Streetlights on Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021, illuminate the Oak Hotel in downtown Pendleton.

PENDLETON — Two downtown Pendleton projects are hoping a century-old wooden beam from an old theater will pay major dividends.

In early December, Parley Pearce hauled off two parts of a 50-foot beam that once graced the Rivoli Theater balcony. Pearce wants to put the beam to work again as a feature of the Oak Hotel as he looks to reopen the defunct brothel as a boutique hotel. The Rivoli Restoration Coalition thinks the antique architecture could help as a fundraising item as the nonprofit continues its ongoing quest to reopen the historic theater as a performing arts center.

The coalition acquired the Rivoli in 2012 and has spent the past several years in the early stages of renovating its interior. Work crews from Kirby Nagelhout Construction Co. retrieved the beam as a part of the renovation effort, and the coalition has long tried to find someone to sell or donate the beam to.

The coalition found a willing partner in Pearce, who has made it a priority to restore another historic downtown property. After removing the beam pieces from the Rivoli property, Pearce sent them to a mill in Adams to be restored.

“Heavy items are my personal hobby,” Pearce said.

A part of the beam will be returned to the Rivoli once its finished, although coalition President Andrew Picken said it won’t be reinstalled or repurposed at the theater. Counting the rings on the wood used for the century-old beam, Picken estimated the Douglas fir used for the beam was 400 years old at the time it was cut down. The coalition is hopeful the antique quality of the beam means it could be a fundraising tool by auctioning it off.

“We didn’t chop it up and put it in a landfill,” Picken said.

Additionally, the coalition gave a much smaller section of the beam to an instrument maker, who intends to build new instruments out of the wood and then auction them off for the benefit of the Rivoli restoration.

Pearce intends to put his own section of the beam back to work in the service of the Oak Hotel, 327 S.E. First St. Built in 1904, Pearce, a former owner of Hamley & Co., said the Oak began its life as a brothel at a time when the sex industry was common in the downtown area. Even after prostitution was outlawed in town and the Oak converted itself to a hotel and boarding house, Pearce said the business continued to operate a brothel illicitly for years.

The Oak Hotel has since fallen into disuse, but Pearce has amassed a large collection of antique furniture and art in the building with the goal of turning it into a boutique hotel. Under Pearce’s vision, the hotel would include 25 rooms and be restored to evoke the turn of the 20th century. The Rivoli beam would be repurposed to support the Oak’s balcony.

While the pandemic pushed back the project’s timeline, Pearce said he already has obtained a permit from the city to start some work on the building with the intention of starting construction in 2022.

With the Oak Hotel in the downtown core, Pearce said he hopes to obtain an urban renewal grant from the Pendleton Development Commission to help offset the cost of the project. Charles Denight, the commission’s associate director, said while Pearce hasn’t submitted a grant application yet, his project might be a good candidate for the rejuvenation grant program.

When applicants previously sought grants for large projects, the commission would often package together grants from existing projects, the facade and second story programs, to help fund the project. In February, the commission created the rejuvenation grant, which encompasses the costs of interior and exterior renovations under one umbrella. If Pearce were to apply for the rejuvenation grant, Denight said he would be the first to do it.

As Pearce plans to begin work in the coming month, he said he was thankful to Picken and the coalition, adding they have the downtown’s best interests at heart.

Editor’s Note

Andrew Picken is the spouse of East Oregonian owner Kathryn Brown.