Journey Through Time Scenic Byway
Baker City Historic District, OR

Of the 110 buildings in the Historic District, 60 have been restored to their original elegance. Some are now banks, bed and breakfasts, and museums, etc. Restorations are continuing; the tall and white 1927 Baker Hotel, (the site of political conventions,) is being redone at the time of this writing (summer 2000).

Baker City was known as the 'Queen City of the Mines,' and by 1900, its population was larger than Boise's (at the time.) An excerpt from the Walking Tour Guide: 'Restarants in fine hotels served superb cuisine…the opera house was frequently filled to capacity…The 1800 block on the east side of Main had five saloons and several brothels. Children and ladies avoided the block, but the Salvation Army band played there nightly, hoping to rescue fallen souls.'