The Dalles Commercial Historic District

The Dalles , formally City of The Dalles, also called Dalles City, is an inland port and the largest city of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 census, and it is the largest city in Oregon along the Columbia River outside the Portland Metropolitan Area. The Dalles is 75 miles (121 km) east of Portland, within the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.

In 1984, 751 people suffered food poisoning in The Dalles, Oregon, United States, due to the deliberate contamination of salad bars at ten local restaurants with Salmonella. A group of prominent followers of Rajneesh (later known as Osho) led by Ma Anand Sheela had hoped to incapacitate the voting population of the city so that their own candidates would win the 1984 Wasco County elections. The incident was the first and is still the single largest bioterrorist attack in U.S. history.Rajneesh's followers had previously gained political control of Antelope, Oregon, as they were based in the nearby intentional community of Rajneeshpuram, and they now sought election to two of the three seats on the Wasco County Circuit Court that were up for election in November 1984. Some Rajneeshpuram officials feared that they would not get enough votes, so they decided to incapacitate voters in The Dalles, the largest population center in Wasco County. The chosen biological agent was Salmonella enterica Typhimurium, which was first delivered through glasses of water to two county commissioners and then at salad bars and in salad dressing. As a result of the attack, 751 people contracted salmonellosis, 45 of whom were hospitalized, but none died. An initial investigation by the Oregon Health Authority and the Centers for Disease Control did not rule out deliberate contamination, and the agents and contamination were confirmed a year later, on February 28, 1985. Congressman James H. Weaver gave a speech in the U.S. House of Representatives in which he "accused the Rajneeshees of sprinkling Salmonella culture on salad bar ingredients in eight restaurants".At a press conference in September 1985, Rajneesh accused several of his followers of participation in this and other crimes, including an aborted plan in 1985 to assassinate a United States Attorney, and he asked state and federal authorities to investigate. Oregon Attorney General David B. Frohnmayer set up an inter-agency task force composed of Oregon State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and executed search warrants in Rajneeshpuram. A sample of bacteria was found in a Rajneeshpuram medical laboratory which matched the contaminant that had sickened the town residents. Two leading Rajneeshpuram officials were convicted on charges of attempted murder and served 29 months of 20-year sentences in a minimum-security federal prison.

The Dalles Carnegie Library is a historic former library building located in The Dalles, Oregon, United States. It is one of the thousands of libraries whose construction was funded by Andrew Carnegie. The construction grant of $10,000 was approved in March 1907, and it was dedicated in September 1910.The building was used as the local public library until September 1966. In 1967 the building was leased from the city and converted into an art center. In 1997 the city deeded the building The Dalles Art Association, which continues the building's arts function. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.The building is approximately 50 by 36 feet (15 by 11 m), is Beaux-Arts classical in style, and is constructed of brick with concrete foundation walls and window sills. There is a hip roof and tall brick chimneys with flared tops extending above the eaves. The building remains much as it was when constructed, with extensive original trim, a fireplace on the south wall upstairs, large windows, and the integrity of the exterior appearance is intact. Some minor modifications, including a small office and kitchenette have been added in the southwest corner upstairs.

The Granada Theater, located on 2nd and Washington streets in The Dalles, Oregon, United States, was built in 1929. The exterior of theater is in the Moorish Revival style.

Fort Dalles was a United States Army outpost located on the Columbia River at the present location of The Dalles, Oregon, in the United States. Built when Oregon was a territory, the post was used mainly for dealing with wars with Native Americans. The post was first known as Camp Drum and then Fort Drum.

The Dalles Civic Auditorium is a historic building on the National Register of Historic Places located at the corner of Fourth and Federal streets in The Dalles, Oregon. It is currently owned by the Civic Auditorium Historic Preservation Committee, a non-profit corporation formed specifically for the purpose of purchasing it from the City of The Dalles to save it from scheduled demolition, restore it, and operate it as a local and regional cultural center. "The Civic," as it is most commonly called, was once an important center of cultural and recreational activity for its community and region, and after more than a decade of dereliction and disuse, has been partially restored with plans in place for complete rehabilitation. The facility is becoming, once again, the site of public and private events.

The former United States Post Office in The Dalles, Oregon, United States, is a historic building constructed in 1916. Executed from standardized federal plans in the Greek Revival style, it was the first federal building in The Dalles and one of a set of nine built in Oregon in the 1910s. It remained in operation as a post office longer than seven of the other eight in that group. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

The Edward F. Sharp Residential Ensemble, also known as the Sharp Family Residential Ensemble, is a set of three adjacent historic houses in The Dalles, Oregon, United States. Edward Sharp (1865–1954) was the county surveyor and roadmaster whose work underlies much of the development in The Dalles and Wasco County. As the official surveyor for the Eastern Oregon Land Company, he also conducted important early surveys across large stretches of Oregon and Idaho. He built the houses at 400 and 404 E. 4th Street for himself and his family (1895 and 1905, respectively), and the house at 504 Federal Street for employees (1900). Because the houses remained under common ownership in the Sharp family for many years, they have retained an exceptional level of preservation. The houses on 4th Street are also exceptional local examples of the Queen Anne (400) and Craftsman (404) styles.The ensemble was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

The Waldron Brothers Drugstore, also known as the Gitchell Building, is the oldest intact building in The Dalles, Oregon. Built in 1864, the structure has served as a pharmacy, a post office, a ticket office, a Masonic lodge, a haunted house, and as apartments. It has also housed offices for a local newspaper. The building underwent repairs in 2009 but has been slated for demolition. It was included Restore Oregon's 2019 list of Oregon's most endangered places. Following an effort to save the building, Dalles City Council chose preservation.

The Fulton–Taylor House is a historic house located in The Dalles, Oregon, United States. Built and modified in phases between circa 1858 and circa 1930, this house is only one of a few remaining houses of similar age and style in The Dalles. James Fulton (in residence 1864 – 1881) emigrated to Oregon on the Oregon Trail, and eventually established himself as a cattle rancher, leader of the settler militia, and a state legislator. The Rev. O.D. Taylor (in residence 1891 – 1897) was a Baptist minister, but was far more noted as the driving force behind a major, failed, but long-running real estate scheme that was widely regarded as fraudulent.The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The John L. Thompson House is a historic house in The Dalles, Oregon, United States. John L. Thompson, an American emigrant and successful blacksmith, built his house in 1889 in a simple, one-story vernacular style. Subsequently, in 1897, the house underwent a significant expansion to become a prominent Queen Anne residence. The house represents the evolution of architecture in frontier towns, and is one of The Dalles' outstanding examples of the Queen Anne style. It was converted to professional offices in 1979.The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

The John and Murta Van Dellen House is a historic house located in The Dalles, Oregon, United States. Built in 1920, it is the outstanding example of a California bungalow in The Dalles. Original owner John Van Dellen was a prosperous lumber yard owner, and made use of the finest local building materials and craftsmanship in constructing his house.The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.