Ashland’s flour mill, shown here in the 1890s, was one of the first businesses to thrive in the young town. Courtesy Southern Oregon Historical Society
discontinued in the 1920s, the wall still exists and surrounds the Allen Elizabethan Theatre, and patrons pass through it to see outdoor performances each summer and fall. Southern Oregon Normal School professor Angus Bowmer in 1935 looked at the wall of the failing structure and had a vision that Shakespeare plays could be performed on the site, which reminded him of drawings he’d seen of theaters
in Shakespeare’s days. He put on three performances that first summer. Running past Southern Oregon University is a broad street that Ashlanders call “The Boulevard.” Created in 1888, Siskiyou Boulevard is a tree-lined thoroughfare with landscaped center islands and flanked by older houses, Ashland High School, the university and businesses. It was originally two lanes. Old photos show a broad road leading
out through vacant land. The boulevard was paved in 1910. Later narrowing of the center island to accommodate four lanes was condemned by the town’s newspaper publisher. In the 1960s, young developers envisioned commercial establishments along the route, but preservationists prevailed.
Tony Boom is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at tboomwriter@ gmail.com.
Our Valley
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