TRIP PLANNER: CORVALLIS + EUGENE PG. 88
Portland’s Tofu Tradition
Wine Country Picnics
Ghost Town Road Trips
Home Design
The
Issue LIVING
Large
IN SMALL SPACES
TRENDY TEXTILES
HISTORIC
RENOVATIONS
1859oregonmagazine.com $5.95 display until October 31, 2020
LIVE
THINK
EXPLORE
OREGON
September | October
volume 64
Thomas J. Story
TINY, BUT
MIGHTY
In Bend, The Hiatus is reimagining what neighborhoods can look like.
52 1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER
2020
Inspired by the tiny house movement, a small-scale cottage development pops up in Bend written by Melissa Dalton
BASHA MCDANIEL’S home gives shape to her days. In the morning, the retired cranial sacral therapist sits at one of her kitchen counters and writes, gazing over her back porch at a pond and garden she shares with neighbors. There’s enough floor space to dance or work out, or McDaniel hits the river with her kayak. If she has to clean, it only takes two hours to finish her entire house. “As a young girl, I watched my mother and her friends spend their lives taking care of houses, and I knew from a young age that I didn’t want to do that,” McDaniel said. McDaniel’s home in Bend is 598 square feet, far below the national norm of 2,509 square feet last year. That square footage has trended down incrementally since 2015. According to the National Association of Home Builders in a 2020 report: “The majority of both first-time buyers and repeat buyers would rather have a smaller home with high-quality products and services than a bigger home with fewer amenities.” It’s a cultural shift that Jesse Russell, who founded Hiatus Homes and built McDaniel’s cottage, has long seen brewing. SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020
1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE 53
66 1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER
2020
BACKCOUNTRY
ARTISTS O F
G R A N T
C O U N T Y
written and photographed by Joni Kabana SOON AFTER MOVING TO EASTERN OREGON, I SET ABOUT TAKING LONG BACKCOUNTRY DRIVES, MOST OFTEN FINDING MYSELF OVER AND OVER AGAIN WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF GRANT COUNTY. I knew there was something different about this county—
wood carvers, leather toolers, muralists and more, Grant
the trove of Western antique shops, stunning landscapes,
County is home to many artistic souls, most of them
quirky characters and secret pit-fire dinners quickly cap-
self-taught.
tured my heart. But there was something else I kept no-
Here are profiles of just five of them. It was hard to de-
ticing at almost every turn—the bounty of artists living
cide who to feature – there are so many truly gifted Grant
and practicing in Grant County is astonishing. From fiber
County artists. Consider this a small taste of what is found
artists using local ranch fleece to painters of notoriety to
in this little slice of an Oregon art haven.
AT LEFT: “SUSPENDED” BY KIM RANDLEAS
SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020
1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE 67
Alizah Akiko/Visit Corvallis
trip planner
Back to School
Checking out Oregon’s college towns, which are so much more than tailgating and lecture halls written by Sheila G. Miller
88 1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER
Downtown Corvallis has a classic Oregon feel.
2020
trip planner
Alison Smith/Visit Corvallis
I AM AN OREGONIAN by birth, but I fall into a small category—Oregonians with no ties to the University of Oregon or Oregon State University. I am neither a Beaver or a Duck. No one in my family is, either. Sure, I have friends who attended and graduated from these schools, but I’ve never been to either school’s football stadium. I attended exactly one frat party on UO’s campus during my youth—hopefully they’ve forgotten. So it was time, now well past my college days, that I check out these college towns with an adult’s more discerning eye.
Day
Madison Ave. Collective/Visit Corvallis
A good spot to start this college town tour is Corvallis, on the land grant university’s campus. Corvallis is, at its heart, a farming community. The university and the surrounding downtown seem to sprout right out of the ground, and then just as quickly the landscape returns to the rolling fields of our state’s agricultural delights. OSU has its roots in the 1860s, and in 1868 was granted 90,000 acres of land to support a land-grant agricultural college. Today, the school is renowned for its forestry and agricultural schools, as well as its marine biology, oceanography and mycology programs. The campus itself has that walkable, brick building feel that can sometimes get lost on a large state school campus. The old is mixed well with the new—check out Benton Hall, the oldest building on campus, to get a feel for the history. Then make sure to pop into the new student experience center, built in 2015— this colorful, modern building has more of a tech startup feel. There are a variety of new, up-to-date buildings that blend well with the older spots on campus, and the overall effect is one where parents and students alike find comfort in the “college experience.” When you’ve completed your tour, you’ll have earned a beer. Head to Sky High Brewing, a great brewpub in the heart of downtown. Here, you can dine al fresco on the rooftop and get views of the Coast Range. Bonus: the food and beer are a perfect way to refresh midday. Try the Haze of Our Lives IPA, if it’s on tap, and know that the menu includes a variety of vegan and gluten-free options. Once you’re refreshed, take a stroll through the downtown area, which is charming and has a little bit of everything— check out ReStyle, a floral shop with a variety of other interesting finds, and Second Glance, a great resale shop. While downtown, swing into Riverfront Commemorative Park. If you’re lucky, the farmers market will be on (Wednesdays and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Visit Corvallis
CAMPUS • BEERS • WILDLIFE
FROM TOP OSU’s campus combines traditional brick edifices with high-tech new facilities. Sky High Brewing’s rooftop has great views. Corvallis’ farmers market is full of flavors.
SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2020
1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE 89