The staff and board of the Lincoln County Historical Society would like to share some highly anticipated news – completion of the Doerfler Family Theater is within sight. This proclamation is backed with more than unchecked optimism.

Work is progressing nicely – 300,000 lbs of cement has been poured and dried, creating two sets of stairs for 124 tiered seats and an ADA wheelchair lift platform; the heating and air exchange system is nearly finished, and completion of the electrical system, stage, control room and seating area is at hand.

The extensive interior wood work will be of reclaimed product from our local forest. The end of these old growth Douglas Fir trees came when they were blown down in the 1962 Columbus Day Storm. The downed trees were recently helicoptered out of a grove atop Cape Foulweather. They are being milled locally at the Siletz River Lumber sawmill. There is not a knot of any kind in this beautiful wood. In the coming months, the combined efforts of Skriver construction, and a dedicated team of volunteers, will install the theater interior wood work.

You can do your part to bring this project to completion by adopting a theater seat. For each $300 “adopt-a-seat” donation, a plaque acknowledging your gift will be installed on a Doerfler Family Theater seat. The wording is of your choice — you may acknowledge yourself, a loved one, or perhaps a few words of wisdom or short poem.

All finish work should be done by the end of 2018. The 124 seats have been selected and ordered. This will be the last component to be installed. Presently, the seating company is projecting the seats will be installed in the first quarter of 2019. If you are interested in scheduling an event, such as a meeting or theater film screening, we are taking reservations for events in April 2019 or later.

Steve Wyatt
Executive Director
Lincoln County Historical Society