LOCAL SPOTLIGHT
SOHS Gala Dinner and Auction Medford, OR | April 14, 2022 | Press Release T he Southern Oregon Historical Society has done it again! We had already soared past our $75,000 year-end fund raising goal for the conversion of the
central portion of our downtown Medford History Center into an Event Center benefiting the entire community. Now, at our April 6th Gala Dinner and Auction, we raised over $54,000 to take us well past our Gala goal, and well over our 10% “grub stake” commitment, to making the renovations happen! The proposed Event Center will provide space for conferences, meetings, exhibits, weddings, and other special events, replacing event facilities formerly available at the Inn at the Commons (now the Merrick) and the Ramada Inn. Architects estimate that, depending on configuration, the gallery, flexible break out rooms, and balcony area can accommodate close to 400 people. Recognizing the deficiency of meeting space and the Valley’s significant need, the Chamber of Medford and Jackson County, the Travel Medford Tourism Council, and the Downtown Medford Association as well as community leaders like Bill Thorndike have all endorsed SOHS’s concept. Medford’s 2040 Vision Task Force also identified
Rendering of proposed new design for SOHS.
the City’s and Valley’s shortage of meeting space and proposed City support for “new venues and development opportunities.” The (Your Name Here!) Event Center will be housed in the Society’s History Center, the iconic J.C. Penney’s building. Constructed in 1946 as a “streamline moderne” prototype, it was never replicated. It’s one-of-a-kind and is on the National Historic Register of places. “Streamline moderne”
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The Business Review | April 2022
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