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The O’Kane Building is a historic commercial building in Bend, Oregon, United States. The structure was built in 1916 by Hugh O’Kane, a Bend businessman. The two-story building originally housed six retail stores and a theater on the first floor with twenty offices and an apartment upstairs. The building is located on the west corner of Oregon Avenue and Bond Street in downtown Bend. It has been in continuous use as a commercial building since it first opened. Today, the O’Kane Building is still the largest commercial structure in downtown Bend. Because of its importance to the history of Bend, the O’Kane Building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. == Hugh O’Kane == Hugh O’Kane was born in County Antrim, Ireland in 1857. As a young boy, he illegally immigrated to the United States by stowing away on a New York bound ship. By the age of 12, he was selling newspapers and shining shoes on the streets of New York City. He later learned the tailoring trade, but was always looking for adventure. Before he settled in Bend, O’Kane worked as tailor, sailor, miner, stage coach driver, dispatch rider, horse trainer, and mule packer.〔("O’Kane Building" ), National Register of Historic Places - Nomination Form, National Park Service, United States Department of Interior, Deschutes County, Oregon, 15 March 1986.〕〔("O’Kane Building" ), Heritage Walk marker B13 (posted on ''www.waymarking.com''), O’Kane Building, Bend Oregon, 11 March 2006.〕 In the 1870s, he packed supplies in North Dakota and Montana for the United States Army during its campaign against the Sioux Indians. At the time of the battle of the Little Bighorn, O'Kane was supporting General Alfred H. Terry’s column, to which Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Cavalry were also attached. Later, O'Kane mined gold in the Black Hills, making a $50,000 fortune; only to lose it all gambling. From there, he moved west, packing provisions for pioneers and miners in Montana and Colorado.〔 In 1881, be became manager for Tom Cannon, the world champion Greco-Roman wrestler. O’Kane led Cannon’s wrestling troop on a fourteen month tour of Europe. He later became manager for Ed Skinner and Marley Kettleman, both world champion sprinters, taking them on a tour of Australia. When he returned from that adventure, O’Kane married Helen A. Wright of Helena, Montana. In 1895, O’Kane opened a large hotel in Grangeville, Idaho. Leaving his wife to manage the hotel, O’Kane traveled around the United States racing horses, which he turned into a very successful business.〔 In 1903, O’Kane and his wife moved to Bend, Oregon, where they built the Bend Hotel. Their hotel quickly became a central Oregon landmark. It was a very popular meeting place for local businessmen and civic leaders as well as a welcome stop for travelers. On 30 August 1915, a fire destroyed the hotel. Undeterred by the loss of his hotel, O’Kane decided to build a commercial building on his newly vacant downtown property. He hired the well known Beezer Brothers architectural firm to design a fireproof building with space for retail stores and offices. His new commercial building, the O’Kane Building, was finished is 1916. By the time his building opened, O’Kane weighed three hundred pounds so he spent most afternoons lounging in a chair propped against his building. From there, he told colorful stories to visitors or just slept. Late in his life O’Kane moved to Portland where he died on 16 February 1930 at the age of 73.〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「O'Kane Building」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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