Submitted by Downtown Camas Association
Six buildings in Downtown Camas now proudly showcase their history on new colorful interpretive panels that can be seen and enjoyed by all. These panels were a collaboration of the Downtown Camas Association (DCA), the Clark County Historical Museum, property owners, Two Rivers Heritage Museum and other local historians. The panels were made possible by a Historical Promotion Grant from the Clark County Historic Preservation Commission and tell the story of not only the buildings, but the people and entrepreneurs that built or worked in them that have made a difference in Camas history.
There will be a Ribbon Cutting Celebration for these panels on First Friday, July 7 at 6 p.m. along with a History Walking Tour between the various panels led by Clark County Historical Museum Director Brad Richardson. People are invited to meet on the corner of 4th & Birch near Journey, 304 NE 4th, to start the tour at 6pm and walk to the ribbon cutting location.
“The panels are beautiful and share much more than just the date the building was built,” says Carrie Schulstad, director for the DCA. “The stories of our town are rich and varied and have led to the Camas we know and love today. As our town’s Main Street Program, we value not only our history but sharing our history in a way that is relevant and interesting to locals and visitors. These panels do just that. A huge thank you to Katie Bush, the historian at the Clark County Historical Museum that painstakingly collected and curated the information that went into these panels, connecting with the DCA, the building owners past and present, and other local historians to procure stories and facts to build the panel content in a compelling way. Our goal was to have these panels highlight our unique history, promote its continued preservation and be enriching to all that read them.”
The historic buildings that now have interpretive panels include the Stoller Building on the corner of 4th & Birch (Lily Boutique is the corner business in this building), the Farrell Building on 4th & Birch (Camas Antiques building), the Liberty Theatre, the Carmack Building (Caffe Piccolo, corner business) on 4th & Cedar, the Camas Hotel (two smaller panels installed) and the Ideal Corner building (Natalia’s Café, corner business) on 4th & Dallas. The design of the panels is consistent with the three Historic Interpretive Panels placed throughout downtown in 2021.
The DCA is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that works year-round to strengthen and promote Downtown Camas through partnerships, events, beautification and historic preservation projects, economic development, advocacy, and tourism functions. For information on the DCA and other downtown events and initiatives, visit the Downtown Camas Association website.
