WORKS PROGRESS ARCHITECTURE, LLP All rights reserved. (EA 24-004964 DA) Lloyd Center - Concert Venue, 901 NE Lloyd Center 9' - 0" WORKS PROGRESS ARCH 3/16" = 1'-0" 3 BOH @ Hallway APP 3.4 PERSPECTIVES SET IN CONTEXT North Bend, the 100-year-old Liberty Theatre recently completed a nine-year renovation project and now showcases performances by the Little Theatre on the Bay. The Baker Orpheum Theatre — once an opera house hosting touring opera performers as well as civic celebrations—now hosts performances by the Eastern Oregon Regional Theatre and other regional organizations. Rogers also notes that some community organizations have also worked to turn old schools into performing arts spaces, with the Chehalem Cultural Center in Newberg and the Lincoln City Cultural Center (of which you can see a glimpse on p. 68 in this issue) being examples of school buildings being repurposed for arts and culture. All of these changes were years — and in the case of some rural renovation projects, decades — in the making. But they also give us a sense of what’s happening in Oregon in 2024. Monqui Presents’ interest in the Lloyd Center Mall suggests an interesting possible future for that space, which was struggling with high vacancy rates even before COVID19 hit. Andrew Proctor, executive director of Literary Arts, told me that his organization’s move was possible partly due to a transformational gift from a late board member and a massive capital campaign — but also due to lower commercial property values. He argued that arts organizations are often at the vanguard of economic recovery for cities and neighborhoods, and can be a stabilizing force in challenging times. How these projects — and others like them — will pan out, and shape the culture in the long term is hard to say. But we hope they offer at least a partial picture of what’s happening in the arts in 2024. Rendering of Monqui's revisioning of the former Nordstrom building at Portland's Lloyd Center Literary Arts' new space as rendered by Bora Architecture Live Nation's proposed venue near the Willamette River's east bank in Portland LEVER ARCHITECTURE WORKS PROGRESS ARCHITECTURE BORA ARCHITECTURE 25
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