Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County ChieftainThe 1917 Gotter Hotel Building is one of two historic buildings in Enterprise slated to receive state and federal historic preservation grants. The Gotter building plans to restore the windows on the second and third floors.

ENTERPRISE — Two local historic buildings are slated to be the recipients of funds from the city of Enterprise as part of the city’s ongoing efforts to spruce up downtown through a grant received through the federal Historic Preservation Fund, and administered by the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, to fund local preservation projects, according to a press release.

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows Building at 105 NE 1st St. will receive $7,000 in grant funds to restore 12 windows on the front of the building. Also, the Gotter Hotel Building at 301 W. Main St., will receive $5,500 to restore and replace windows on the second and third stories, the Oct. 27 release stated.

IOOF Building

Ralph Swinehart, IOOF treasurer, said the work on the windows is part of a larger restoration project that has been ongoing at the 101-year-old structure.

“We’ve been doing lot of work in the building,” he said Thursday, Oct. 28.

He said in 2019, work was done on the side of the building facing the alley and they did the attic windows in 2020.

“We’re kind of working our way down,” he said.

Swinhart said the window work costs about $15,000.

“We’ll go as far as we can this year and apply for more next year,” he said.

In fact, given the lateness in the year, the work probably won’t begin until late next spring or early summer.

It’s all part of a larger project to restore the antique building. He said so far, they’ve replaced their front doors with exact replicas of the originals, added a new kitchen and a modern ventilation system, in addition to the already-done windows.

Gotter Hotel Building

Work on the Gotter Hotel Building also is ongoing, according to Darren Veenker, facility supervisor for the Wallowa Valley Center for Wellness, which is housed on the ground floor. The upper two floors house eight apartments, he said.

He said he originally applied for $11,000 to complete two projects of 10 windows each.

“Due to the historic nature of the building, we can’t replace (the windows),” he said. “It’s a restoration project.”

Built in 1917 by the Gotter brothers as a hotel, the windows are now in poor shape. The old, double-hung windows need replacement of the cords that pull the windows up, the wheels in the block and tackle for each window needs replacing, as well as exterior fill in window bottoms.

“They’re pretty weathered,” he said.

Unlike the Odd Fellows Building, the windows are all that is being restored now. Veenker said the building had its last major renovation when it was turned into eight apartments in the 1990s. He said they re-did the ground floor interior a couple years ago, as well as getting a new awning and replacing some sidewalks.

“Now it’s pretty much the second and third stories,” he said.

The press release was to solicit public comment on the grant, required since the funds are from federal grants, said Kuri Gill, grants and outreach coordinator and the Historic Cemeteries Program coordinator for the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, in an email Thursday.

“Pubic comment can influence the use of the funds,” Gill said. “But it must be related to the use of funds as it impacts historic properties or the natural environment. It isn’t an opinion of if funds should be used in general. Those can be submitted, but they won’t impact the decision. The city held a public process to select the grants awardees.”

City Administrator Lacey McQuead explained a bit of the process involved.

“These projects are completed through the Certified Local Government Grant that the city of Enterprise applies for and then facilitates for preservation projects,” McQuead said in an email. “Buildings that are listed on the National and State Historic Registry are allowed to apply. This year, there are two projects that will receive funding.”

The release said the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 authorizes a program of federal matching grants, known as the Historic Preservation Fund, to assist states in carrying out historic preservation activities. The program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Interior, the National Park Service and in Oregon is administered by the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office.

What: Comment on federal funds being used to restore historic buildings in Enterprise.

Where: 105 NE 1st St. and 301 W. Main St.

When: Now through Nov. 26.

How: Email or call Kuri Gill at Kuri.Gill@oregon.gov or 503-986-0685. Comments also may be submitted online at www.oregon.gov/oprd/OH/Pages/Grants.aspx.