PENDLETON, Ore. – The City of Pendleton recently announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Elgin Opera House to sell the Christian Science/Bisnett building located at 13 SW Byers.
The Pendleton City Council authorized the MOU for the almost 100-year-old building that has stood vacant for decades on March 4.
“The City is excited to welcome the Elgin Opera House to Pendleton after years of searching for a location to open another theater venue,” said City Manager Robb Corbett.
Originally built as a church in 1926, the building known as both the Christian Science and Bisnett building, was donated to the City of Pendleton by the Bisnett family in 2023.
Pendleton then went through a public input process and requested proposals for development of the building before the Elgin Opera House’s plan was ultimately selected, according to a press release on the MOU.
“We are thrilled that the leaders of Pendleton are granting us the opportunity to establish a presence in downtown Pendleton,” said Terry Hale, the Executive Artistic Director of the Elgin Opera House.
Under the MOU, the Elgin Opera House will purchase the building for $10,000, pay for and make all improvements and occupy the building in support of its summer theater program.
“Something magical happens when you’re in an Opera House show, when everyone’s hard work comes together to create something that the audience really connects with,” said Pendleton resident Karen Taylor, who is co-leading the Elgin Opera House’s expansion efforts into what will be known as the Pendleton Theater Company in its new downtown location.
For its part in the MOU, Pendleton will build an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant ramp, waive planning fees and apply for an Oregon Main Street Grant to help fund improvements. According to the city, it will also retain a right-of-first-refusal to purchase the building for $10,000 plus the cost of improvements if the Elgin Opera House decides to sell it.
The Pendleton City Attorney will now draft sale agreement documents and a timeline for when the building may be open to the public, which depends on the Elgin Opera House being able to get the necessary improvements funded.
“The Elgin Opera House has made many wonderful friends in Pendleton over the years, and we are excited to be able to serve and entertain them in their own hometown,” Hale said. “We are hoping to form a strong collaboration between the Elgin Opera House theater community and the Pendleton theater and downtown community.”
Completed in 1912 to house both city government and a theater, the Elgin Opera House is now on the National Register of Historic Buildings. It has been renovated to its original style and hosts several plays and events throughout the year.
More information on the Elgin Opera House and upcoming productions is available here.
WONDERFUL news! It’s a win-win-win — for the Elgin Opera Company, for Pendleton, and for those of us who loved the CS building and are delighted to see it brought back into use! Congrats to everyone who made this happen.