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DESIGNING OREGON’ S THE WESTMAN.
By JENNY BAINES, SR. PROJECT MANAGER, LRS ARCHITECTS
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Sometimes, going postal can be good. Originally built as Bend, Oregon’ s post office during the Depression era, The Westman, which opened in December 2025, occupies a prominent downtown corner at the intersection of Franklin Avenue and Wall Street. Nearly a century later, the building
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was reimagined as a 23-room boutique independent hotel, continuing its long history as a place of connection. Named after Minnie Westman, the first female mail carrier west of the Mississippi, the project offered an opportunity to do more than preserve a historic structure: It challenged the design team to create a guest experience rooted |
in the history, character and culture of Oregon.
For Embarcadero Hospitality Group, the hotel’ s operator, the goal was to honor the building’ s history while creating an experience that feels authentic to Central Oregon.
“ Long before it became a hotel, this handsome neoclassical / art deco building
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46 hotelsmag. com September 2026 |