The Baker Orpheum Theatre project has been endorsed for a $600,000 grant by the Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon, bringing the multi-phase project a step closer to renovating a space in downtown Baker City.

Fourteen capital construction projects totaling $9.325 million, including the Orpheum, were recommended for Cultural Resources Economic Funds, according to a press release.

The CACO board received 24 applications, and consulted with the Oregon Arts Commission and Oregon Cultural Trust to identify 14 projects for “their geographic and cultural diversity, economic impact, and expanded access to the arts,” according to the release.

“It was an honor to work with nine arts leaders around the state to recommend 14 shovel-ready cultural capital projects to the Oregon Legislature,” said Ginger Savage, chair of the CREF committee and executive director of Crossroads Carnegie Art Center in Baker City.

CREF is supported by lottery dollars, and the Orpheum and 13 other projects will go to the state Legislature for approval in early 2025.

The Orpheum

A project to restore the Orpheum Theatre started in 2016 when Baker City resident David Burris bought the building at 1821 Main St. for $130,000 and donated it to Eastern Oregon Regional Theatre.

Burris has many memories of watching movies at the Orpheum.

“I’ve wanted to do this all my life — it was my dream,” Burris said at the time. “Something happened in my life that I could help the town. The day that theater opens will be a big day for me. It’ll be like going back to being 9 years old.”

Fundraising began in earnest for an eight-phase project, said Aletha Bonebrake, vice president for EORT.

The 1889 building housed the first Orpheum Theatre, a vaudeville stage that progressed through silent films and then “talkies” into the late 1950s.

Originally, the building was divided into spaces that were 12½ feet wide, until some were combined to double the footprint.

“The Orpheum started out in a 25-foot space as a vaudeville theater,” Bonebrake said.

It expanded to 50 feet wide in the 1940s. Fire destroyed the theater in 1943, although it was rebuilt and opened as the Baker Theater in 1948.

The theater closed in 1956 due to competition from televisions and drive-in theaters. In 1964 it was remodeled into retail space.

Bonebrake said the first four phases are complete, and addressed the purchase, demolition, engineering and permits.

Phase five is for structural upgrades. Bonebrake said a 2017 feasibility study set a $400,000 price tag for that phase, but that amount has now increased to over $2 million.

Sid Johnson & Co. of Baker City is the contractor, and Bonebrake said work is progressing as funds are secured.

Masonry work, which was required to stabilize walls, just finished this month and was funded by an Oregon Main Street Revitalization grant.

The $600,000 from CREF will fund construction of a concrete micropile foundation, which Bonebrake is “essential” for the current phase.

“No more work can be done without the foundation,” she said.

The building never had a concrete basement, she said, only a sloped dirt floor to accommodate theater seating.

In her application, she explained that the only solution was to “construct a basement laid on a foundation of concrete micropiles reaching 72 feet to bedrock.”

“This base will create seismic structural integrity to support footings for the steel and wood framing against masonry walls, and the designed new balcony, stairwells, lighting and fly-loft structures,” she wrote.

Once complete, the theater will be used for local performances, film festivals and community gatherings, as well as traveling artists.

Total seating will be 325, with the first floor seating 125 for smaller events.

Funding

So far, the Orpheum project has raised $2,004,129. Of that, $1,360,480 came from state government grant programs and private foundations, and $627,248 has been donated by local residents.

Local fundraising events added another $16,400.

That local support, Bonebrake said, is imperative when applying for grants from large foundations.

“Every donation can be used in leverage for private grants,” she said.

A recent boost of $248,000 came from the estate of Jean Heizer, which Bonebrake said is just one example of how to support the Orpheum project — estate gifts, donations in memory of a loved one, or contributing any amount to the project.

“I’m inspiring people to believe,” Bonebrake said. “It’s going to be beautiful when it’s done.”

Donations can be made online at easternoregonregionaltheatre.com (click on the button that says “Buy tickets, membership, donate”) or at the theater, 2101 Main St.

About the Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon

The Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon is a 501(c)4 non-partisan advocacy group formed to lobby policymakers in Salem to ensure that all Oregonians can access arts and culture in their communities. The primary mission of CACO is to increase ongoing public investment in arts, heritage, history, and humanities. Volunteers serve on the board of directors and include representatives from a broad number of interests to best represent the diverse mix of Oregon’s cultural community.