NoeHill Travels in the American West: Oregon

National Register of Historic Places in Klamath County

National Register #87001525: Oregon Bank Building in Klamath Falls
15 September 2008
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National Register #87001525
Oregon Bank Building
905 Main Street
Klamath Falls
Built 1930

The six-story Oregon Bank Building, designed by Seattle architect Gerald C. Field, was built of steel-framed reinforced concrete. It opened in 1930 to house the short-lived Oregon Bank and Trust Company and, more importantly, medical and professional offices.

Known locally as the Medical-Dental Building, it is one of the two most prominent downtown buildings. It is a workmanlike example of 20th Century period architecture in the Gothic style, and it is notable for its advanced mechanical systems, fireproof construction, and flexible interior space above the ground floor. Mechanical features, all original and in working order, include the Otis elevators, the Buffalo Silex Condial Suction Fan system, the Riley hog coal-wood chip fired steam furnace, and the electrical system.

The street elevations are finished with buff colored face brick and contrasting creme-colored glazed terra cotta string courses, parapet, and entrance sections in the Gothic style. A restrained, classical decorative program was carried out in the lobby, banking space and hallways of the interior. Travertine was the primary finish material of the lobby and banking space.

Like the Medical Arts Building in Portland, earlier listed in the National Register, the building is significant as the first building in its area to be designed and constructed specifically for medical and dental practice with the object of attracting top quality professionals.

Adapted from the NRHP Nomination Form.

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