As the Hood River Valley fruit industry matured and grew in the 1890’s and 1900’s, it became clear that there was a need for a large refrigerated storage and shipping facility. Logically, such a facility needed to be located immediately adjacent the transcontinental rail line that ran through Hood River. The answer was to build the Union Building.
The Union Building is essentially a 3 block long, 3 story tall, brick and concrete refrigerator. From about 1903 until its decommissioning which started in about 1965, it served as a cold fruit storage and rail shipment facility for Hood River’s orchardists. For decades horse-drawn carts (and later, trucks) would line up in the fall to deliver huge loads of freshly picked fruit to the Union Building. The fruit was packed, sorted, and stored in the Union Building. It was then shipped all around the nation -- and indeed around the world. For half a century, the Union Building played a crucial role in the history of the Hood River Valley fruit industry.
Over time, advances in refrigeration and building technology made the Union Building impractical for its original purpose. Simultaneously, most refrigerated cargo began to be shipped by truck. Newer, more modern facilities were eventually built in the Hood River Valley. As a result, the Union Building has been inactive since the late 1960’s.
For the last 40 years the Union Building has remained mainly untouched. The original 1903 refrigeration machinery is still intact. With its huge flywheel and compressor pistons, it chilled the building and made ice to cool fruit for the long-distance rail cars. It will be preserved as we restore the Union Building.
The Union Building has weathered the many years of inactivity well. It was conservatively built and was designed to handle massive loads of fruit, moving forklifts, and all the hard knocks of industrial usage.
Now, over a hundred years later, the Union Building has a new future hosting full time residents and guests right in the heart of historic downtown Hood River.
