Historic sketching walking tour in Coos Bay

A group of community members got a unique perspective of Coos Bay’s historic buildings during a Historic Sketching Walking Tour on Wednesday, July 17. In celebration of Coos Bays 150th birthday, the tour focused on the Coos Art Museum, the Egyptian Theater, Tioga Building, Carnegie Library, the Old City Hall, Buggee Bank, and the Chandler Building.

The historic sketching tour was hosted by the Coos Bay Public Library in partnership with the Coos Art Museum. Those who participated in the tour were encouraged to take some time at each stop to sketch out the buildings. Coos Bay Public Library assistant Gene Iparraguirre said the process of sketching the buildings allows oneself to take in details of the buildings they may have overlooked previously. “Many of these buildings are being overlooked when you're just passing through and not really taking in the beauty of the really nice architecture,” Iparraguirre said.

A few of the participants brought straight edges to sketch out the buildings, but Iparraguirre said this wasn’t necessary. “One of the things about sketching buildings is not to focus on straight line work – just do a loosey goosey sketch, and then find the areas that are really appealing to you,” he said.

The library assistant gave insight about the different buildings along the walking tour while participants took a shot at recreating them on paper. The first stop on the tour was the Coos Art Museum. The art deco style building was erected in 1936 and first served as the Marshfield Post office.

The second stop along the walking tour was the Egyptian Theater built in 1922 by Charles Noble in an Egyptian Revival architecture style. It was added to the historic buildings on May 24, 2010.

The third stop was the Tioga Building. It was added to the historic buildings on March 22, 1984. Iparraguirre said the Tioga Building was once called the white elephant because funds ran out while it was still being built. When it was purchased in 1948 and finished, it was renamed to the Tioga.

Another stop on the historic sketching tour was the Carnegie Library. Designed by W.S. Turpen, it was built in 1910 out of concrete and wood per tradition of American Renaissance architecture. The Carnegie Library was added to the list of local historic buildings on Feb. 27, 1986.

The Old City Hall was also featured on the tour. It was built shortly after the Marshfield great fire in July 1922 and was designed as a Classical Revival building by John Everett Tourtellotte and Frank Hummel, Iparraguirre said.

The Historic Sketching Walking Tour is one of many events being hosted by The Coos Bay Library throughout the summer. For more information about their library programs, and to sign up for updates, visit their website at www.coosbaylibrary.org.