If you’ve been following along with our stories about the history of our building, you’ll know that J.P. Dodge was the original owner and a well-known businessman in Ashland in the early 1900s.
Did you know that the application for the building’s admittance into the National Register of Historic Places was initially turned down by the Southern Oregon Historical Society?
In this letter, dated January 15th, 1979, the Historical Society cites reasons that they cannot accept Ms. Sundin’s application as follows:
“The consensus of our Committee was that J.P. Dodge was a prominent figure in Ashland‘s history and that his memory should be preserved. However, his furniture building was only one of Mr. Dodge’s many varied business enterprises. Combined with the fact that the exterior of the façade has been corrupted to a great extent (for example: the plastering over of the brick work, removal of brick details, and signage) the committee has decided unanimously to deny your request for a Historic Marker at this time.”
The committee then offers the following suggestion: “It is our hope that your building, along with many others in Ashland commercial district, could be restored to a more original design.”
Ms. Sundin eventually got her wish and the building, along with several other businesses downtown, was entered into the registry in the 1990s!
