Downtown The Dalles is heading into its holiday season with its oldest street closed. First Street is shut to cars and to people on foot from Union Street to Laughlin Street. That includes the north ends of Court, Washington, Federal and Laughlin, from the alley to First. The closure is in place 24 hours a day, every day. The contract now runs to July 13, 2027.
That date puts the whole holiday season inside the closure. This is the only Thanksgiving-to-New-Year's stretch the First Street Streetscape Project will cover from start to finish. If the schedule holds, the street will be open by the 2027 parades. This year, the season happens a block uphill. Planning around that makes downtown much easier this season.
Why the Fence Stays Up Until Next Summer
The closure started on February 16, 2026, under a contract with Ajax Northwest. A Gorge Country Media notice from February gave June 11, 2027 as the end date. Then crews hit something under the busiest corner of the project.
Columbia Community Connection reported in June that crews found a clay sewer main about 100 years old near First and Court, next to the historic Baldwin Saloon. They found it while planning a micropile foundation to hold up the rebuilt elevated sidewalk there. It is one of two main lines serving downtown, and it carries wastewater under the railroad corridor to the treatment plant. Instead of replacing the line, City staff proposed protecting it. The plan calls for two new 72-inch manholes, temporary bypass pumping and steel plating. One option the City looked at would have cost more than $1 million for shoring alone.
On June 22, 2026, the City Council voted 5–0 to approve Change Order No. 2 for up to $364,223.64. The vote also moved the contract completion date to July 13, 2027, as recorded in the council minutes. The contract was awarded in December 2025 at $4.07 million. With this change order, Columbia Community Connection put it at about $4.57 million.
The Baldwin Saloon building sits on that same corner. At the July 27 council meeting, the City Manager reported that water service to the building had been restored. Staff were also looking at a ramp from the alley across the patio.
Start With Where You Park
With First Street closed, an evening downtown starts in a parking lot. The City's Investing in Downtown page was last updated September 8, 2026. It lists three public lots for the construction period:
| Lot | Where it is | Detail from the City |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Street Public Lot | Between Washington Street and Federal Street | Listed as open public parking |
| Sunken Lot | Between Washington Street and Court Street | Use the newly paved eastern portion; the west side is reserved for Commodore tenants |
| 3rd & Lincoln Lot | Across from St. Peter's Church | Listed as open public parking |
Curbside parking in the downtown core is a separate matter. The City reserves it for customers and asks business owners, employees and tenants to use the lots, so the street spaces stay open for shoppers. For the Starlight Parade or Sip-N-Shop nights, that's the system to plan around. Park in a lot and walk in, and leave the curb spaces near the shops for people stopping in for one errand. The City's page also links a current detour map that shows the project limits.
"Downtown businesses remain open, and access signs are posted to help guide customers through construction areas."
That's the City's own wording. Those access signs matter most from here to New Year's, when downtown gets more evening foot traffic than it has all year.
The Season, Date by Date
Every date below falls inside the closure. Several of these events depend on the downtown core, and none of them has moved because of the construction.
- Veterans Day Parade, Wednesday, November 11. The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce lists it on its 2026 community calendar.
- Archaeology Roadshow from PSU, Saturday, November 14. It takes place at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center, according to the regional 2026 events calendar. It's a good option that weekend, away from the downtown fences.
- Starlight Parade & Tree Lighting Celebration, Friday, November 27. The parade starts at 6 p.m., winds through downtown and ends at the Chamber. The tree lighting there includes cookies, hot chocolate and a visit from Mrs. and Mr. Claus. The published listing doesn't give a street-by-street route, so check with the Chamber before you pick a spot on the curb.
- Festival of Trees, Friday, December 4. The organizer, Adventist Health Columbia Gorge, lists it at The Dalles Civic Auditorium Ballroom with decorated trees, live and silent auctions, appetizers and drinks. The Chamber's calendar shows December 5. Go by the organizer's date.
- Downtown Sip-N-Shop, Saturday, December 12. It's on the Chamber's calendar and is the most shopping-focused night downtown this season.
The parade and the Sip-N-Shop are the two nights the closure affects most, because both depend on people walking the downtown blocks. On those nights, Second Street is where most of downtown's open businesses are.
Second Street Carries the Evening
With First Street fenced, Second Street has the open storefronts. Each business below lists its address and hours on its own site or in the Main Street The Dalles business directory. Going east, they cover most of a holiday evening downtown.
- The Workshop, 116 E. 2nd Street. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., per its website. It's a daytime stop, so on a Sip-N-Shop Saturday, go before dark.
- ENZA, 418 E. 2nd Street. Open Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., per its website. That's late enough for dinner after the tree lighting on November 27, which falls on a Friday.
- 15 Mile Winery tasting room, 623 E. 2nd Street. Tastings are on Saturdays and Sundays, per the winery's site. The December 12 Sip-N-Shop falls on a tasting day.
- Freebridge Brewing, 710 E. 2nd Street. The Main Street directory lists it, and its own site lists dine-in service.
For a morning start, Caesura Coffee House is open daily from 7 a.m. to noon. It's on the first floor of the Rayland Hotel, next to the lobby. The hotel's second dining space, Rayland's Bar & Bistro on the mezzanine, is still listed as coming soon.
Put together, that's a full Saturday downtown. Have coffee at Caesura, stop at The Workshop before 4, and do tastings on the 600 block. Then have dinner at ENZA or Freebridge, all without crossing the fence on First Street.
The Plaza Comes Out of the Construction First
One piece of the rebuilt core is close. The Federal Street Plaza, on Federal Street between First and Second, began construction on May 11, 2026. Its estimated completion was the end of October 2026. The plan calls for new gathering areas, shade, seating, lighting, landscaping, and a water feature meant to reflect the Columbia River and the surrounding region. The Transportation Building is getting upgrades, including a new pump room for the water feature's equipment.
At the July 27 meeting, the City Manager told the City Council that plaza construction was moving along but that the schedule might need to be extended. As of late October, the City's plaza page still lists the project in its construction phase. No grand-opening date has been posted.
The opening will also reveal a name. Over the summer, the City took naming suggestions from the community. A Federal Street Plaza Ad Hoc Committee is choosing three finalists for a community vote, and the final name will be announced at the grand opening. Some of the money for the plaza came from local groups. At that same July 27 meeting, The Dalles Lions Club and The Dalles Lions Club Charitable Trust gave the City $30,000 for the water feature. The gift included money from Northern Wasco County People's Utility District, and it came in the Lions Club's 100th year of service.
The City calls the plaza a planned central spot for community events and cultural activities. It sits on the block where First Street and Second Street meet. When it opens, the gathering space downtown has been missing this year will be on the same block as the Second Street shops and restaurants.
Julie has watched downtown The Dalles change for many years, and she likes keeping up with it as a neighbor. If you're thinking about what the First Street rebuild and the new plaza could mean for a home near downtown, Julie Gilbert is glad to talk it through. Get your free home valuation.
