Baker City
Heritage District · Baker City, Oregon
A gold-rush town in the Powder River valley between the Blue Mountains and the Wallowas, which grew rich enough in the 1890s to build a downtown of brick and stone that is largely still standing - roughly a hundred buildings in a historic district, with the 1889 Geiser Grand Hotel and its stained-glass ceiling at the centre of it. The Armstrong Nugget, more than 80 troy ounces of gold found nearby in 1913, is on public display in a bank on Main Street.
Main Street, Baker City, Oregon, 97814, United States
The town and the historic district are open year round and free to walk. Main Street shops and the Baker Heritage Museum keep normal retail hours; much of the street closes by five and a good deal of it does not open on Sundays. The Armstrong Nugget can be seen during ordinary banking hours. ⚠ THE NATIONAL HISTORIC OREGON TRAIL INTERPRETIVE CENTER FIVE MILES EAST IS A SEPARATE SITE WITH ITS OWN HOURS and has closed for extended periods for building work - check before travelling. The Elkhorn Scenic Byway west of town is snowbound for much of the year.