City hall turns back on traveling public

Construction has begun on the new Sisters City Hall at the corner of East Main Avenue and Locust Street. The south elevation of the building is proudly displayed at the old City Hall. It is a very nice design that should match the City of Sisters well.

Unfortunately, the north side of the building, facing East Main Avenue, is not nearly as pleasant. It looks like what it is — the back of a building.

The firm that designed the building, Scott Steele & Associates, has done this to Sisters before. The Village Apartments on Adams Avenue between N. Fir Street and N. Elm Street also turn their back to the street, clustered electrical meters and all. It creates a “back alley” feel along its section of thoroughfare. The nicest feature is the walkway to the parking lot on the other side. But that was a private project and met city code.

To be fair, Steele’s firm has also designed some of the more attractive buildings in Central Oregon, including Sisters High School. Budget constraints are always an issue and it is more expensive to design a building that looks good from two points of view.

But the new City Hall is a problem. Yes, the public will enter the building from the parking lot. But more consideration should have been paid to how the building would appear from Main Avenue to citizens and guests who may not see the new city hall from the limited-access parking lot.

The design along E. Main is not pedestrian friendly — a shame in a town that would like more people to be walking — and it is not inviting. It affects the character of Sisters in a negative way.

Presenting the back of a building to the the traveling public is a bit … well, rude.

Eric Dolson, Publisher

Disclosure: The Nugget Newspaper Office also faces E. Main Avenue not far from the new City Hall and is owned by the publisher.