and three other listed buildings.