The former Flat Tail Brewing building may be gone, but memories can still live, not only inside, but also in the physical world.
The Gordon Hotel and Residences is under construction near SW First Street and Madison Avenue, on the property once occupied by Flat Tail Brewing. The mixed-use riverfront development will include a 75-room boutique hotel and 92 private residences.
We won’t bother Dave… he already gave so much, but maybe at an earlier point in time, it held 75 barrels and 92 patrons.
Obie Companies announced in a press release that wood and brick salvaged from the former building would be “incorporated” into the new project.
First of all, that’s nice of them to do. They didn’t have to do that. Secondly, we had to know more. A good story… and good memories, should never die. And it seems like they won’t, not even in the physical world.
A representative for the project told The Corvallis Inquirer that wood salvaged from the property is being repurposed for headboards in the hotel’s king guestrooms. Reclaimed brick will be used on the hotel’s reception desks, with additional brick planned for a standalone installation inside the entry vestibule.
It seems that parts of the old Flat Tail building… will be the first things guests encounter when they enter the completed hotel.
These things shouldn’t be just for guests. They most likely won’t understand them. Maybe they will give them a glance as they pass by, but for some of us, that glance will evoke a memory of an earlier time, a different place, and an ode to the changing landscape of downtown.
The material reuse might be small, but we all know the connection is large.
Brian Obie, president and CEO of Eugene-based Obie Companies, said the company looks to a community’s history and natural surroundings when planning its developments.
“History is important,” Obie told KLCC when the project was announced in 2024. “When developing a building project, we look back to the last 100 years of a community’s history and natural environment to plan and design something that will enrich and inspire for the next 100 years.”
Although the hotel itself is not expected to open until summer 2027, residents can still get a look inside now.
Obie Companies opened the Gordon Hotel and Residences Discovery Center in downtown Corvallis in August. The showroom, located at 231 SW 2nd Street, next door to Corvallis Consignment, offers a life-sized preview of the hotel.
(Photo: The Corvallis Inquirer)
Inside, visitors can walk through a fully furnished mock-up of a Gordon hotel guestroom. The other side of the center showcases the residential portion of the project, including furnished examples of a living room, dining area, and kitchen. Floor plans and information about available residences are also displayed throughout the center.
The showroom provides curious community members a chance to see the project’s planned furnishings, finishes, and room dimensions at full scale, rather than relying solely on architectural renderings.
Change is hard to accept. People often fear something new. Along with change comes questions and doubts.
Large-scale changes are coming, including a new courthouse and questions about what to do with the old one, a planned 14-story apartment building next to the Avery-Helm Historic District, and a development proposed by LV Collective near 10th and Western.
(Photo: “14 story” construction site/The Corvallis Inquirer)
Our city’s changes are not only structural but political and civic as well. Our inbox is being pummeled with opinions about them.
It’s probably safe to say Dave Marliave was pummeled with changes when Flat Tail was forced to shut down. Sometimes change is good, and sometimes it can be bad. You can embrace it, be angry about it, fight it, or accept it as a way of life.
I was biking down 8th last weekend, away from downtown, thinking about mapping every little library in Corvallis. The first one I saw, I stopped, looked inside, and found a book titled “Heart of a Buddha”.
In that book was a quote, “In our lives, change is unavoidable, loss is unavoidable. In the adaptability and ease with which we experience change, lies our happiness and freedom."
Take what you want from that. Just know it’s coming. It is unavoidable. We can always salvage things from the past. Not only in the physical world, but from the freedom within.
This article was written by Brian Lindensmith, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com
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The Little Libraries are already mapped for the most part.
https://littlefreelibrary.org/map/