This week, the City of Coos Bay earned the title of Oregon Heritage All-Star Community, a designation created by the state’s historic preservation office to recognize significant history and heritage efforts across the state. Coos Bay joins a short list of other Oregon cities that have won the right to claim the name (along with the recognition, logo, signage, workshops, and other resources that come with it), including Albany, Astoria, Bend, Cottage Grove, Oregon City, Roseburg and Salem.
We spoke with Heather Christenbury, the Executive Director, Curator & Collections Manager of Coos History Museum, about what the designation means for the city, the impact of heritage tourism on the local economy and the many partners who collaborated to make Coos Bay an Oregon Heritage All-Star Community.
What does the Oregon Heritage All-Star Community designation mean for the City of Coos Bay?
The City of Coos Bay is celebrating its 150th birthday this year, and as part of the planning process for that, the city invited many partners and groups to form a committee. We thought a lot about what makes Coos Bay special and what it is that’s unique about this place we call home. After discussing, we realized the answer is our shared history and the many ways in which we have taken steps to preserve and share it. We’ve been doing so much to restore and renew the city while protecting the past—from working to transform the Waterfront Heritage District into a destination to revitalizing historic buildings and landmarks and expanding cultural offerings around town and at the Coos History Museum. This award recognizes the collective work so many of us have done—and are doing—to build community and showcase our unique cultural heritage. It’s the perfect way to celebrate the city turning 150 years old.
Coos Bay met 17 out of 24 possible criteria to receive the designation. How did the application process work?
The Oregon Heritage application was managed by the City of Coos Bay with too many partners to name contributing to fulfilling the criteria for the application, including the Coos History Museum, Marshfield Pioneer Cemetery, The Empire Cultural Coalition, the Egyptian Theater, the Main Street program, local Tribes, local nonprofits and many more. It was a huge strength that we had such a vast number of partners—so many people and groups are doing incredible heritage work across the city in so many ways.
The Oregon Heritage All-Star Community program application has a rolling deadline, so a community can apply any time of the year as long as it meets at least 15 of 24 application eligibility criteria. If a community is interested in the designation but not sure if they qualify, Oregon Heritage encourages you to reach out and they will help not only make that determination but also identify what you may need to qualify in the future.
In 2022, nearly 24% of leisure visitors to Oregon experienced an arts or cultural heritage activity as part of their trip. How impactful is heritage tourism on the local economy?
Heritage travel is incredibly important to our economy. Coos Bay is a small town, and we have many restaurants and businesses that couldn’t manage year-round without tourism. There’s so much for visitors to do and see—we have the dunes, the beach and the pristine South Slough Reserve. We are so fortunate to be able to complement that natural beauty with incredible cultural and historical experiences.
At the Coos Bay History Museum, we get 8,000 in-person visitors a year—and serve many more through our hybrid programming. Last year alone, we had visitors from 23 countries, all 50 states and two U.S. territories. The museum has a research library, educational programs and rotating exhibits. In partnership with the city, we hosted the first Juneteenth Celebration in Coos Bay in 2021 and continue to partner in the annual planning of this event.
Coos Bay is host to cultural events and major arts festivals that attract artists and vendors from all over the state. The Tribes host a salmon celebration at the Coquille Indian Tribe’s Mill Casino every September, which is a wonderful cultural experience. You can watch movies at the historic Egyptian Theater, with its Ancient Egypt-inspired design. It’s one of the only two Egyptian theaters on the West Coast and one of only seven in the U.S. You can also hear the once enormously popular Wurlitzer organ played there, which is one of the only movie theater organs left anywhere. There’s only one person on the West Coast and only a handful of people in the world who know how to repair it.
Tribal Consultation is one of the 17 of 24 criteria Coos Bay fulfilled to earn the Heritage All-Star designation. Can you tell me about that?
At the Coos History Museum, we work with, and involve, the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians; the Coquille Indian Tribe; and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. Having a true working relationship with these Tribes is an important component of the Oregon Heritage All-Star Community designation. But it’s about more than just talking to them—it’s about working together and involving Tribal communities in programming and decision-making. We consult with Tribal members on programming, exhibits and storytelling and currently have an exhibit titled Reclaiming Our Words, which was written by our Tribal partners and is part of the Indigenous Languages Revitalization Movement. It’s told in the words of local Tribes and reflects on the amazing work the Tribes are doing to reclaim what are known as “sleeping languages.”
Over 20 years ago, we launched the Native American Education Program with the local Tribes in the Coos County School District. The three-part program educates kids in the classroom and then offers two field trips for them—one to the Coos History Museum and one to the Coquille Indian Tribe’s Plankhouse where they learn about local Tribes and get to taste salmon. This work went on to form the foundation for Senate Bill 13, which requires Oregon K-12 curriculum to include a unit called Tribal History/Shared History. At the Museum, we focus on fourth-grade students in Coos County but any local student, including homeschooled children, who can get to Coos Bay for the field trips are welcome. And it’s totally free for all.
Has Travel Oregon supported the Oregon Heritage All-Star Community designation?
As we speak, a Travel Oregon competitive grant is helping us design and install new interpretive signage along the Coos Bay Boardwalk. We’re excited about this because the existing signs were in desperate need of repair and were not very inclusive. They all needed to be updated. The Coos History Museum is providing photos and interpretive research to the design committee for the new signs and the local Tribes are adding wording in different Tribal languages. We’re excited that there will be QR codes so you can listen to the languages instead of just reading about them.
Coos Bay will now be listed as an Oregon Heritage All-Star Community on the Travel Oregon website and Travel Oregon has partnered with Coos Bay on many other things, including the Prefontaine plaques and wayfinding for the historic Marshfield Pioneer Cemetery. Signage is so important for tourism because when you visit a place and have no idea what you’re looking at, you don’t get the full experience. You don’t walk away with the same appreciation for a place and its people as you do when you understand the history and heritage.
What do you think will be the biggest impact of Coos Bay being named an Oregon Heritage All-Star Community?
Heritage tourism is critical to the local economy here in Coos Bay, and the hope is that this designation will further boost interest in the remarkable cultural experiences we have to offer. It has already made a huge difference in helping our network of partners gain a shared understanding of the work we’ve done as a community to share our unique heritage. It has also encouraged us to explore new ideas such as a walking history tour of the Coos Bay Waterfront Heritage District, for example. The application process for the Oregon Heritage All-Star Community award brought so many things to light—when we saw the extensive list of projects and offerings each partner submitted, it was like a light bulb went off. It helped us connect the dots and bring us all together—the designation of Oregon Heritage All-Star Community is new, but it has already proved to be great for building community and collaboration.
For heritage events in Oregon, see Travel Oregon’s Events page.
Interested in applying to be an Oregon Heritage All-Star Community?
Communities interested in this designation should reach out to Oregon Heritage. Staff members are available to evaluate your community’s heritage efforts in relation to the criteria and in completing the application and/or to assist you in planning to achieve the requirements. Visit Oregon Heritage or contact Kuri Gill at Kuri.Gill@oprd.oregon.gov or 503-383-6787.