Looking southeast across Court Plaza, on Court Avenue between Main and Resort streets.

The Baker City Council has authorized the city to apply for a state grant to help finish the Court Plaza downtown.

The project, which was first proposed in the 1980s and has undergone several iterations over the years, involves the block of Court Avenue between Main and Resort streets.

That block has been closed to traffic since 2013, and the city designated the space as a park in 2015.

The city installed concrete blocks at the west (Main Street) entrance to the plaza. Those were replaced with boulders in late 2019.

The plaza was closed to parking in the summer of 2023 when the Oregon Department of Transportation built new ADA-compliant sidewalks at Main and Court.

A bronze sculpture of a salt lick, honoring the Salt Lick Contest and Auction that have raised $213,000 for Parkinson’s disease research over 15 events, was placed on the east end of the plaza in 2014.

The basic concept for the space is to use the block as a public gathering place for events and as a connection between the downtown historic district and Central Park and the Leo Adler Memorial Parkway. Both are east of Resort Street.

Central Park is also the site for the splash pad slated to be built later this year.

In 2020 the city paid $200,000 for a property that allows public access to Central Park from Resort Street. Previously the only public access was from the Leo Adler Memorial Parkway, which is at the east end of the park beside the Powder River.

Artists renderings of the current plaza proposal include additional benches as well as trees.

The council voted unanimously on March 26 to apply for a $740,400 grant from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. The grant requires a 40% local match.

Joyce Bornstedt, the city’s public works director, told councilors that Baker City Downtown is leading the effort to finish the plaza, including raising money for the grant match.

“Baker City has been working with them to come to a compromise that fits with their design concept while creating a maintenance level going forward that will allow the (city) parks department to ensure adequate care with the limited funds available in the city’s general fund,” Bornstedt said.