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The Old Mill District is a historic area formerly occupied by two lumber mills in Bend, Oregon. Encompassing approximately 270 acres along the Deschutes River, the Old Mill District is now a mixed-use area known for its shops, galleries and restaurants. It draws thousands of visitors and employs more than 2,500 people.〔(Old Mill District ), (The Central Cascades Geotourism Project of Oregon and Washington )〕 The area underwent significant development since the mid-1990s, when the land was purchased by developer Bill Smith, president of William Smith Properties. He maintained elements of the original buildings, including the area’s three signature smokestacks.〔"(The Old Mill District: Then and Now )," The Bend Bulletin, August 16, 2009〕 There are nine historically renovated buildings on property. The oldest is the Little Red Shed used to store fire equipment and is now Dewilde Art Glass.〔"(Old Mill's Fuel Building to House Spirits, Sparkle )," The Bend Bulletin, June 29, 2006〕 Notable additions include the Les Schwab Amphitheater and the Orvis Casting Course Colorado Street Bridge fish ladder. William Smith Properties and its partners also restored 14,000 lineal feet of the river area, which had been off limits to the public for close to 80 years. The banks were blown out to accommodate the floating logs and the river itself was mired with debris. The restored area is now a habitat for native species, such as fish, mink, otters and birds.〔(Once again Bend’s Powerhouse: Bill Smith and The Old Mill District ), Oregon 150〕 The Old Mill District is located southwest of downtown, roughly between Colorado Avenue on the west, Bond Street on the east and north and Reed Market to the south. == History == The Old Mill District formerly housed two competing lumber mills. In 1916 the Shevlin-Hixon Lumber Company built a mill on the west bank of the Deschutes River and Brooks-Scanlon Lumber Company built the "Mill A" complex on the east bank.〔(Shevlin-Hixon Mill, Bend, Oregon ), (The Oregon History Project )〕 For the next 78 years, the mills dominated Bend’s economy, pumping money and business into the town. At their peak, the companies were two of the largest pine sawmills in the world, running around the clock, employing more than 2,000 workers each and turning out more than 500 million board feet of lumber a year.〔"(Bend's Mill District )" KOHD News, October 19, 2009〕 The influx of mill workers ballooned the town’s population. It jumped from 536 in 1910 to 5,414 in 1920, and by 1930, the city's population was 8,821.〔Shevlin-Hixon Mill, Bend, Oregon, The Oregon History Project 〕 After more than 20 years of non-stop logging, the forests in Central Oregon were becoming depleted. In 1937, the Bend Chamber of Commerce warned of economic disaster unless the mills started sustainable forestry. The mills ignored these warnings and continued producing at full capacity. By 1950, the forests' depletion led to the decline of Oregon’s logging industry. Brooks-Scanlon bought the Shevlin-Hixon mill in 1950 and closed it just four months later. The Brooks-Scanlon Mill A closed in 1983.〔 After the mills shut down, the site fell into ruin until William Smith Properties purchased the land in 1993 now known as the Old Mill District. Mill B continued to produce small amounts of lumber until 1993 when it also closed.〔 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「Old Mill District」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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