Ask any Sunriver Resort associate to name their favorite room in the resort and most likely their answer will be the meeting space in the Great Hall. The four walls of our Great Hall have embraced the space for countless events; hundreds of Central Oregon weddings, corporate dinners, award ceremonies, music festivals and, of course, Breakfasts with Santa. The walls of the Great Hall also embody important moments in our nation’s history.
Built in 1944 by the Army Corps of Engineers, the Great Hall is the only remaining structure of the original Camp Abbot Army Base. It is an extraordinary structure measuring 50 by 96 feet. A high ceiling with exposed beams, a large stone fireplace, and a balcony overlooking the main floor. Constructed using ten tons of native volcanic rock and 511 hand-hewn logs from the nearby forest, the Hall was built to train engineers to build similar military structures in Europe. The Army used it as an officer’s mess hall for only six months, then the war ended and the camp was abandoned. For the next five years, the Great Hall was up for sale and deteriorated due to neglect. At one point it was a cattle barn.
Yet the Great Hall withstood the ravages of time and today not only stands as a testament to Oregon’s history, but is also a world-class conference and meeting facility. Yesterday, the Great Hall was quiet for a brief moment and as I stood in the middle of the room, I thought…
"What if these four walls could talk? What amazing stories they would tell."
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