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The Adler House Museum


To see more photos from this location, click on the link below:

A German immigrant and Crystal Palace Store owner, Carl Adler(1854-1918), and his wife since 1883, Laura Hirsch(1864-1933), purchased this 1889 two story Italianate home in 1899. They had 3 children: Theresa, Sanford, and the youngest of the 3, Leo. Leo "Mr Baker" Adler (1895-1993) was a kind and fun loving philanthropist, and a self-made millionaire, who started selling magazines and newspapers at the age of 9. Over the years, his business grew into a large empire that consisted of over 2000 outlets in 7 states, that sold over 3 million magazines per year. After Leo's mom died, he only used the back 4 rooms of the house, leaving the upstairs unoccupied. Leo cared deeply for his community, and donated large amounts of money to various organizations. The local fire department was one of his favorites. He was also a huge baseball fan, and attended over 20 consecutive World Series Games. Leo sold his business in 1977, and before he died, he created the Leo Adler Trust Fund, that was worth 21 million, to support the community fund and the scholarship program for the graduates of Baker County high schools and North Powder high school. 60 percent of the interest goes to scholarships and 40 percent to community projects. Leo received several awards and honors for his compassion and support towards the betterment of his community and the state of Oregon from local and regional organizations. Leo willed the Adler House to the Baker County. In 1994, four women: Chary Mires, Colleen Brooks, Jane Hutton, and Scotty Haskell took on the renovation project of the Adler House. It opened in 1998, on Leo's birthday. It has the original furniture, artwork, the light fixtures, and some of the family items. Some of the closets upstairs still have the original wall paper. The wall paper on the main level was made in Australia. The renovation project of this great home was truly a community effort that kept the cost down to 130,000 instead of 500,000. Leo was a great man who helped Baker City to become what it is today, and his generous Trust Fund continues to help generations to come. As far as the house being haunted, Medium Jennifer VonBehren, pictured here with Grace Altman and Becki Marks from S.L.A.S.H. and Scott Mercer, didn't pick up any spirit activity in the house. I believe if Leo were to stick around, you would find him at the local fire department, or maybe you might see him at the next baseball game. We want to thank Carly, the Director at the Baker Heritage Museum, for a great tour and stories.


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